scars, scabs, tissue remodeling, and a couple of video testimonials

Everyone knows what a scab it.  They’re those ‘crusty’ wound coverings that act as nature’s band aid, keeping the wound covered while preventing it from leaking fluids and the various components the body uses to repair itself.  Eventually, fibrous cells with muscle-like qualities grip the edges of the scab and begin to contract.  This causes the scab to shrink and eventually fall off.  But what happens to the tissue underneath?

Collagen (pic above), the most abundant protein in your body, has waves in it.  When tension is put on healing Connective Tissues, the waves allow it to stretch and elast.  As far as the healing process of the tissue underneath the scab, the COLLAGEN FIBERS are (or should be) aligned along these same lines of mechanical stress and tension (HERE), which allows for significantly more stretching and elasticity. 

When one ends up with SCAR TISSUE, there is potential for problems —- big problems.  This is because Scar Tissue (often referred to as “Fibrosis”) has some very specific characteristics that are in direct opposition to those of normal tissue.  In a nutshell, Scar Tissue is different from normal tissue because it is….

• WEAKER:  Most pathology text books will tell you that Scar Tissue is at best, no more than 70% as strong as normal tissue, and in most cases, probably more like 60%.  This means that Scar Tissue is much easier to re-injure.  The re-injury subsequently heals with more Scar Tissue.

• LESS ELASTIC:  This is a no-brainer.  A second grader looking at the side-by-side pictures at the top of the page can see that Scar Tissue is less elastic than normal tissue.  And be aware that during its healing process, Scar Tissue will ‘shrink’ —- kind of like a scab.  All of this can present a huge problem because even if the tissue itself is not painful, loss of (or abnormal) joint motion is the known cause of DEGENERATIVE ARTHRITIS — often erroneously referred to as DJD.  This is why restoring joint motion — even in the absence of pain — is such a big deal not only for helping you now, but as far as saving you a ton of grief down the road is concerned.

• MORE PAIN-SENSITIVE:  Many people with Scar Tissue (whether seen or unseen) end up in CHRONIC PAIN because Scar Tissue is potentially far more pain-sensitive than normal tissue.

• LESS VASCULAR:  Although Scar Tissue is living tissue with a blood supply, the blood supply is not as good or as organized as it is in normal tissue.  This is particularly important to understand in the event that Scar Tissue forms in tissues that are poorly vascularized in the first place (SPINAL DISCS, LIGAMENTS, TENDONS, etc).

Scar Tissue is often created after SURGERIES, CAR ACCIDENTS, SPORTS INJURIES, etc.  But sometimes stuff just ‘happens’ and you never know why or when.  A prime example of this is seen in Fascial Adhesions.  If scarring gets into the FASCIA, you can have a real problem on your hands.  Fascia is the most pain-sensitive tissue in the body, yet does not image well with even our most advanced imaging techniques such as MRI.  This sets people up for the PERFECT STORM of Chronic Pain and dysfunction.  Below you can see the progression of a surgical scar. 

What can you really do about Scar Tissue?  In a perfect world, you would simply prevent it.  Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world.  So, once it is there, there are some things you can do to help deal with Scar Tissue such as avoiding INFLAMMATION, eating a WHOLE FOOD-BASED DIET, EXERCISING intelligently, getting periodic CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS, COLD LASER THERAPY, SPINAL DECOMPRESSION, etc, etc, etc.  However, nothing; and I do mean ‘nothing‘ works as well as SCAR TISSUE REMODELING.  Rather than me talk about how devastating Scar Tissue can be, I would rather let a couple of my patients speak.  These videos were both shot yesterday and both cases involved the THORACOLUMBAR FASCIA (click this link for 15 second videos showing the difference between Scar Tissue and normal tissue).