Scars
On the physical and energetic levels, scars that are not healed properly, whether on the skin or deeper in the body as adhesions, can cause many blockages in the body which can affect the body locally, or have serious ramifications throughout the body.
scar-related blockages can include
- Qi flow (circulation of blood)
- Lymph flow
- Nerve flow
Scars and adhesions result from the body’s attempt to repair any break in continuity of tissue, whether caused accidentally or planned as in surgery. This repair is accomplished through the laying down of new connective tissue in the area.
Healthy skin scar will appear
- Fine
- Soft
- Painless.
Unhealthy scars appear
- Thick
- Often tender
- Redness around them
- Can be raised (as in keloid scaring)
- Have temperature differences from one side to the other.
Functionally, unhealthy scars
- Block the flow of energy along the superficial meridian energy pathways (if at the level of the skin)
- Affect the flow of energy along the deeper meridian channels (if adhesions)
- Inhibit the function of all the areas supplied by the respective meridian.
- Upset the energetic hologram of the body by interfering with the general balance of energy throughout the body.
To better understand how unhealthy connective tissue scarring can adversely affect health, understanding the role of fascia in the body is important. Fascia is connective tissue that is continuous, like a 3-dimensional web throughout the body from head to toe and from the skin to bone. It envelops and permeates every structure including bones, muscles, nerves, blood and lymph vessels even down to the cellular level, penetrating cells to become the cytoskeleton.
Functionally, fascia
- Gives shape to the body
- Provides strength and integrity to the structures
- Enhances circulation
- Provides shock absorption
- Holds everything in the body in a well supported, protected and lubricated package that allows one structure to easily move and glide over another as we bend and move. Ex: If everything in the body, other than fascia, was removed. The fascia that remained would still maintain the full shape of the body and all its structures.
When there is trauma or irritation anywhere in the body, it lays down extra connective tissue to help mend and immobilize an area, acting like a bandage or splint. This extra connective tissue binds the structures together like substance in the fascia that once offered lubrication for mobility has now become sticky and solid in some cases. Instead of collagen fibers being laid down in a parallels fashion, they are deposited in a helter-skelter manner. This can inhibit circulation of blood and lymph, decrease range of motion, inhibit muscle strength, and compromise organ and endocrine function.
Keeping in mind that fascia is continuous throughout the body as one structure in and of itself, when one section of it becomes stuck or immobilized, it can then affect other areas and have ramifications throughout the entire body. Ex: picture a sheet spread out smoothly on a table representing healthy fascia then bunch up part of the sheet causing wrinkles throughout the entire sheet.
Source: BodyTalk Fundamentals