When skin or organs are damaged, the body naturally wants to heal itself. A cause of scar tissue formation would be some sort of wound to the skin. The body cannot re-create healthy skin tissue to replace that which is damaged. The body puts together new fibers that are not as functional as the original tissue, but that serve as a protective layer and a useful barrier. When this barrier is completely healed, it is known as a scar.

What is scar tissue? Scar tissue is made up of the connective tissue that has formed in response to a bodily injury; it can occur on any tissue in the body, including skin and internal organs. If destroyed due to the wound, hair and sweat glands do not heal or reform in scar tissue; scar tissue is also less strong against UV radiation.

Thicker than the surrounding tissue, scar tissue is paler and denser because it has a limited blood supply. Although it does its job in sealing the wound shut and replacing damaged skin, it does not carry out all of the roles of regular skin tissue. Scar tissue symptoms include restrictions in movement, circulation and sensation.

Hypertrophic scars refer to those scars that are red, raised lumps that do not grow beyond the original borders of the lesion. Raised scars occur at all ages and ethnicities but are more common for those that are young and/or have a dark complexion. Keloids, similar to hypertrophic scars but continue to grow outside of scar borders, have been known to form without injury.

Scars can also take the form of stretched skin. These are called stretch marks and are caused when the skin is stretched rapidly (for instance during pregnancy, significant weight gain or adolescent growth spurts). Scar tissue will form regardless after surgery. A skilled surgeon, however, will know how to make incisions that will leave the least amount of scar tissue.

Scar Tissue Treatments

Most people involve themselves in some form of scar minimizing technique during their lifetimes. When considering different treatments for removing scar tissue, make sure to keep in mind that there is no method that will 100% get rid of and heal scar tissue. Still, there are a variety of very promising methods to treat different types of scarring.

If scarring is extensive, a professional treatment plan might be recommended.

Laser resurfacing is a recent advancement in removing scars. In the majority of these procedures, a laser is used to vaporize skin cells, stimulating new cell growth. Theoretically, if all scarred tissue is vaporized, the scar should vanish. Laser technology is still being developed but has a promising future in removing scars without a trace.

Massage is used for those scars involving muscles, tendons, joints or ligaments. By massaging the areas involved, muscles are relaxed and normal functioning restored as best possible to any nerves that might have been damaged.

Deep tissue therapy refers to those massages targeting deeper areas of muscle and fascia. Deep tissue massage uses many of the same movements and techniques as Swedish massage but the pressure will generally be more intense.

Surgeries are an alternative but any surgery will always make a new scar. The original scar will be less obvious but that which remains, although smaller or less noticeable, may still be visible. Surgery is not used for hypertrophic or keloid scarring as recurrence is highly probable and may exacerbate the scarring.

A cream to help heal and remove scars might also be recommended by your doctor.