It’s a common misconception that where you feel pain is where you need to be treated. Surprisingly, it is more common that where you feel pain is where your body is paying the price for dysfunction happening somewhere else in the body. 

This dysfunction can be caused by many different sources: muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, internal organs, fascia and scar tissue. 

Today we will focus on two of lesser discussed sources: scar tissue and fascia.

Scar Tissue

Think of scars as “interference” between your motor control center (cerebellum) and the muscles. Scar tissue can inhibit muscle activation, causing movement compensation patterns to begin out of necessity. These motor patterns then become habit and can lead to other dysfunctions and ultimately pain.

Fascia

Imagine one continuous piece of shrink wrap.  Facia in the body covers everything from muscles to your internal organs.When fascia has been altered through injury, surgery or burns, it can become dysfunctional. As a result, everything that is covered by this connective sheet can cause symptoms to arise in the local area or in a distant area. 

It may be easier to see how scar tissue and fascial restrictions can cause movement patterns to become altered due to muscle or joint restrictions. But scar tissue and fascial restrictions can also directly affect the position and movement of your internal organs.  In a healthy body, all of your organs should move smoothly when you move. Fascial restrictions can limit your internal organs from normal movement, forming adhesions (scar tissue) which may cause discomfort and/or decreased function.

How to resolve the issues caused by scar tissue and injured fascia? 

Fascial restriction can be treated at and around your scar tissues as well as deeper fascial adhesions through Visceral mobilization. Visceral mobilization is helpful for you if you have had any type of surgery (c-section, hysterectomy, GI surgeries, cosmetic surgery) or any traumatic injury or any pain that has not been relieved through other musculoskeletal therapy. 

Scar tissue forms to protect you. Just as you can get scar tissue from a knee injury, scar tissue can form around your organs, limiting motion. Visceral mobilization can be used to treat lower back and hip pain, digestion problems like reflux or constipation. This treatment works with your body’s neurological system to elicit release or relaxation of the fascia. 

To get to the root cause of your pain, you have to look at everything, because IT’S ALL CONNECTED. True healing happens when you get to the root cause of the problem, because where you are feeling them pain might just be where your body is paying the price for less apparent dysfunction.