Every Scar Tells a Story (Physical Scars and What to Consider About Yours)

How do you feel about your scars?

The physical ones, I mean (we’ll get to the emotional ones in this essay’s companion piece). Does it matter to you what they look like, or are you concerned about how they restrict smooth movement at a joint? Scars tells stories and they’re powerful. Scars most definitely do not need to be erased or hidden. But there are some considerations to keep in mind if you’re wondering about whether or not to attend to your scar or scars.       

Scar revision may seem fairly simple if you think about it in terms of going to get a scar off at a medical office. Online, Dr. Google suggests massage and/or vitamin E oil or specific bandages.  This works when it’s a matter of having a scar that you don’t like and want to get rid of as quickly as possible.  If it’s a relatively uncomplicated scar, then why not?  A laser treatment or three will probably take care of it and yes, massage, vitamin E oil, and/or hydrocolloid bandages can help to minimize a basic scar.

But what about the more complex scars? 

It could be that the location is problematic or the emotional baggage it carries is heavy.  Maybe the scar still hurts.  It could be that the scar holds a story that needs to be told and then released.  A person’s body speaks, and so do their scars.

I love working on scars.  Exceptional scar work requires brain cells and good listening hands.  When the scar artist (or, as I like to think of myself, the SCAR GODDESS) palpates the scar, there are many things to learn.

These include:

• Does the scar itself pull the surface tissue in an unhealthy or limiting way? 
• Does it tug at the sub-surface, be it the fascia or other tissue, such as muscle or sinew?
• Does it pinch or impact a nerve or nerves?
• Does the scar itself look relatively healthy or is the tissue thin, inflamed, or like cigarette paper? (This can be a sign of lax connective tissue or even hEDS, one of my super-specialty areas)
• Is the scar thick, keloid, or hardened?
• How does this scar line up with its surrounding tissue? 

And so forth.  The answers to these questions will inform, at least in part, how I begin. 

If you’re interested in learning how I treated scars as a more junior practitioner, take a look at my blog post “Scar Removal via Traditional Chinese Medicine: Repairing Skin The Holistic Way” for details. The companion piece to that essay, “Scar Removal, Part II: Two Reasons To Remove Your Scar And Two Good Reasons To Keep It,” considers some of the psychological aspects of scar repair and includes a picture of an acupuncture technique known as surround the dragon. My methods haven’t changed all that much in the years since those posts, though I have added micro-needling to the treatment options.

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There is another extremely important aspect to scar work, and that is the story of the scar itself. 

How did this scar come into being?  What, right now, does it mean to the person who bears it?  What did it mean to this person when it was first acquired?

Whatever the person wants to share with me, I will hear them.  If they don’t have a lot of thoughts on the scar, that’s fine too.  My listening hands will hear via touch what I need to know, and I respect and honor people’s boundaries.  Some of us have vivid stories, others of us just want to have the scar revised.

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There are two reasons to get a scar treated:

1.  You don’t like what it looks like and/or what it represents.  Vanity is a perfectly valid reason to get a scar fixed.  Wanting to erase evidence of a past trauma or something you’d rather forget is also a perfectly valid reason to erase a scar.

2.  The scar is functionally problematic.  It hurts, maybe, or the tissue it constricts impedes nerve function.  The scar is causing you some health problems, one way or another, and you want to do something about it.

Why have your scar revised by an artist rather than at the dermatologist’s office via a laser?

If the goal is just to get rid of it, you might just opt to go get the scar lasered.  It’s faster than having someone manually treat your scar, though not always cheaper.  Reasons to have your scar revised by a practitioner of Chinese medicine who loves treating scars can include:

1.  Any scar goddess (or god) worth their salt will truly listen to your scar.  Scars heal because they’re heard.  It may sound funny but it’s true and it’s subtle but it’s real.  Very early on in my career I sublet a room in a spa and one day, the owner had a Botox event with a visiting plastic surgeon.  We were chatting and–can’t remember why, but–the subject of scars came up.  He asked me if I could show him my treatment approach and, as it happened, one of his staff members had a notable scar on their hand and wrist.  I was thrilled to demonstrate!  I listened to this scar with my fingers and set to work…after a short time, the scar was visibly improved and the doctor stood there with his mouth hanging open.  He was shocked at how much improvement I got out of that scar with just gua sha and excellent tui na (Chinese manual therapy).  I didn’t even need to give this scar acupuncture.  I felt the scar and knew what I needed to do.

A laser can’t do that.  I don’t care how talented the technician is…there is something special about having an exceptional gift for palpation that a laser does not have.¹

2.  Depending on the tensile strength of the tissue, it may be that you need to reduce your overall inflammation and maybe heal your gut microbiome.  Just like the skin on your face shows whether you’ve gotten enough sleep, your dehydrated, and/or lacking in nutrients, so does your scar.  If you have lost muscle tone in the region of the scar or developed imbalances due to compensations, you probably need more than just cosmetic laser treatments.  The scar is part of your bigger picture that you would be wise to address.

3.  If there is trauma associated with the scar, your ethical Chinese medicine practitioner is not going to act as your psychotherapist (that would be inappropriate) but they can help ease your reaction to shifts in the scar.  By this I mean: sometimes, a person will get their scar worked on and they’ll experience grief or panic or anger.  A good practitioner of Chinese medicine will know which acupuncture points to use or whether an herbal formula may help.  And if your practitioner is sensitive and smart, they may talk to you about finding a good therapist too. 

Some scars are a matter of just popping in for a treatment or two without a lot of fanfare.  Others are complicated and require expertise.  But when your practitioner loves working on scars, it is a joy on both sides.  You will be happy to have your scar issues resolved and your practitioner will happily provide this service.

Scar work truly is art work whether the outcome is minimization of the visible scar or, instead, it provides resolution to sub-surface concerns. And if what you want is change to both internal and external, and that is the outcome? Well. Scar work can be life-changing.

Are you ready to do something meaningful about your scars?

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Paula Bruno, Ph.D., L.Ac., is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, an AOBTA-CP traditional Chinese bodywork therapist, a health coach, and an author.  She maintains an active and growing practice at her Austin, TX office.  Dr. Bruno is also available for distance appointments for wellness consultation or coaching.

In her first career, she was a Spanish professor.

Dr. Bruno’s specialties as a Chinese medicine practitioner include: • Musculoskeletal health (acute or chronic pain relief; Ehlers Danlos syndrome  & hypermobility support) • Digestive support, gut health, and weight loss • Aesthetic treatment, including scar revision • Men’s health • General preventative care and immune support for all persons.

She is the author of Chinese Medicine and the Management of Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: A Practitioner’s Guide. Dr. Bruno also maintains a second website, holistichealthandheds.com, with resources and information curated specifically for people with hEDS and HSD.

When you are ready to discover what traditional medicine plus a vibrant and engaged approach to holistic health can do for you, either contact Dr. Bruno or book an appointment online.

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Note: Material on this web site site is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease, illness, or ailment. A Chinese medicine practitioner in Texas identifies syndrome patterns but does not diagnose illness.  Material on this web site does not purport to identify syndrome patterns.

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1. Keep in mind: even the American Academy of Dermatology acknowledges that lasers do not entirely resolve scars and they also note that outcomes “depend largely on the skills of the person performing the laser treatment.” ↩︎