Scars are the result of the body repairing itself from damage caused by trauma, accidents, surgeries, infectious diseases, burns, etc. The body is very intelligent and performs these processes efficiently, although in some circumstances the scars are rigid and cause dysfunction (loss of mobility). The place where the wound has occurred is filled with cells called fibroblasts, and some of them have the ability to contract (myofibroblasts); this ability to contract allows the wound to close. Many times this state of "contractibility" is still present in the area of the scar (even for years), and these cases are the ones that generate imbalances in the body. It is very common and necessary to treat scars within the Osteopathy session, and in some people it is essential to do so (for example in cases where keloid scars have been generated, a more rigid type of healing). There are patients who resolve their symptoms by the simple fact of being treated for an old surgery, which has generated adhesions or abnormal tensions. These forces generated by the scar are transmitted throughout the body system through the fascia (fibrous membrane that surrounds all body structures and interconnects them). A classic example is patients who have undergone a caesarean section, and have low back pain: when treating them with surgery, the mobility of the sacrum is released, since it connects with the uterus through the sacral-rectal-uterus-vesico-pubic ligament. The objective of osteopathy is to search for dysfunctions (loss of micromobility), and this search includes scars that generate adhesions and traction on the tissues, which can cause pain, imbalance and greater energy expenditure.
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