Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/70551
education PATHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES | BODY AWARENESS | FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY | SOMATIC RESEARCH Scar Tissue When a Solution Becomes a Problem By Ruth Werner Anyone who studies the structure and function of the human body must be amazed by its remarkable ability to heal. Our poor bodies are insulted every day by irritated hangnails, blisters from sunburn, scraped elbows, bruised shins, and overworked livers. Even inactivity takes a toll: actin and myosin in underworked muscles may disintegrate with lack of use, and the fascial sheaths around and within muscles can dry up and become sticky. And that's just everyday wear and tear, not more major events like a tendon rupture, the broad spectrum of injuries called whiplash, or "trauma by appointment": the aftermath of surgery. Somehow, we come through these buffets and function just like new, or pretty close. This happens because we have the ability to produce scar tissue, the amazing fibrous material that knits us back together when we begin to unravel. Producing scar tissue is a normal, healthy, even vital function. The results of not being able to heal from minor and major injuries would mean a drastically shortened life span, but for many people the forces that promote scar tissue formation 42 massage & bodywork july/august 2012