Onion for scar tissue and pain

Scar Tissue Onion

Scar tissue, or fascial adhesions, build up in the body whenever the tissue is placed under excessive stress and strain. Scar tissue is like duct tape on the body; it is designed as a short-term patch to help support tissue. Most of the time the body replaces the patches of fascial adhesions, but sometimes it is forgotten.

The next time a patch of scar tissue is placed under stress and strain, it becomes aggravated and inflamed. This process causes more fascial adhesions to be added to the outside of the patch. This process can be repeated over and over again, resulting in larger patches.

I like to describe patches of scar tissue as “onions.” Scar tissue ends up growing in layers around the initial injury. Stress in the area aggravates the outer layers and causes another layer to form. The layers farther from the center are easier to aggravate than the inner layers, so the onion continues to grow in size without causing the inner area to repair itself properly.

Many people experience this concept with chronic neck and shoulder pain. People come into the office complaining of sore muscle knots that never go away. A massage helps to lessen the pain but the knots never go away. Your neck and shoulder pain always starts in the exact same places and becomes easier to aggravate over time. What was once a minor ache after five long days at the computer eventually becomes a constant dull ache with average workloads. The spots are always tender to the touch, but they feel better when rubbed.

These knots are bulges of scar tissue that have grown in size over time. The stress and strain of daily activities begin to overwhelm the bulges of scar tissue, leading to pain, discomfort, and muscle spasms. Keeping your head up makes your neck muscles work throughout the day, which puts pressure on your onions. Slouching makes your muscles work even harder. Hunching over with rounded shoulders and reaching for the computer actually strains the neck muscles, putting more pressure on the scar tissue.

Patches of scar tissue cannot handle the workload placed on the muscles, causing the outer layers to become chronically aggravated.

Treatment boils down to a few basics. Reduces stress and tension in injured areas. Break up scar patches and allow the body to replace them with suitable tissue. Home therapies are recommended to limit further scar tissue formation, encourage proper healing, and speed recovery.

The Graston Technique works by stretching the outer layer of the onion and breaking it into several pieces. Broken ends trigger healing mechanisms to build proper tissue. Ice helps limit further fascial adhesion formation and pain. On the next visit we break up the next layer of tissue adhesions, working towards the center of the onion. The goal is to get to the center of the onion for the body to fix the original problem.

The Graston technique is not intended to be painful and should be performed at a comfortably tolerable level to break up fascial adhesions. Trying to be too aggressive with Graston or massage causes excessive pain and actually slows down the repair process by flooding the area with inflammation. Most people notice a significant difference after 4-6 visits. Larger onions may require much more treatment, and all recover at different rates. Some people have very small onions which create a lot of pain and can resolve quickly.