The human body is incredible. So incredible that as soon as you injure yourself, scar tissue begins to build up to protect the area. However, while the start of scar tissue is sudden, the buildup happens slowly as your injury heals. Most people don’t realize how important it is to begin the physical therapy process before scar tissue builds up too much. Read on to learn why.
What is scar tissue?
When you experience an injury or get surgery, your body will take over and begin the tissue healing process. Your body will start to create new cells to replace the damaged ones. Collagen helps form some of the new cells. Typically collagen would develop tissue strength. However, when experiencing trauma like injury or surgery, the body causes collagen cells to clump together abnormally, forming scar tissue. Scar tissue is harder, denser, and thicker than normal connection tissue. Because of this, scar tissue can interfere with everyday mobility.
Scar Tissue Build Up Can Become Painful
For instance, if you injure your ankle and let it heal on its own without physical therapy, scar tissue will begin to build up around the joint. This dense scar tissue can cause pain and limit your mobility. However, physical therapy can help break up this scar tissue and help guide the body’s healing process towards healing the joint properly. Physical therapists are trained in methods to help break up scar tissue as it forms, cutting down on your pain and limitations as you heal. Techniques like taping and specific exercises can help target scar tissues in different areas.
Rehab Promotes Scar Tissue Remodeling
Your physical therapists will start the scar tissue remodeling process when you start rehab. The collagen fibers begin to return to normal as you stretch, pull, and work out your scar tissue. This essentially breaks up the scar tissue and allows your injury to heal.
For these reasons, it’s imperative not to wait too long to start your physical therapy. The more time scar tissue has to build up, the more difficult it will be to rehab your joint. Contact Activity First PT to find out how soon you can begin your physical therapy.