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Scar release · South Berkeley
Manual Lymph Drainage and Scar Care. A scar is only the part you can see.
The line you see on your skin is only part of the scar. Underneath it, tissue can become tight and stop gliding the way it should. I work with scars from surgery, injuries, and burns, whether they are new or decades old, when they are pulling, numb, painful, or limiting movement.
- Trained in
- Dolphin microcurrent scar release and MSTR
- Scar age
- Weeks old to decades old
- Main goal
- Movement and comfort, not erasure
- First step
- A free phone call with me
The practical version
What I am working to change.
A scar may look better after this work, and sometimes the visual change is noticeable. But I do not want you to book because I promised a cosmetic result. That is not the main goal.
I am looking at how the tissue functions. After an injury or surgery, repair tissue may become stiff and bind layers that should slide over one another. You may feel pulling, tightness, numbness, a patch that will not move, or pain that seems far away from the scar during ordinary daily movement or even rest.
I do not begin with how the scar looks. I ask how it affects your life and how your body feels.
We care about how scars look. I always just think of them as the tip of the iceberg.
Find yourself here
Scars I work with.
If a scar is fully closed, there is a good chance I can at least assess it. These are the scars I see most often.
Abdominal scars
C-section, hysterectomy, tummy tuck, and fleur-de-lis scars. A long abdominal scar can affect how the tissue moves through the belly, hips, back, and breathing.
Chest and breast
Mastectomy, reconstruction, breast lift, augmentation, and open-heart surgery may leave several scars in different directions. Each may affect movement differently.
Burn scars
Burn scars may tighten as they heal. I work gently from the outer edges toward the center and pay attention to how the surrounding tissue moves around it.
Injury scars
A fall, a kitchen accident, or a surgery you had years ago can still matter now. A scar does not become too old for me to look at and work with.
Facial and head scars
I work very gently with surgical and injury scars on the face, jaw, and scalp, using the same light touch I use in facial work.
Joint replacement
Knee, hip, and shoulder incisions can become tight and quietly limit the movement you worked hard to regain in physical therapy.
Why placement matters
Some scars carry more weight than others.
In Dolphin scar-release training, some scars are taught as especially important because they can affect large areas of the body. Several of those show up often in my practice.
- Caesarean and tummy tuck scars. A single hip-to-hip incision can cross five different yin meridian pathways.
- Mastectomy scars. Often combined with lymph node removal and radiation, which changes what the whole quadrant can do.
- Open heart surgery. Vertical, central, and sitting over structures that do not enjoy being restricted.
- Head scars. Small on the surface, disproportionately influential underneath.
Long horizontal scars often cross a lot of moving tissue. A low abdominal scar may be connected to tightness in the hip, back, belly, or even the way you breathe, because those areas move together all day.
What a session involves
How I work on a scar.
This is not aggressive work. I am not going to dig into a scar while you brace and try to tolerate it.
- We talk first
What is this scar stopping?
It may be affecting movement, sensation, comfort, sleep, confidence, or an activity you slowly stopped doing. I want to understand the real effect it is having on your life.
- I assess
Where the tissue moves and where it stops
I look at the scar, the tissue around it, and the directions it will and will not move. I do not focus only on the visible line.
- Dolphin
Microcurrent scar release
Dolphin microcurrent is the tool I use most for scar work. I apply it gently along and around the scar, especially when the tissue feels contracted or firmly bound down.
- Hands
MSTR and fascial work
MSTR is a separate hands-on scar technique I trained in. I use it when it fits the scar, along with the lymphatic work that is the center of my practice.
- Between visits
Tape, when it helps
For some newer scars, kinesiology tape can support the tissue between appointments. It may also help with local swelling and movement around a joint.
It is not like something just begins and ends somewhere. We approach it with a sense of curiosity, and see how your body responds.
Timing
When a scar is ready.
A scar is ready for direct work only when it is fully closed. The steri-strips are off, any scabs have come away on their own, the skin is intact, and your surgeon is satisfied with the healing.
Before that point, I will not work directly on it. You cannot rush wound healing. I know that personally because my recent knee replacement reopened a scar I had carried since 1984.
That does not mean we have to do nothing. While the incision is closing, I can work away from it, help with swelling, and help your nervous system settle without touching the healing scar. There is useful work we can do before direct scar work is safe.
If a surgeon plans to cut through an old scar, call me before the surgery if you can. We may be able to work on that tissue beforehand and plan the timing for recovery while you still have the energy to make decisions.
Worth saying plainly
What scar work cannot promise.
I cannot make your scar go away
I cannot erase a scar, and I will never promise that. What I can work toward is tissue that moves more freely, pulls less, and bothers you less in daily life.
I cannot promise a number of appointments
I cannot know that before I have felt the scar and seen how your body responds. We try the work, look at what changed, and decide together what makes sense next.
I do not treat open or unhealed tissue
Anything open, weeping, infected, scabbed, or not fully closed belongs with your surgeon or a wound care specialist.
I am not your whole care team
If a scar is seriously limiting movement or function, your surgeon or a physical therapist may need to be involved. I will tell you when I think that is necessary.
Something people rarely say out loud
The emotional part is real.
Some people feel proud of a scar or barely think about it. For someone else, seeing or touching the scar brings the whole experience back again very suddenly in the body.
There is no correct way to feel about your scar. I ask because your comfort, your history, and your sense of safety change how I work and how much time we take. People sometimes cry during scar work. That is allowed, it is common, and it does not make the appointment awkward. You do not have to hide your reaction from me.
Many people do not know scar work exists. Once the surgery or accident is over, nobody tells them that a problem years later may still be connected to the scar. That connection is worth checking instead of assuming nothing can be done.
People aren't thinking about how something in one place could be affecting somewhere else entirely. Fascia, nerves, energy pathways: the body is connected like that.
Before you call
Questions people ask me.
Will scar work make my scar disappear?
No. A scar may soften, flatten, or fade, but I cannot make it disappear. The main goal is tissue that moves more freely, pulls less, and interferes less with the area around it. That change is the goal that we work toward.
How old is too old for a scar to be worked on?
There is no fixed age limit. I regularly assess scars that are decades old. When pain or restriction has not responded to the obvious treatment, an old scar is one of the first places I look carefully.
How soon after surgery can you work on my scar?
Only when it is fully closed, the steri-strips are off, the scabs have come away on their own, the skin is intact, and your surgeon is satisfied. Before then, I can still work away from the incision and help with swelling and nervous-system settling.
Does it hurt?
It should not. This is not deep or forceful work. I use light microcurrent and gentle hands-on techniques. If anything feels uncomfortable, tell me and I will change what I am doing.
What is Dolphin microcurrent scar release?
It is a handheld microcurrent tool I use along and around scar tissue. I trained in the method online and in person in Los Angeles. I also use hands-on scar techniques, but Dolphin is the tool I use most often.
Can you work on burn scars?
Yes, once the skin is fully healed. Burn scars may tighten as they heal, so I work gently around the full shape of the scar and pay attention to the surrounding tissue. I do not treat it like a straight line when it is not.
Do I need my doctor's approval?
You do not need approval to have the phone call. For a recent surgery, cancer-related scar, or complex medical situation, I will want to know what your surgeon or medical team has said before we begin.
Can you work on a scar that has not been cut yet?
Yes. If your surgeon plans to cut through an old scar, I may work on that tissue beforehand. Call before your surgery date while there is still time to plan.
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The next step
Tell me about your scar.
Set up a free 15-minute call and tell me where the scar is, how old it is, and what it is affecting. I will tell you whether the timing is right, whether this work may fit, and when another kind of care should come first.