An Easy Guide to Outpatient Burn Rehabilitation
Scar Massage
(2 min.15 sec./779K and 1,013K QuickTime movies) *
"Scar massage plays an important part of a burn survivor's day, because it provides several important functions:
- it helps to moisturize the area
- it helps decrease itching
- it makes the scar more pliable
- it helps apply to pressure to the collagen fibers to help realign them, also making the scar more pliable."
"Also, burn survivors have a lot of itching, because as their skin tries to heal itself, you get nerve regeneration, and those nerves are amyelinated and they tend to be more sensitive. So by applying pressure and massage, you help decrease the sensitivity of the new nerve endings as they connect."
- circular motions
- horizontal motions, and
- vertical motions."
"The patterns help to realign the collagen fibers and to break up the adhesions. And the blanching and the pressure helps to decrease the sensitivity of the nerves and realign the collagen fibers. As you massage, make sure all the lotion is in. Pay special attention along the borders of the scar, where it tends to be more rigid, and adhere to the normal skin. See how the skin blanches under my fingers and turns real white. That's how you know you're applying enough pressure."
"In the larger areas, you can use the palm of your hand to cover a greater surface area in less time. Remember to apply a lot of pressure to turn the scar white as you massage. You should massage in circular patterns, horizontally, and vertically. Again, pay special attention to the borders of the scar where it tends to be more rigid."
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[ [ An Easy Guide to Outpatient Burn Rehabilitation: Scar Control ]
