Keeping Your Skin Moving
I have recently started to delve further into the depths of Scar Oils/Creams to compliment my Scar Therapy sessions. There are loads of lotions and potions around to suit all types and it can all get a little confusing!
What I am realising though, is how much a good whole body skin care routine will help to keep your movements fluid and often your pain improved.
In a Fascial Manipulation session, I look at the health of your skin, and below that, your superficial fascia (more info on this under my FAQs page). Evidence is being compiled on just how many different receptors are located in your skin and superficial fascia. Having so many different types of receptors feeding back means we know a lot about what is going on in the environment around us and what position our body is in the space around us. It also means that there may be a lot of receptors that can report pain (such as nerves). A study by Fede et al (in 2020) looked at fascia and soft tissue receptors around the hip joint. It found that the tissue with the most nerves and receptors was your skin, followed by your superficial fascia and muscles. Your joint capsule and ligaments had some, but nothing near the others!
How does this affect us everyday?
For example, sometimes when you have had and injury such as back pain for a long time, the skin and superficial fascia can become affected. They can become stiff above where initial injury was and this can result in the brain receiving a distorted message. The message that normal movement is painful! Even after the original injury is healed, the brain is still being told this area needs to move with caution.
If your skin and fascia is stiff, even a normal, everyday movement can be felt as painful.
By keeping your skin supple, moving and touched regularly, this message can be normalised. This is even more important if you have a scar. Whether it be from surgery, or from an accident, gentle touch is the best way to calm down and desensitise an area.
Coming back to the lotions and potions! In a Scar Therapy session, we explore which type of cream/oil suits you best. I have been liaising with MooGoo Skin Care and at the moment, I have some samples of Tamanu Seed Oil for clients to take home and use! Offer is until May2023 or stocks run out.
So, if you have a scar that is red, raised, sensitive, itchy or just doesn’t feel right - book an appointment with me!
I also have some samples of MooGoo Natural Skin Milk Udder Cream. I like this cream as it’s thick, natural and has milk proteins in it to assist with improving skin elasticity (the company reports up to 20%!!). I would love to see if using this would improve your fascia and skin movement!