Tag Archives: scar tissue

The Importance of a Gentle Warm Up

Probably the biggest problem I observe is riders demanding a “frame” from their horse within moments of mounting. Using hands to force the head and neck into a fixed shape causes damage that is difficult to reverse.  Without a good period of time that allows the horse to stretch, warm up muscles, and find their balance under the rider, muscles and fascia tend to get stuck into adhesions.

Superficial fascia is the connective tissue that is found beneath the skin. This tissue links and covers blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and bones. The fascia and muscle combine to form the mysofascial system. Adhesions limit muscle movement which interferes with performance.  Adhesions can also cause severe pain, reduced flexibility, and tender trigger points. 

To release adhesions, I use a technique called ‘myofascial release.’ This technique involves applying gentle but sustained pressure on the soft tissue. During this technique, it is also important to target the fascia. This helps to lengthen and soften the fascia and break up the adhesions and any scar tissue that is present between the bones, muscles, and skin. Scientific evidence shows that myofascial release offers relief from different types of joint and muscle pains. Flexibility and movement is then restored.

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Help Your Pets Without Drugs

 Low Level Laser Therapy causes tissues to heal faster – muscle, skin and nerve – 66 percent faster, according to an FDA study. The study took 100 patients complaining of neck and shoulder pain. Half were treated with a useless red light (placebo group) similar to that on a computer mouse or grocery check-out, and the other half received LLLT. The treatment group beat the placebo group by 66 percent! That’s 66 percent faster and more complete relief – a remarkable margin. Similar studies have been passed by the FDA for carpal tunnel, wounds, and scar tissue.

Laser therapy is a non-toxic alternative to drugs. Animals with arthritis, skin conditions, injuries, and post surgical wounds can be safely treated with the cold laser. By avoiding over-use of medications, animals (and humans) will have more energy as they heal.  There are no risks to this treatment, which is why I use it so much with my clients.

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Releasing Trigger Points

Trigger points are tight spots within the muscle (not at the ends or attachments as in stress points) that cause pain, sensitivity, tingling, burning, or weakness.  Trigger point therapy causes the muscle to have a twitch response, which resets and relaxes the muscle. This can be uncomfortable for a moment, but the results are worth it. Reduction or elimination of pain and improved range of motion can be seen and felt immediately.

Another way to release trigger points is through myofascial release. Fascia is connective tissue that surrounds the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Fascia has multiple functions. It holds some structures together, providing stability.  It allows others to glide and move freely.

Trigger points can be caused by scar tissue, strain from repetitive movement, bad posture, poor nutrition, or injury. The most effective way to remove trigger points is through manual pressure. When the trigger point is released, the fascia will once again move smoothly over the muscle, pain will be reduced or eliminated, and range of motion will be increased.

Cold laser therapy can also relieve muscle pain caused by trigger points, and improve circulation.

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Improve Range of Motion and Reduce Pain

No body has to live in pain from injury, arthritis, back pain, sciatica. That sounds like a radical statement but there are many therapies to address chronic pain.  Myofascial Release is a soft tissue therapy designed to change and improve the health of the fascia. Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue that provides support and protection for most structures within the body.

Fascia literally holds us together.  When we encounter fascial and muscle dysfunction, the result is usually pain and discomfort, loss of range of motion in our bodies ,and a subsequent loss of well-being and quality of life.

When the fascia gets bunched, similar to plastic Saran wrap for example, it can bind down on nerves, blood vessels and organs and thus cause restriction and pain.

Because the fascia cannot be detected on X-ray, CT ,or MRI ,scans it is often the reason for unidentified discomfort.

Myofascial Release breaks down scar tissue, relaxes muscles, and restores good posture. It is used with great success to target chronic pain, sometimes in only a few sessions. I have been working on many horses lately that have been recovering from injuries. In just a few sessions, we are seeing  better joint flexibility and range of motion. Instead of an angular, disjointed profile, the body has a harmonious, flowing appearance.

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Rapid Return to Full Motion

After a body undergoes surgery, there is scar tissue, which can limit movement and cause pain. Scar tissue can also form after trauma or repetitive stress.

Normal tissue is served by the body’s blood supply, preventing it from becoming brittle and callous. Scar tissue, however, forms as a temporary tissue base to promote healing. Eventually, the scar tissue will lose its vascularization (blood supply). This is what causes problems in the body as it forms adhesions to other tissues and structures, and often leads to chronic pain or hard-to-treat issues that hurt quality of life.

Myofascial release is a non-invasive way to remove scar tissue without negatively affecting healthy tissue. Myofascial release can address issues related to range of motion,shoulder, ankle, and knee pain; adhesions; back and neck pain; tendonitis; muscle spasms; trapped nerves; adhesions; headaches; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and more.

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What Does Healthy Muscle Feel Like?

Clients often ask what I am feeling when I work on their horses. How do I know where the problem is? When I first run my hands over a horse, I glide over the muscles.  Healthy muscles feel something like creamy peanut butter. Muscles with spasms and trigger points feel more like chunky peanut butter. Healthy muscles feel moldable, while stiff, tight muscles are rigid.

Horses that are very fit will have muscles, especially in the haunches, that feel hard, but the muscles should still yield, like bread dough, to my hand. I often show clients how to knead certain muscles exactly like making bread.

Scar tissue will feel cold, as circulation is restricted. I use myofascial release techniques to soften and release tight scar tissue.

Once I have assessed where the problems lie, I use other techniques, such as trigger point therapy and stress point therapy to release the muscle .

What is the Difference Between Relaxation and Deep Tissue Massage?

Hopefully, all massage is relaxing. But deep tissue is meant to work through the layers of the body to lengthen muscle fibers and release areas that are being held tight. A relaxation massage is focused on the pleasure of the recipient. Deep tissue massage should not be painful, but there will definitely be sensations when spasms are being worked on that might not feel totally enjoyable. Hopefully, after deep tissue massage the decrease in pain and tension will bring a feeling of great relief. Posture should improve, and flexibility and movement should be freer.

Deep Tissue Massage targets the structure of the fascia and muscles, referred to as connective tissue. Of the many types of massage, deep tissue focuses on the release of muscle tension and chronic spasms or adhesions.

Deep tissue massage can also break up and eliminate scar tissue from previous injuries.

DMSO and Its Healing Properties

DMSO : fights inflammation, pain, acts as an agent for other topicals, softens scar tissue, and much more.

Despite decades of research and thousands of studies attesting to its health-promoting properties, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) remains virtually unknown to the medical establishment and the public. For more than 40 years, Dr. Stanley Jacob has been battling the establishment over DMSO.  Dr. Jacob reveals new data showing the potential of DMSO in treating brain trauma injuries that afflict more than 50,000 Americans each year. I met Dr. Jacob years ago when our children attended the same middle school in Portland, Or. I’ve been using DMSO ever since, mostly for bruises and aches and pains, but there are many other applications.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an anti-inflammatory and analgesic compound that holds promise in managing a wide range of debilitating health conditions. DMSO is an approved pharmacological agent in more than 125 countries, and its safety and therapeutic effects are backed by nearly 50 years of research and more than 10,000 scientific articles on its biological implications.

Unfortunately, the vast health-promoting potential of DMSO has gone unfulfilled in America, suppressed by a combination of bureaucratic ineptitude and pharmaceutical industry lobbying. In the United States today, DMSO is approved to treat only one medical condition: interstitial cystitis, or chronic inflammation of the bladder wall. Recent findings on DMSO’s ability to help manage the effects of head injury have renewed interest in the many potential therapeutic applications of this versatile compound.

According to Dr. Jacob, “DMSO is a potent free-radical scavenger and diuretic that reduces swelling and improves blood supply to the brain. This improves blood oxygenation to brain tissue. Injured brain cells often aren’t dead. When these cells get increased blood supply and more oxygen, and when the free radicals are scavenged, dying cells can recover, and brain swelling is reduced very rapidly.”

Dr. Jacob notes that in studies conducted from 1978 to 1982, “we observed that when the human brain was treated with intravenously administered DMSO after a head injury, the swelling could be reduced within five minutes. No other treatment comes close to acting that quickly. In patients given other commonly used therapeutic agents such as intravenous barbiturates, the brain continued to swell. We’ve known about DMSO’s efficacy for this type of injury for a long time.”

Astonishingly, however, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any new pharmacological agent of significance for the treatment of traumatic brain injury in more than three decades. With so much attention focused on the plight of severely injured soldiers returning home from war, Dr. Jacob is leading the charge to gain FDA approval of DMSO to treat this type of injury. He believes that DMSO would be more effective than some current therapies such as removing parts of the brain to reduce swelling.

“In my opinion, DMSO has the potential to be the pharmacologic treatment of choice for traumatic brain injuries from combat,” says Dr. Jacob. “There’s nothing that comes close to it in efficacy.”

DMSO has a long list of primary pharmacological actions, including fighting inflammation, relieving pain, improving blood supply, scavenging free radicals, softening scar tissue, and effects that may benefit autoimmune conditions.

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What Can a Cold Laser Do?

Lasers increase the production of new, functional cells, resulting in shorter recovery periods.

The tissues exposed to laser light have greater strength after healing, reducing the risk of re-injury.

Laser therapy reduces the production of scar tissue.

The body goes through 4 healing stages: inflammation, proliferation, remodeling, maturation. Laser therapy impacts each phase in positive ways.

Cold Laser therapy can increase the formation of capillaries (remember: every muscles fiber, and there are millions, has its own capillary) which carry oxygen to healing tissue.

Cold Laser therapy is being used to treat:

  • Acute and chronic pain
  • Ligament sprains
  • Muscle strain
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Tendonitis
  • Arthritis
  • Tennis elbow
  • Back pain
  • Bursitis
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia

Why Should You Give Your Horse MSM?

MSM is a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in almost every cell of the body. It is also found in many fruits and vegetables. Sulfur is a dietary requirement that’s role is to move nutrients and fluids in and out of cells. It also helps toxins to exit. The body uses sulfur to produce insulin, which regulates glucose. Glucose is used to produce energy. This nutrient is found in joints, skin, and hooves. You can see why MSM is so important to any horse in competition.

Cooking destroys sulfur, so any grains that are heated (and remember: Meals are heated twice.) have no sulfur. Any hay or grain mix that is stored will lose its sulfur content. Even the sulfur in MSM supplements evaporates quickly, so that when you premix your grain and supplements, sulfur is lost.

MSM is known for helping arthritic horses, but it is also effective in preventing scar tissue from forming. In people, MSM is used to help with allergies and asthma. Recent research shows promise in treating equine ulcers with MSM. It coats and protects tissues in the gut and reduces inflammation from ulcers.

I have several quality MSM supplements listed in the sidebar to the right to make purchasing convenient.

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