The Effect Of Scars On Health

The Importance Of Scars by Jane Thurnell-Read

As well as causing embarrassment and distress because of their appearance, or being uncomfortable and sore, scars can also affect the subtle energy system: if a scar crosses a meridian, it can affect meridian energy flow.

Obviously the larger the scar the more likely this is to happen, but even a small scar can have a devastating effect if it runs across a meridian, particularly if it crosses an acupuncture point. The scar can be as a result of an accident or operation, from a burn or a vaccination or as a result of acne or other skin problems.

Some years ago, a 29-year-old woman called Julie consulted me about a spectacular skin rash. It had started with a few spots on her chest and 2 days later she had developed spots all over her body. Eventually the spots had dried and crusty scabs had formed, leaving her skin looking as though she had a bad case of psoriasis. In fact Julie's younger sister did have psoriasis. Her GP and the skin specialist were mystified and finally attributed the problem to a course of sun bed treatments she had just completed. When I take a case history I always ask the client about accidents and operations, partially with scar problems in mind. Julie told me that a mole had been removed from the inside of her right thigh 10 days before the problem had started. The scar was very small and neat but it ran directly across the liver meridian. Through muscle testing I established that the scar was disturbing her liver meridian energy and was causing her physical liver to function less well. This was leading to the body having problems with metabolic by-products that would normally be broken down by the liver. These were being excreted through the skin leading to the severe skin rash. I used health kinesiology techniques to re-balance the energy around the scar and to support her liver. The skin problem disappeared very quickly.

Scar work can sometimes lead to scars disappearing altogether. A teenager came to see me. She was accompanied by her elder sister, a medical student, who was extremely sceptical about the work we were doing. Sandra wanted help with respiratory problems. During the session I did some energy work on a scar caused by a scratch from the family's cat. The scar was fairly superficial but had been there for about two months. It was not the cause of Sandra's problems, but it was interfering with the flow of energy through the lung meridian and hampering her body's attempts to rebalance itself. By the time Sandra and her sister reached home approximately 1 hour after the energy work on the scar had been completed, the scar had completely disappeared. The sceptical medical student apparently went very quiet at this point.

Scars do not only affect the physical body they can have profound effects on a person's sense of emotional well being too. Alice consulted me after she saw the improvement in her son's hyperactivity as a result of health kinesiology. She found that she frequently allowed small things to overwhelm her. She also said that she was obsessive and constantly checked things. She lacked self-confidence and would often apologise repeatedly even when she knew she was not responsible. The first appointment she had with me was very short. We only had time to do a little piece of work, which involved rebalancing the energy for a bunion operation scar on her right foot. This was in the area of the spleen meridian. Shizuto Masunaga and Wataru Ohashi describe the psychological imbalances associated with the spleen meridian as including over-concern for details, restlessness associated with anxiety and a tendency to over eat [Zen Shiatsu: How To Harmonise Yin and Yang For Better Health].

When Alice came for her next appointment a month later she told me that she was not checking things so much and that the difference in her had been noticed both by her husband and her mother. Over the next few months she also lost a significant amount of weight.

Some years ago I wrote an article for a magazine aimed at the general public about this topic, and was amazed at the number of grateful letters I received from people along the lines of "finally my illness makes sense - I've been ill ever since I had that operation/accident .."

Of course, people can be ill after accidents or surgery for other reasons – adverse reaction to anaesthetics and drugs, badly performed surgery, infections caught in hospital, and emotional trauma, but scars should not be overlooked as a precipitating or contributing factor.

My understanding of the importance of scars reinforces something we all know: everything can affect everything else. Scars seem so physical and localised, but through the action of the meridians they can have an effect on distant parts of the body or even in the mind.

If you've enjoyed this article check out the one on the dangers of teeth braces and tongue studs.