I saw the person behind the scar.

Where did all this start? 

👋🏻 I’m Lorraine, founder of The Scar Expert. I’m a physiotherapist specialising in scar rehabilitation.

I work with scars of all kinds, whether that’s a scar following surgery, cancer treatment such as radiotherapy, an injury or a burn.

But scar rehabilitation wasn’t always my area of practice...

Prefer to watch? I share the story behind The Scar Expert in the short video here.

How did I get into this?

I worked as a pelvic health physiotherapist for many years and ran a clinic called Down Below Physio.

I loved helping clients with pelvic health problems, but a few years ago I started doing additional training in scar therapy. Initially, I was thinking mainly about how I could better help my C-section clients with their recovery.

And I just loved it.

The more I learned about scars and the effect they can have on movement, pain and everyday life, the more interested I became.

This year, I finally made the big (and more than a little scary) decision to take the leap into a completely new chapter.

I renamed, rebranded and relaunched my clinic as The Scar Expert, and stepped away from pelvic health practice so that I could properly dedicate my work to scar rehabilitation.

What’s my driving ‘why’?

About 18 months ago, as I was doing more and more training in scar therapy, I signed up to train as an oncology scar therapist.

It was at almost exactly that time that we received the devastating news that my mum had cancer.

She had a rare form of malignant melanoma. It took a long time to diagnose initially as it wasn’t related to sun exposure, it began on the sole of her foot. From there, it spread to the lymph nodes in her hip and eventually throughout her body. Sadly, we lost Mum at the beginning of this year.

During that time, she went through multiple surgeries, procedures and treatments, including a large skin graft on the sole of her foot.

And through her experience, I saw the person behind the scar.

My mum loved to dance. Alongside the uncertainty, anger and grief that comes with any cancer diagnosis, her worries and fears were about how this scar would affect her. 

Will I get back dancing? Will it be sore? Will it limit me?

That stayed with me.

Because scars aren't just something we see on the skin. They can affect how someone moves, how they feel and whether they can get back to the things that matter to them.

I was already moving towards specialising in scar rehabilitation, but my mum's experience gave me the push I needed to take the leap and properly dedicate myself to an area I'm hugely passionate about.

Now, I want to help other people who have found themselves in mum's shoes, and I hope to do her proud along the way.

Can I help you?

If you have a scar following surgery, cancer treatment, a burn or an injury, I’m here to help.

You may already have a scar that has become painful, tight, itchy, sensitive or restrictive. Perhaps it just doesn’t feel 'right', even though you've technically been told that everything has healed.

But scar rehabilitation doesn't necessarily have to begin only when there's a problem.

I also love seeing people earlier in their recovery, once their initial healing allows, so that we can prevent it from becoming a problem scar down the line and give you practical advice on caring for it as it continues to mature.

Because ultimately, my work isn't just about treating a scar.

It's about helping the person behind it get back to living their life.

Lorraine x
The Scar Expert
Specialist Scar Rehabilitation
Oncology • C-section • Surgical scars