What Is Scar Massage? And Could It Help Your Scar?

If you’ve ever been told to “massage your scar”, you might have wondered what that actually means.

Should you rub it? Press on it? Pinch it? How hard should you go? And perhaps most importantly — could you damage it by doing the wrong thing?

If you’ve searched scar massage online or watched videos on social media, you may have seen some fairly vigorous techniques: pulling, pinching, rolling and stretching the scar.

For someone whose scar already feels painful, sensitive or vulnerable, that can be incredibly off-putting.

The good news is that scar massage doesn’t need to be aggressive to be effective.

In fact, particularly with a newer, sensitive or painful scar, treatment can begin incredibly gently.

Scar massage is really an umbrella term for a range of hands-on techniques used to help a healed scar and the tissues around it become more comfortable, mobile and functional.

And there is no single scar massage technique that is right for every scar.

Why might a scar need massage in the first place?

When your body heals following surgery or injury, it produces scar tissue to repair the damaged area.

It’s an incredible healing process — but the tissue that forms doesn’t always behave exactly like the tissue that was there before.

You may notice that your scar:

feels tight or pulls when you move

feels firm, thickened or lumpy

feels stuck or tethered to the tissues underneath

is numb or has altered sensation

is unusually sensitive or painful to touch

looks puckered or indented

has an area of tissue that overhangs it

doesn’t move as freely as the surrounding skin

seems to affect movement elsewhere in your body

simply doesn’t feel like part of you yet

👉 Sometimes a scar looks beautifully healed from the outside but still causes problems underneath.

That’s because a scar isn’t just the line you can see on your skin.

Different layers of tissue have been affected during surgery or injury, and ideally those layers need to be able to move and glide in relation to one another as you move.

Scar rehabilitation looks at much more than appearance. We consider how the scar feels, how the tissues move and how the area functions as part of your body.

So, what can scar massage actually do?

Different techniques are used depending on what your scar needs.

For someone with an extremely sensitive scar, the first goal might simply be helping the nervous system become more comfortable with gentle touch.

For somebody else, we may be working on an area that feels firm, thickened or restricted.

For another person, the scar itself might feel reasonably comfortable, but there may be puckering, indentation or tethering that they would like to improve.

Scar massage may be used to help:

Improve scar and tissue mobility.
We can work with the scar and surrounding tissues to encourage better movement between the different tissue layers.

Reduce feelings of tightness and pulling.
As mobility improves, people may notice that movements which previously pulled through the scar become more comfortable.

Help with sensitivity and altered sensation.
Very gentle sensory work can be particularly useful for scars that are hypersensitive, numb or simply feel strange or unpleasant to touch.

Improve areas of firmness or irregularity.
Scar tissue can sometimes feel thickened, bumpy or uneven. Appropriate massage techniques can be used to work gradually with these areas and improve tissue pliability.

Address puckering, tethering and indentation.
When tissues around a scar become restricted, the skin may appear drawn in or puckered. This can be particularly noticeable following procedures such as mastectomy, breast surgery and some abdominal surgeries.

Improve movement and function.
Ultimately, scar rehabilitation isn't simply about how your scar looks. If a scar is contributing to restriction, treatment should consider how the whole area moves and functions.

And sometimes appearance improves as the underlying tissues become more mobile too.

Scar massage should not hurt

This is one of the most important things I want people to understand.

Scar massage does not have to be painful to work.

You do not need to grit your teeth while somebody aggressively pulls, pinches or rolls your scar.

There may occasionally be an awareness of working on an area that is mildly tender or restricted, but treatment should generally feel comfortable and manageable.

Afterwards, your scar shouldn't be left significantly red, painful or irritated.

When I treat a scar, I'm continually assessing how the tissues respond while also checking in with the person I'm treating.

How does that feel?

Is that pressure comfortable?

Does this area feel different?

Is that too much?

Treatment can then be adjusted accordingly.

This is particularly important for somebody who hasn't yet felt comfortable touching their scar — or perhaps hasn't even wanted to look at it.

Your starting point doesn't have to be somebody else's starting point.

What if I don't like touching my scar?

This is much more common than people realise.

Some people are perfectly happy to start working with their scar themselves. Others feel apprehensive about touching it. Some dislike the sensation. And for others, a scar is connected with a difficult birth, cancer treatment, an accident or a major period of trauma in their life.

You don't have to jump immediately into deep massage.

👉 We can start with something as simple as placing a hand over the area, working around rather than directly over the scar, or introducing very gentle sensory input.

A trained scar therapist can gradually introduce techniques at a level that feels manageable for you.

Some people prefer their therapist to do most of the treatment. Others like learning techniques they can use themselves between appointments.

Both are completely valid.

When can I start scar massage?

As a general guide, direct scar massage is usually introduced once the wound is fully closed and healed, with no open areas, wound breakdown or signs of infection.

For many uncomplicated surgical scars, this may be somewhere around six to eight weeks after surgery, but there isn't one date that is appropriate for everybody.

The type of surgery you've had, wound healing, complications and other medical treatments can all influence when and how treatment should begin.

This is particularly important if you are undergoing or have recently completed treatments such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

If you're unsure, a suitably trained scar therapist can assess the area and advise you on whether it's appropriate to begin and what level of treatment is suitable.

Is it too late to massage an old scar?

The simple answer: No.

I see plenty of people with scars that are several years old.

There is, however, a difference between working with a relatively recent scar and working with a mature, established one.

Scar tissue continues to change and remodel for a considerable period after an injury or operation, often well beyond the point when the skin looks healed.

During this more active phase of healing, relatively gentle techniques may be enough to influence mobility and comfort.

A mature scar is generally more stable and less physiologically active, so changes may take longer and the techniques we use may be different.

But there can also be an advantage to working with a mature scar: if it is no longer painful or sensitive, someone may comfortably tolerate techniques that work more directly with deeper restrictions.

So if your surgery was five, ten or even twenty years ago, don't automatically assume you've missed your opportunity.

It may simply require a different approach.

What does scar massage actually involve?

This is where scar massage becomes much more interesting than simply “rubbing the scar”.

There are many different techniques.

Some work primarily with the skin and very superficial tissues. Others target deeper layers.

We might use techniques designed to gently mobilise the scar in different directions, lift tissues, encourage movement between layers, work with areas of restriction or introduce different sensory inputs.

For someone with altered sensation, I may even recommend simple things such as a soft make-up brush, cotton wool or different fabric textures as part of their home programme.

Something that gentle can still have a purpose.

The important thing isn't doing the most impressive-looking technique.

It's choosing the right input for that particular scar at that particular stage of recovery.

Can you massage your own scar?

Absolutely — and for many people, this is an important part of scar rehabilitation.

Once you've been shown what is appropriate for your scar, treatment at home doesn't necessarily need to involve a long massage session.

In fact, I often prefer the idea of little and often.

A few manageable minutes that become part of your routine can be much more realistic than expecting yourself to complete a long treatment session every day.

👉 Having an initial assessment with a scar therapist can also take away much of the uncertainty.

You can understand what you're feeling underneath your fingers, which techniques are appropriate, how much pressure to use and what changes you're looking for.

Most importantly, you can feel confident that you're not going to hurt your scar by doing it yourself.

Are there tools that can be used for scar massage?

Yes.

Hands are incredibly useful, but scar rehabilitation can also incorporate different tools depending on what we're trying to achieve.

One example is a small silicone suction cup.

Unlike traditional massage, where pressure is generally directed into the tissues, suction creates negative pressure and gently lifts the superficial tissues away from the layers underneath.

This can be particularly useful when we want to encourage movement between tissues that feel tethered or restricted.

Small massage tools may also be used for specific techniques, while very simple objects such as brushes or different fabric textures can be useful for sensory work.

Again, more equipment doesn't necessarily mean better treatment.

The tool needs to match the problem.

What is LymphaTouch®?

In my clinic, I also use LymphaTouch® as part of scar rehabilitation where appropriate.

LymphaTouch uses controlled negative pressure to gently lift the skin and superficial tissues rather than pressing down into them. Treatment can also incorporate vibration.

One of the advantages over a simple suction cup is the ability to precisely control the amount of negative pressure being applied.

For example, we can begin at a pressure that feels comfortable and appropriate for that person's tissues and adjust it very gradually over subsequent treatments.

The machine also has different-sized treatment heads, allowing us to work very precisely around a small area or distribute the effect across a larger surface area.

It doesn't replace hands-on scar therapy. Rather, it gives us another way of working with tissues, particularly when lifting and mobilising restricted layers may be useful.

At home, appropriately selected manual techniques or suction cups may sometimes be incorporated into your programme, whereas LymphaTouch treatment itself is carried out during a clinical session.

What about scars following radiotherapy?

Scar and tissue changes following cancer treatment require some additional consideration.

Radiotherapy can affect not only the scar itself but the surrounding tissues, and radiation fibrosis may develop following treatment.

Manual therapy and rehabilitation can have a role for some people experiencing these changes, but the timing and type of treatment need to take account of your cancer treatment and individual circumstances.

I'll be covering radiation fibrosis and rehabilitation in a separate article because it deserves a discussion of its own.

Why aren't we talking more about scar rehabilitation?

This is something I find myself thinking about frequently.

Consider how much trauma and change the tissues may have experienced through surgery, injury, burns, cancer treatment or radiotherapy.

But once the wound has closed, you may simply be told that everything has healed, and that you're good to go! Even though your scar still feels tight, painful, numb, sensitive, puckered or unlike the rest of your body.

There can be another stage of recovery after wound healing.

Scar rehabilitation is conservative, can often incorporate simple self-management strategies and, once you've been shown what is appropriate for you, much of your scar care may be something you can continue yourself.

Your scar doesn't need to be causing severe problems before it's worth paying attention to.

Sometimes the goal is reducing pain.

Sometimes it's restoring movement.

Sometimes it's improving an indentation or area of puckering.

And sometimes it's simply reaching the point where your scar feels comfortable and like part of your body again.

Would you like help with your scar?

If you're unsure what your scar needs, or you've been trying to massage it yourself but aren't sure whether you're doing the right thing, I can assess your scar and create an individual treatment and self-management plan for you.

📅 In-person scar assessments are available with me at The Scar Expert in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

📅 Online scar consultations are also available if you're further away and would like guidance on your scar, appropriate self-treatment techniques and what you can safely work on at home.

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I hope this was helpful! Don't forget to check the full range of resources on my website (here) and my YouTube channel (here) for more ✌️

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