For fourteen years I’ve had low-grade low back pain. Not enough to really get in the way of my life, but enough to get me to the RMT now and then, and enough to keep me going to yoga regularly.
When it flares up, I always blame it on driving too much, sitting too much, not getting to yoga enough, not stretching enough, etc.
Until recently.
I was in the office of Dr. Jen Fawcett, DC, a chiropractor here in Collingwood, and we started discussing the use of Graston Technique for scar therapy.
Graston Technique employs the use of stainless steel tools to rub adhesions in the muscles and scars in the connective tissue to promote the healing and reintegration of the tissue. Dr. Jen said she used it a lot on post-surgical scars, and I told her I had a C-section scar, and that since the birth of my daughter I’d had a hard time building core strength. She suggested we treat the scar and see what happens.
Keep in mind, I hadn’t even told her about the back pain – it was something I had just come to accept as part of my everyday life. But several days after my first treatment, I was halfway through a yoga class and realized that my low back didn’t hurt when I stood up from a forward bend. Then I realized I had spent all weekend driving and my back didn’t hurt either. Then I realized I had been up and down out of my chair all day at the office and never moaned like an old lady once.
WOW! One treatment of a 14-year-old scar and a daily pain seemed to be magically gone. Since then, I have had two more treatments and my daily low back pain has not returned. I couldn’t be happier.
Do You Have a C-Section Scar?
Coincidentally, another Collingwood-based health care professional is doing a research study on the exact same issue.
One of our local RMT’s, Colin McArthur, is currently working towards becoming an osteopath. His senior research project is to study of effect of scar therapy for C-section scars on low back pain and range of motion.
Based on my experience, it was a no-brainer to help him spread the word.
If you are a women between 20 and 45 years old, have had a transverse C-section, or what’s called a bikini line scar, and NO other abdominal or back surgeries, are 12 months post-partum and NOT using an IUD and most importantly are experiencing low back pain or a decreased range of motion in your back, contact:
Colin McArthur
705-888-0182
[email protected]
You may be eligible to be part of his study. In return, those who fit the study criteria will get free scar therapy, as well as a full osteopathic treatment at the end of the study period.