Many people worry about scars from a cosmetic point of view, because they feel that they are unsightly, but they can also have a direct and dramatic impact on health, because they can interfere with the energy flow in the body causing lasting damage.

The acupuncture meridians form part of the underlying energy system of the body. Imbalances in this system can lead to acute or chronic ill health as the life force energy or “Chi” is not fed correctly to the tissues and cells of the physical body. In classical oriental medicine there are 14 major meridian lines. There are two meridian lines on the midline of the body: the governing vessel running up the back of the torso and the central or conception vessel running up the front of the torso. The other 12 meridians all run bilaterally. These meridians have the names of specific organs, e.g. the liver meridian, the small intestine meridian, but do not necessarily run on the body in the area of the organ. The acupuncture meridians can relate directly to the health of the internal organ associated with it.

Ideally the meridian energy system is in dynamic balance, changing and re-balancing according to internal and external circumstances. However, for many people the meridian energy is more often out of balance than in balance, leading to health problems. Many things can lead to imbalances in the meridian energy, including psychological stress, pollution, inadequate nutrition, etc.

What is less well recognised is that scars can affect the meridian energy flow. Obviously the larger the scar the more likely it is to run across a meridian, but even a small scar can have a devastating effect if it runs across a meridian, particularly if it crosses an acupuncture point.

Health kinesiology has a specific technique for correcting energy imbalances in scars. The scars 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. Muscle testing is first used to establish that it is necessary and appropriate to correct the energy imbalance in a particular scar. The client then has to place part of their hand or hands [often the tip or pad of one or more fingers] on the scar. The exact part of the hand to use and the exact point on the scar to touch are established through muscle testing. The practitioner also establishes through muscle testing which acupuncture points need to be held to bring the disturbed energy back into permanent balance. This technique, one of many powerful procedures at the disposal of the Health Kinesiology practitioner, takes minutes to perform but can result in a life time’s benefit for the client.

As well as the direct benefit in terms of health, Health Kinesiology scar corrections can result in improvements in the cosmetic appearance of the scar. When the scar is causing energy disturbance it often does not heal well: it may continue to look red and raised long after the normal healing process should be complete. In addition many people report what is known as altered sensation in the region of such a scar. This is where the area feels unusually cold or numb even though there appears no physical reason for these sensations. Often after the Health Kinesiology treatment for the scar there will be pain, tingling, heat and increased redness in the area; sometimes small spots will appear along the scar line. These reactions, if they occur at all, usually only last a day or two. The end result is usually that the scar feels more comfortable and looks much better. Clients will often say that the scar now feels like it is part of their body rather than something separate.

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. 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 indeed 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 which 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.

A small child, David, provided a wonderful example of the benefits that can be achieved when scars are repaired energetically. He was born with an exomphalos, which means that the midline of the body does not join and some of the internal organs are outside the body. At the time David was born many children died from this condition, and he needed immediate major surgery, so he is lucky to be alive. He was left with a very large scar [over 7 inches long] plus some subsidiary scarring also on his torso. There are several meridians running up and down the torso: the central meridian, the liver meridian, the kidney meridian, the spleen meridian and the stomach meridians. I first used Health Kinesiology on him when he was 8 years old. The main scar from his birth was still red and raised with a lot of keloidal tissue. He had a very small appetite and preferred to eat little and often rather than having a normal meal. His mother had difficulty finding trousers which were comfortable for him to wear because the waist bands tended to rub the scar. He was also severely dyslexic.

After working on this scar David’s dyslexia improved dramatically, the redness disappeared and much of the keloidal tissue was reabsorbed. He also started to eat more. When his mother discussed this with him, he told her that he used to feel that his stomach would burst open if he ate a lot. [He had thought this was normal because it had always been the case for him]. Doing the energy work on his scar has changed all that. It has also improved the energy flow through the torso meridians in general and through the central meridian in particular. Interestingly the central meridian is involved with the brain, so this may be the reason for the dramatic improvement in his dyslexia. There is still a distinctive scar there, but it no longer causes him any discomfort.

Scar work can sometimes lead to scars disappearing altogether. A teenager came to see me, 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 done], the scar had completely disappeared, much to the amazement of my client. 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 checking 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 and 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. I carried on with further HK work and Alice became progressively calmer, less obsessive and more self confident. She also lost 2 stone in weight.

HK techniques can be used with dramatic benefit for scars: they can help to improve the physical appearance of scars, allow the scarred area to feel more comfortable and improve the energy flow so enhancing overall health. I look forward to the day when part of the preparation for an operation will involve establishing the least energetically disturbing place to cut the skin, and energy work to repair any unavoidable damage will be a normal part of post-operative care.

Originally published in 'SE/SW Connection'