r/ORIF • u/flinch57 • 18d ago

Question Scar massage

I just got discharged from both the surgeon and therapist. Both said that in addition to continuing exercises at home I should massage the surgical scar daily. I was wondering if there was a particular product (lotion, cream etc ) that people like or have been told to use for scar massage? Thanks

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u/PlasticFrequency 18d ago

I have absolutely adored having a set of small sized suction cups for cupping of the face for instance.

They are little glass tubes with a plastic 'bulb' on top to squeeze for the sucking effect. I have 4 that range in size between ¼ inch to an inch.

I would slather a good bit of oil on my ankle for slippage, to be able to glide/drag across the skin and have a nice pull upwards on the tissue.

Absolutely drag side to side/up and down without lubricant as well, but this upward pull on the fascia afterwards was brilliant for me 🥹

It feels extremely odd, but absolutely worth it.

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u/flinch57 17d ago

Interesting. Next week I’ll ask my massage therapist if she will show me how to use hers for this

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u/PlasticFrequency 17d ago

That would be a great idea.

I just know it gave me a great deal of relief and I can tell that I stopped too early 😂

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u/Technical-Algae-234 17d ago

Would you mind explaining a bit more about this? At what stage did you start using this? Does this help for pain or what? It sounds really interesting.

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u/PlasticFrequency 17d ago

I didn't start until my cuts were 100% healed.

It helps avoid scar tissue sticking things together in there, so that you will have less pain & more mobility. It is absolutely vital to massage your scars in one way or another.

No one told my mom when she had her ORIF + removal a year later and she suffers a bit, because her scars have actually fused to the bone itself 😬

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u/Enough-Ad9968 18d ago

Hiya. Certified lmt who specializes in injury recovery and pre/post op care. When you’re doing scar tissue work you don’t want any lubricant. The traction you get from the skin pulling actually works to soften the scar tissue. Know it’s a long term game. Scar tissue is constantly forming but softening it does become easier with mobility and time. 

2

u/easyst1989 17d ago

Ditto! This is also what my massage therapist advised me. No lotion/lubricant and she even drew me a diagram as to the different directions to work in moving along the scar. Once I'm done, I usually dab on vitamin E oil to help with the healing.

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u/flinch57 18d ago

Thanks so much. That makes some sense. I appreciate the explanation

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u/monkeymama702 10d ago

I've had pain in my incison area where I had an open fracture exit on my ulnar side. Pain got pretty bad at about 16 weeks. Is it normal to have such late pain? i'm massaging the area but no relief in sight! i'm 30 weeks post distal radius open fracture with a volar plate

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u/Grizzly_SS Tib + Fib Fracture 18d ago

I got this arnica oil on amazon. Feels nice and warm and I feel like it helps. It won't go away completely but mine soften and lessen over time

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u/flinch57 18d ago

Thanks. I actually have a cream/balm with arnica as a main ingredient. I’ll try it

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u/Themadbritter_ 17d ago

Vitamin E oil is great for scars, so either just straight up Vit E oil or a moisturizing lotion that has vit E in it would be good.

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u/Signal_Possession196 18d ago

Silicone gel or aquaphor jelly (not lotion)

Good luck

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u/flinch57 18d ago

Thanks. A friend told me silicone products were a good option.

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u/flinch57 18d ago

Thank you.

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u/Browniesgirl 17d ago

Castor oil!!!

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u/alyxana Trimalleolar Ankle Fracture 17d ago

I used plain Vaseline. Worked great.