08/20/2026
🩹🌿 LYMPHIE… THE SCAR YOU SEE ISN’T ALWAYS THE WHOLE SCAR STORY.
We look at a scar and think:
“It healed.”
The wound closed.
The stitches came out.
The redness disappeared.
But underneath that little line, your body may have spent months rebuilding and remodelling tissue.
And here’s what I really want you to understand:
🔬 Not all scars heal or behave in the same way.
Let’s look at 5 different scar patterns 👇🏼
🌿 1. FLAT / MATURE SCAR
Over time, many scars become flatter, softer and paler as collagen continues to remodel.
The surface may look completely healed, while the mobility and organisation of deeper tissue can still differ depending on the original injury or surgery.
🌿 2. HYPERTROPHIC SCAR
This is a raised, thickened scar caused by increased collagen deposition during healing.
The important clue?
👉🏼 It remains within the boundaries of the original wound.
🌿 3. KELOID SCAR
A keloid behaves differently.
It grows beyond the original wound edges due to abnormal scar proliferation and excessive collagen deposition.
Keloids can continue enlarging after the original wound has healed.
🌿 4. ATROPHIC / DEPRESSED SCAR
These scars sit below the surrounding skin.
They develop when tissue repair results in loss or inadequate replacement of dermal collagen and supporting tissue.
Acne and chickenpox can leave this type of scar.
🌿 5. ADHERENT / TETHERED SCAR
Now THIS is an important one when we’re looking at tissue mobility. 👀
Sometimes the scar on the surface looks tiny…
…but deeper scar tissue can become attached or tethered to the tissues underneath.
This may influence:
🩷 Tissue glide
🩷 Mobility
🩷 Sensation
🩷 Comfort around the scar
🩷 Local tissue and fluid mechanics
And now we get to the part my LYMPHIES need to understand…
💚 WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH LYMPH?
Your superficial lymphatic vessels form an incredible network throughout the tissues beneath your skin.
When we have surgery or significant trauma, we’re not only cutting through the visible skin.
Depending on the procedure and depth, there may be disruption to:
🔬 Skin
🔬 Connective tissue
🔬 Fascia
🔬 Small blood vessels
🔬 Nerves
🔬 Lymphatic vessels
🔬 And, during certain procedures, lymph nodes themselves
Then the body begins repairing.
Inflammation occurs.
Fibroblasts become active.
Collagen is deposited.
The wound closes.
And then the scar continues remodelling for months.
But please remember this part:
❌ A scar does NOT automatically mean your lymphatic system is “blocked.”
We cannot look at a scar and make that assumption.
However, depending on the location and depth of the injury, type of surgery, degree of fibrosis, and whether lymphatic vessels or nodes were damaged or removed, healing can sometimes affect local lymphatic transport.
That is why your surgical history matters when we’re looking at swelling.
Sometimes we need to ask more than:
“Where are you swollen?”
We also need to ask:
🌿 Where have you had surgery?
🌿 Where are your scars?
🌿 Were lymph nodes removed?
🌿 Have you received radiation therapy?
🌿 Does the scar feel tight, painful, numb or tethered?
🌿 Has the tissue around it changed?
Because sometimes…
the little scar we can SEE is only part of what happened underneath the skin.
Healing can leave lasting changes within our tissues — and understanding those changes can help us understand the bigger clinical picture. 💚
👇🏼 LYMPHIE QUESTION
Do you have an old scar that still feels tight, numb, sensitive, raised, hard or “stuck”?
Tell us what you’ve noticed. I think we’re going to be surprised by how many Lymphies experience this. 🌿
⚕️ DISCLAIMER:
This post is for general education and awareness only and is not intended to diagnose or treat scar tissue, fibrosis or lymphatic dysfunction. Not every scar affects lymphatic drainage, and scar appearance alone cannot determine what is happening in the tissues underneath. New, rapidly changing, unexpectedly growing, persistently painful, inflamed, bleeding or ulcerated scars should be assessed by an appropriate healthcare professional. If you have had cancer treatment, lymph-node surgery or radiation therapy, scar and lymphatic management should be individualised with your treating healthcare team.
🌿 Lymphatica
Lymphatic Therapy & Body Detox
