Internal scar tissue is formed as a result of some surgical procedures, such as hartmann’s procedure, injury, inflammation or infection.
The medical term for internal scarring is “adhesion”. It is different from external scar tissue in the way that it forms. As it can cause tethers or a biological barrier, and result in pain and complications.
It is caused by your body’s own healing process. When the damaged tissue begins to heal, it joins to other tissues. An adhesion is formed when the scar tissues joins two other internal surfaces which are not normally connected. Adhesions may appear as thin sheets of tissue similar to plastic wrap or as thick fibrous bands, the medical term for this is “tethering” It can form within your reproductive organs, such as your ovaries and fallopian tubes, your bowel, your spine or any other area within your body.
Adhesions can cause a multitude of problems such as pelvic pain, infertility or bowel obstruction. Tethering of the lumbar nerve root by fibrous adhesions is the main factor in back pain and leg pain.
When the internal scar tissue results in a tether, the tissue goes beyond the area that was cut during surgery and a biological barrier is created where the scar tissue forms a wall that does not heal properly. Tethers and biological barriers, result in pain as they pull internal tissue out of place.
Adhesions related disorder (ARD) is a condition that involves a group of symptoms that can include chronic pain, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), infertility, bowel obstruction, urinary bladder dysfunction, painful and difficult bowel movements and emotional disorders such as depression and pain.
Because the symptoms of ARD are similar to other conditions, sometimes diagnosis is difficult.