Conditions

Understanding Scar Pain

Scar pain occurs when a healed surgical or traumatic wound becomes painful, sensitive, or tight, sometimes long after the skin has closed. It may result from nerve injury, inflammation, or fibrosis (thickened scar tissue) that traps small nerves beneath the skin. In some cases, the pain persists even though the scar looks completely healed.

Scar pain can affect any part of the body, especially following operations, burns, caesarean section, hernia repair, mastectomy, or joint surgery. Pain may remain localised or radiate into nearby regions, depending on the nerves involved.

Typical symptoms include:

  • Burning, stabbing, or shooting pain around or near the scar
  • Tingling, numbness, or hypersensitivity to touch or clothing
  • Itching, tightness, or pulling sensations
  • Pain that worsens with movement or pressure
  • Emotional distress due to cosmetic changes or discomfort

While some scars improve with time, others become persistently painful and require specialist treatment to calm nerve irritation and soften the surrounding tissue.

Wessex Pain Clinic

How We Diagnose

At Wessex Pain Clinic, diagnosis begins with a comprehensive consultation and examination. Our consultants assess the appearance, texture, and tenderness of the scar, and test for nerve sensitivity or entrapment.

We may arrange:

  • Ultrasound imaging
  • Diagnostic local anaesthetic injections to confirm whether the pain arises from a specific nerve or the scar tissue itself
  • MRI scans if deeper structures (muscles, joints, or organs) may be involved
  • Collaboration with surgical teams if required

This careful assessment identifies both the mechanical and nerve-related components of scar pain, allowing a personalised treatment plan to be developed.

Wessex Pain Clinic
Lifestyle and Complementary Therapies

Our specialist physiotherapists and rehabilitation partners support recovery by improving scar flexibility and function. Treatment may include:

  • Scar and soft tissue mobilisation techniques
  • Desensitisation and stretching exercises
  • Postural and movement re-education to restore normal mobility

Our pain psychology partners help patients manage the emotional aspects of chronic pain, especially following visible scars or traumatic injury, using CBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based approaches.

This multidisciplinary care model ensures not only pain relief but also improved tissue health, mobility, and body confidence.
At Wessex Pain Clinic, we work as a team and meet regularly to discuss complex, treatment resistant or unusual cases. As such you will often receive the expertise of several pain consultants. We believe that we are one of very few pain clinics to offer this.

Medications

We may prescribe:

  • Neuropathic pain medications such as amitriptyline, duloxetine, pregabalin, or gabapentin to calm irritated nerves
  • Topical treatments including lidocaine or capsaicin patches for localised sensitivity
  • Anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) to reduce swelling and discomfort
Interventional Procedures

Our consultants perform image-guided procedures to target the exact source of pain, including:

  • Scar infiltration with local anaesthetic and corticosteroid to reduce inflammation and sensitivity
  • Peripheral nerve blocks where the scar overlies specific nerve branches (e.g. intercostal, ilioinguinal, genitofemoral)
  • Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of affected nerves for long-term pain modulation
  • Lidocaine infusions to calm central sensitisation and diffuse scar-related pain
  • Trigger point injections for muscular pain caused by compensatory movement patterns
Our management of scar pain is comprehensive, consultant-led, and multidisciplinary, targeting inflammation, nerve hypersensitivity, and restricted tissue mobility.

Treatments at Wessex Pain Clinic

Treatments