Muscle scar tissue can be caused from various different factors, but no matter how the injury occurs, they are formed through a series of three steps. Blunt trauma to the muscle can cause fibrosis tissues to form, as can repetitive use injuries, and surgery when it is performed. Fibrosis tissues form a web around the injured area in an attempt to support the muscle while it heals itself. The three step process begins with the injury and inflammation of the muscle, then the repair stage where the web is formed around the adhesion, and then the final stage is the healing process that the body will go through in order to return the muscle to normal levels of use. During the second stage of this medical process the scar tissue will begin to form, and as the body heals, will form into permanent scar tissue.
The first stage of the formation of muscle scar tissue begins with the injury or inflammation. This can be caused by a direct injury to the muscle, causing it to rip or tear. It can also be caused by repetitive usage which weakens them until they become injured, and the final way to injure a muscle is after surgery. In all three of these instances the muscle will rip or tear, causing a point within the body that needs to immediately be protected and repaired.
Once the injury has happened, and the inflammation begins, the body will replace the injured cells with fibrosis tissue and collagen. The fibrosis tissue forms into a web like pattern, stretching across the width and length of the injured muscle in order to support and protect it. This web, along with the collagen, is used to effectively replace the damaged cells within the muscle until they can be healed properly. These dead cells, commonly called an adhesion, lack oxygen which forms into muscle scar tissue.
With the repair phase completed, the muscles will begin to heal themselves in an attempt to return to the pre-injury levels of use. The muscle scar tissue will usually remain unless it is worked out through physical therapy and hot or cold treatments, but even then will be permanent. The therapy procedures simply help the muscle gain strength, prevent any further injuries to occur, and helps to break up the adhesions which will decrease the size and amount of muscle scar tissue that remains after the healing process is completed.