Character creation/scar tissue question

[Parrothead]

I am writing a character who was beaten/whipped badly in her childhood. Question the first: Would most of her back as an adult be covered in whip scars? Question the second: Would scarring like that affect her range of motion/flexibility?

Subset of questions to that (sorta): If she had cut her palm on a shard of glass (picking it up to stab someone, A la "Black Swan"), would her hand be borked up years later?

Thanks in advance!

[iradney]

I think it depends on a number of factors such as, how deep were the cuts? Were they properly treated afterwards? Was there any infection?

Superficial cuts may leave thin white scars that will fade over time, deeper cuts will leave thicker scar tissue. If it got infected, it may even get to keloid scarring.

Unless her entire back is keloid scarring, I don't think it would affect her range of motion too terribly much - she may not be able to do advanced yoga or anything though.

As for the palm cut - again, depends on the depth, treatment etc. And also whether any tendons were cut as well.

My point of reference: I have a 1 inch long mole removal scar on my lower back from primary school age. It's a relatively thick scar, but still flexible.

[Sundassa]

I would concur on what iradney said. The scars are going to depend on severity of the wound and how it was treated, mobility is going to depend on how she has moved thusfar. If due to the whips she babied her back, she might not have moved it much in different directions, and therefore her muscles would be tightened to the point that moving in these new directions would hurt. If she continued as normal afterwards, then she would have worked out the tightness already and have a normal range of motion. If the whip wounds were all the way down in the muscle and not just on the surface area, then she might have scarring in the muscle where it isn't seen and that might make working out the tightness more difficult at first. But it all depends on the wound type, and how it was treated and exercised.

[Sapphire Silk]

I am writing a character who was beaten/whipped badly in her childhood. Question the first: Would most of her back as an adult be covered in whip scars? Question the second: Would scarring like that affect her range of motion/flexibility?

Subset of questions to that (sorta): If she had cut her palm on a shard of glass (picking it up to stab someone, A la "Black Swan"), would her hand be borked up years later?

Thanks in advance!

It really does depend on the character's genetic background. Some people, especially of African descent, have a tendency to form "Keloid" scar tissue that can in fact restrict ones mobility. How deep the injury went, whether or not it got infected, will also determine the amount of scarring that takes place.

Same thing goes for the hand injury; did it cut deep enough to create a thick scar, or did it actually cut tendons that either weren't repaired, or weren't repaired properly.

The answer depends on your creative needs.