MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
What is it? How does it work?
Introduction
Myofascial Release is generally an extremely mild and gentle form of stretching
that has profound effect upon the body tissues. Because of its gentleness, many
individuals wonder how it could possibly work. To help you understand, we are
providing you with this article.
Fascia
Fascia (also called connective tissue) is a tissue system of the body to which
relatively little attention has been given in the past. Fascia is composed of
two types of fibers: A) Collagenous fibers, which are very tough and have little
stretchability B) Elastic fibers, which are stretchable. From the functional
point of view, the body fascia may be regarded as a continuous laminated sheet
of connective tissue that extends without interruption from the top of the head
to the tip of the toes. It surrounds and invades every other tissue and organ
of the body, including nerves, vessels muscle and bone. It has been estimated
that fascia has a tensile strength of as much as 2000 pounds per square inch.
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When Fascia is Injured
Myofascial restrictions do not show up on any of the standard tests (x-rays,
CAT scans, MRI’s etc) so these myofascial restrictions have been
ignored or misdiagnosed. Because fascia permeates all regions of the body
and is all interconnected, when scars harden in one area (following injury,
inflammation, disease, surgery, etc.) it can put tension on adjacent pain-sensitive
structures as well as on structures in far-away areas. Some patients have
bizarre pain symptoms that appear to be unrelated to the original or primary
complaint. These bizarre symptoms can now often be understood in relationship
to our understanding of the fascial system.
Hypothetical back trauma reaches up and out, placing
pressure on distant structures |
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Anatomy of Fascia
The majority of the fascia of the body is oriented vertically. There are,
however, four major planes of fascia in the body that are oriented in more
of a crosswise (or transverse) plane. These four transverse planes are extremely
dense. They are called the pelvic floor, respiratory diaphragm, thoracic
inlet and cranial base. Frequently, all four of these transverse planes
will become restricted when fascial adhesions occur in just about any part
of the body. This is because this fascia of the body is all interconnected,
and a restriction in one region can theoretically put a “drag”
on the fascia in any other direction, like the yarn in a sweater. If the
sweater is pulled down in the front, it tightens around the neck, but the
neck is not the source of the problem; so with the fascial system, but in
a three dimensional sense.
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Treating Fascial Restrictions
The point of all the above information is to help you understand that
during myofascial release treatments, you may be treated in areas that
you may not think are related to your condition. The trained therapist
has a thorough understanding of the fascial system and will “release”
the fascia in areas that he/she knows have a strong “drag”
on your area of injury. This is, therefore, a whole body approach to treatment.
Muscle provides the greatest bulk of our body’s soft tissue. Because
all muscle is enveloped by and ingrained with fascia, myofascial release
is the term that has been given to the techniques that are used to relieve
soft tissue from the abnormal grip of tight fascia (“myo”
means “Muscle”).
The type of myofascial release technique given by the therapist will
depend upon where in your body the therapist finds the fascia restricted.
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The therapist needs to be use “skin to skin” contact to provide
the friction interface needed to release the fascia effectively. Therefore,
the patient should be “comfortably undressed”, wearing, for example
a two piece bathing suit, pants and bra or gym shorts and sports bra / tank
top.
Myofascial Release treatment sessions are often extremely relaxing. There may
or may not be conversation with the therapist, however the therapist encourages
the patient to be present and aware of sensations within their body. Feedback
from the patient to the therapist regarding what they are feeling helps the
therapist to be as effective as possible.
Sometimes, but not always, there is a temporary increase in pain after treatment.
There is no cause for alarm, but certainly notify the therapist. This period
of the “healing crisis” is then followed by remarkable improvement.
Often remarkable improvement is noted immediately during or after a treatment.
Sometimes new pains in new areas will be experienced. There is sometimes a feeling
of light-headedness or nausea. Sometimes a patient experiences a temporary emotion
change. All of these are normal reactions of the body to the profound, but positive,
changes that have occurred by releasing the fascial restrictions. Any and all
of these reactions should be communicated with the therapist.
It is felt that release of tight tissue is accompanied by release of trapped
metabolic waste products in the surrounding tissue and bloodstream. We highly
recommend that you “flush your system” by drinking a lot of fluids
during the course of your treatments, so that reactions like nausea and light-headedness
will remain minimal or nil.
If you have any questions concerning myofascial release, please discuss them
with your therapist.
