Myofascial release and pain relief

Myofascial release and pain relief

Myofascial release is a therapy that aims to release restrictions in the fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds the muscles and muscle fibers. It is both superficial, running just under the skin and surrounding the entire muscle, and deep, surrounding each individual muscle fiber.

It consists of three components that provide a combination of elasticity and strength as well as shock absorption. It supports the muscles and serves as a channel for the nerves and blood vessels. This means that the nerves and blood vessels are located in this connective tissue.

As a result of injury, trauma, poor posture, and inflammation, the fascia can bind together and put too much pressure on muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. Pressure that can cause pain. Myofascial release attempts to relieve this pain or tension by releasing restrictions in the fascia.

Because fascia is three-dimensional and is located throughout the body, a restriction in one area can cause a problem in another area. When an area of ​​the body is restricted in movement, the muscles above or below that point or on the other side can take up the slack and work harder than they were intended.

I have worked on more than one person with hip or back pain on one side that had as much or more tension on the other side. This is because the side that is now injured has compensated for the lack of movement on the other side. And over time, the muscles that were compensating became overused, causing additional pain or dysfunction.

The release occurs through a low-force, long-lasting stretch. Very light pressure is used in combination with a stretch lasting 90 seconds to about 3 minutes or longer. The theory is that this low-force, long-duration stretch causes the restrictions to gradually release and the connective tissue returns to its normal length.

One of the advantages of this work is the lack of pain. Deep tissue massage and ART can sometimes be very painful. For chronic injuries, some form of deep tissue work is usually performed prior to this stretch to break down adhesions in the elastic fibers and/or release tension in the body's nervous system.

The theory is that the restrictions are too severe to fully resolve with deep tissue work and require this prolonged stretch to completely change the fascia. One of the main developers of this technique is physiotherapist John Barnes, who has been working with this technique for more than 30 years.

I have used this technique with people in clinical settings and have used it elsewhere with good results. I have had very good success with these headaches. Since most headaches are due to excessive tension in the neck and shoulders, the work is usually done after the massage to relax the muscles.

For those who are currently suffering from severe headaches, such as: For example, if it is an 8 or 9 on a pain scale of 1 to 10, this may not work. For most others, the headache is gone or significantly reduced within 5-10 minutes. It also works in other areas of the body.

It is used by some physical therapists and massage therapists and also works well with a chiropractic adjustment. At a chiropractic clinic where I worked, I worked with a man whose neck was turned to the side and very stiff, with some uncontrolled shaking. He went to a regional hospital and a nationally known clinic, both of which tried different things with little success.

When I first worked on him, his neck felt like a brick, without the soft tissue feeling that a normal person would have. By combining deep tissue work with myofascial release and adjustments, he gradually made changes to his neck. This took some time and more practice to get him to function better. Not perfect, but definitely better than before.

So if you have a high pain tolerance and not a lot of patience, you can try active release (ART) or myofascial release, which may take a little longer but is also very effective. Myofascial release can occur with less pressure in both acute injuries (that have occurred recently) and in the elderly. Active release is intended for chronic injuries.

It should not be used in patients with aneurysm, acute rheumatoid arthritis, uncontrolled diabetes, open wounds, or bone fractures.

It is intended to be used in conjunction with exercise and other forms of therapy to achieve optimal results. A very nice addition is joint mobility training.

Inspired by Brian Morgan