What is Myofascial Release?
Myofascial release (MFR) is a powerful massage technique that works primarily with the fascia of the body, MFR often works on musculoskeletal pain whose cause is hard to identify through standard medical tests. This is because the fascia can put tremendous force on sensitive body structures like nerves and joints, but that pressure does not show up on scans like X Rays or MRIs. What has become very clear through recent research is that most musculoskeletal pain has a strong fascial component. We have also seen that fascia does not respond well to deep pressure or aggressive stretching.
MFR uses careful “listening” to understand where this connective tissue is stuck, tense or inflamed. We then follow the body’s cues to help facilitate release in the way your body needs it on that particular day. I will use only enough pressure to engage the layer of tissue where there is dysfunction and using slow mindful movements help the tissues to release. MFR is a profoundly effective technique for releasing deep tensions that just never seem to go away. It helps restore balance and creates releases that tend to hold much longer than simply pressing where it hurts. MFR is also supportive for people who have been traumatized physically or emotionally since this technique hones your bodies implicit boundaries working with them instead of pushing through them.
What is Fascia?
Most of us have heard of heard of the digestive system and the nervous system, we even know a thing or two about the bones and muscles. But have you heard of the fascial system? Fascia is a connective tissue whose functions and purposes are still being explored by medical science. We do know that when it’s healthy it helps hold things in place while also allowing layers of tissue to slip and slide past each other as you move. But just like any other body system it can get damaged or have dysfunction. That’s where myofascial release comes in.
Fascia is the most abundant connective tissue in the body. It wraps Every muscle fiber in every muscle coming together at the ends of muscles to make your tendons. Fascia is what hangs your organs in their proper places and helps your nerves stay on the right track. Fascia even seems to be part of our body’s internal communication system separate from the brain and nerves!
If you have ever deboned a chicken you have seen fascia, it looks like a silvery covering to the meat or you may have seen the fibrous stuff connecting the skin to the meat, that was fascia too! Fascia is the most abundant tissue in the body and it is a unifying force. You have large sheets of fascia that run from the tips of our toes up to the top of your head and out to your arms. Think of it like lots of overlapping spiderwebs in the body where the connections can shift and slide instead of being fixed.
Who benefits from Myofascial release?
Myofascial release can help with a wide variety of pain and chronic conditions. Here are a few that I have experience with:
- Headaches & Migraines
- Joint Pain and inflammation
- Low back pain
- Rotator cuff issues
- Digestive issues
- Bulging discs
- Neck pain and injury
- Plantar fasciitis
- Sciatica
- Scar tissue
- Whiplash
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Jaw pain/TMJD
- Nerve entrapment
- And much more!
Myofascial Release Resources
If you would like to know more about MFR below are some links to articles and research related to this modality.