Myofascial Release is a therapy designed to release fascia restriction. The fascia is the connective tissue surrounding the muscle and muscle fibers. It is superficial, runs under the skin, surrounds the entire muscle, and deep around each muscle fiber.

It consists of three parts, giving it a combination of elasticity and strength as well as shock absorption. It helps support muscles and acts as a conduit for nerves and blood vessels. This means that nerves and blood vessels are located in this connective tissue.

Due to injuries, trauma, poor posture and inflammation, the fascia may be restrained, exerting excessive pressure on muscles, bones, nerves and blood vessels. Stress can cause pain. Myofascial Release aims to alleviate this pain or tension by releasing restrictions in the fascia.

Since the fascia is three-dimensional and is located throughout all areas of the body, limitations in one area can cause problems in another. If the movement of one area of ​​the body is restricted, the muscles above or below that point, or the muscles on the other side, may take up slack – work harder than they want.

I have had unilateral hip or back pain with more than one person and more or more tension on the other. This is because the injured party has already compensated for the lack of exercise on the other side. Over time, the compensated muscles become overused, causing additional pain or dysfunction.

The release is formed by low force and stretching for a long time. Very light pressure is used in combination with stretching for 90 seconds to about 3 minutes or longer. The theory holds that this low-force, long-term stretching will result in a gradual expansion of the restriction, returning this connective tissue to its normal length.

Therefore, one of the advantages of this work is the lack of pain. Deep tissue massage and ART can sometimes be painful. For chronic injury, some form of deep tissue work is typically performed prior to such stretching to help break up adhesions in the elastic fibers and/or release tension in the body's nervous system.

According to the theory, these limitations are too strong to be completely decomposed by deep tissue work, and this long stretch is required to completely change the fascia. One of the main developers of this technology is the physical therapist John Barnes, who has used this technology for more than 30 years.

I have used this technique for people in the clinical environment and used it elsewhere and achieved good results. I have achieved great success with people who have used it with headaches. Since most headaches are the result of excessive tension in the neck and shoulders, use it to relax muscles after a massage and usually get the job done.

For patients who currently have severe headaches, such as 8 or 9 of the 1-10 pain score, it may not work. For most others, headaches disappear or decrease significantly within 5-10 minutes. It also applies to other parts of the body.

Used by some physiotherapists and massage therapists, it is also suitable for chiropractic adjustments. At a chiropractic clinic I worked for, I worked with a man, his neck turned to one side, very stiff, with some uncontrollable trembling. He went to a regional hospital and a nationally renowned clinic, and they all tried different results.

When I first worked on him, his neck felt like a brick, and there was no soft tissue feeling that normal people would have. He gradually changed his neck by combining deep tissue work with myofascial release and adjustment. It takes some time and further exercise to make him work better. Not perfect, but definitely better than before.

Therefore, if you have high pain tolerance and don't have much patience, you can try active release [ART] or use myofascial release, which may take longer, but it is also very effective. By using less stress, myofascial release can be performed by acute injury [recently occurring] as well as by the elderly. Active release is used for chronic damage.

It cannot be used in people with aneurysms, acute rheumatoid arthritis, uncontrolled diabetes, open wounds or fractures.

It is designed to work with exercise and other forms of treatment to get the best results. A very good addition is joint mobile training.

Myofascial release and pain relief was originally published on Spring