Myofascial Release
What is fascia?
Internal view of living human fascia
“Fascia is the biological fabric that holds us together. You are about 70 trillion cells all humming in relative harmony; fascia is the 3-D spider web of fibrous, gluey, and wet proteins that hold them all together in their proper placement. How fascia works as a whole – our biomechanical regulatory system – is highly complex and under-studied. Understanding fascia is essential to the dance between stability and movement – crucial in high performance, central in recovery from injury and disability, and ever-present in our daily life from our embryological beginnings to the last breath we take.
What used to be "intuited" can now be seen. Living fascia magnified 25 times and narrated by Ronelle Wood. Used by permission of Jean-Cleaude Guimbarteau.
Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures create myofascial restrictions that can produce tensile pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch on pain sensitive structures that do not show up in many of the standard tests (x-rays, myelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc.) A high percentage of people suffering with pain and/or lack of motion may be having fascial problems, but are not diagnosed." –anatomytrains.com, myofascialrelease.com
What is Myofascial Release?
Each Myofascial Release (MFR) treatment is performed like a massage, with the client undressed on the table, properly draped. No oils or creams are used to maximize the traction from the skin to skin contact. It is slow work, as fascia takes 90-120 seconds to warm up and melt. Tingly sensations and sometimes hot sensations can be experienced as the tissue opens up to oxygen and blood flow in stagnant areas of the body where pockets of long held lactic and uric acid and adrenaline have been stored.
Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress-related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. MFR is an effective tool for managing this stress, which translates into:
- Decreased anxiety
- Enhanced sleep quality
- Greater energy
- Improved concentration
- Increased circulation
- Reduced fatigue
Myofascial Release can also help specifically address a number of health issues. MFR can:
- Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion
- Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays
- Ease medication dependence
- Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system
- Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles
- Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts
- Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin
- Increase joint flexibility
- Lessen depression and anxiety
- Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks
- Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation
- Reduce postsurgery adhesions and swelling
- Reduce spasms and cramping
- Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles
- Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller
- Relieve migraine pain
Please click here for information on treatments.