Myofascial Release

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To understand why Myofascial Release is so extraordinary you need to care about the fascial system. The fascial system covers, interpenetrates, and controls every structure, system and cell of our body. It is also a communication system, carrying an enormous amount of information and energy throughout our body via the connective tissue fibers. Fascia is also the main transport mechanism for the food and fluid we consume, distribution of oxygen, hormones, energy and information that the trillions of our cells need to thrive. The ground substance is the fascia’s fluid component, the immediate environment of every cell. Fascial restrictions can impede proper cellular metabolism, respiration, nutrition, elimination and lymphatic flow. Basically, fascia restrictions can create the environment of pain, headaches, dysfunction, physiological chaos, disease and necrosis. Fascial restrictions do not show up in any of the standard tests such as CAT Scans, MRIs, X-rays, or blood work. Therefore, many chronic pain conditions become misdiagnosed or overlooked for many years. It been shown that fascial restrictions can create a tensile strength of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. You can imagine the intensity of this by thinking of two full-grown horses standing on one of your nerves.

Myofascial therapists use their hands to feel the fascial restrictions and then use gentle but firm pressure to open the fascia over the course of several minutes. This allows the fascia to pass through successive stages of release and softening. The major benefit of this type of bodywork is it achieves very complete releases of fascial tension patterns. Because each hold takes a longer amount of time, upwards of 5-7 minutes, both the client and therapist can tune more deeply into the body, becoming sensitized to subtle changes in the tissue and their emotions–allowing for deeper releases to occur. Myofascial Release is one approach for helping with both physical and emotional trauma. Allowing for more time and using sensitive touch helps the client to ‘feel into’ the energetic content of the tissue and use that awareness to process the unresolved emotion or trauma in the safe environment of the session.

A distinction between myofascial massage and various other forms of massage and bodywork is that the therapist finds the individual’s pain spots and restrictions and addresses the body without sliding on the surface with oil. This enables the myofascial therapist to then use the fascia system as a lever that reaches deep into the body where significant problems are located. A therapist engages the barrier or area of restriction. It then takes roughly two minutes to begin to engage the deeper collagenous barrier (fascia is made of collagen and elastin fibers). It then takes another three to five minutes for a deeper, more long-lasting result. Somewhere around the five-minute period, there is a number of phenomena that occur that do not always occur with other forms of massage and bodywork. John Barnes PT, describes that once 5 minutes have passed, the piezoelectric effect kicks in (a greek word meaning pressure electricity). The cells in our body have a bioelectrical flow. When the ground substance, which is should be fluid, becomes damaged or traumatized, it starts to harden and solidify, which can create immense pressure on pain sensitive structures, in turn turning into painful symptoms.

Many forms of massage and bodywork are extremely beneficial. However, if they don’t sustain pressure long enough into the fascial system for certain injuries or conditions, you wont have the the lasting results you want. Depending on a clients’ needs it could be valuable to combine myofascial release with massage or other therapies for maximum effectiveness. A myofascial massage therapist can also show you how to do self myofascial release techniques to help care for your body at home.