The use of Myofascial Release is to rebalance mind and body as one whole system.
What is Fascia?
Fascia is the main connective tissue in the body. IT HOLDS US TOGETHER! Intricate webbing under the skin. Fascia surrounds every cell, muscle tissue, bone, organ, the brain, spinal cord, lymph nodes, nerves and blood vessels in the body, binding us all together and maintaining tensegrity.
Have you heard anyone say: “Everything is connected”?
Well that is because it is, via many intelligent systems in the body, one of them being: FASCIA!
Fascia essentially creates an uninterrupted mesh from top to toe, for all the other bodily structures and systems to sit within. It transmits forces and injuries throughout the body, which is why, most often: “Where the pain is, the issue is not”.
Fascia responds to stress in the form of emotional and physical trauma alike. The fascial tissue can become damaged through injury or trauma via it’s vast sensory nerve supply. This leads to a tighter binding of the fascia and therefore restricting it’s ability to move to a maximum range without pain.
Fascia is largely made of Collagen and water. “Stuck” fascia is damaged, dense, dehydrated tissue. It becomes more rigid through overuse; day-to-day stresses; scarring and through retained memories of physical injury and/or emotional trauma. (The body responds to all sources of stress in exactly the same manor, no matter the cause).
Emotional traumas become “embodied” and the fascia responds with increased tension, a holding pattern, which increases levels of pain and can significantly drain our energy as well.
Through the treatment of MYOFASCIAL RELEASE (MFR), the tightly bound fascia responds to the heat and consistent pressure of the therapist’s hands by “melting” or remodelling and rebalancing tensions through the tightly bound webbing. This creates more space for water to fill, increasing the flow and fluidity of the tissue to move, reducing pain and creating a healthier environment for the other structures within it to move better also.
MFR works to balance and down-regulate the Autonomic Nervous System (stress response system), which often becomes hypersensitive when dealing with chronic pain conditions. Promoting relaxation and the sense of safety within your body via the Vagus Nerve can accelerate healing and encourage an emotional release also.
MFR was developed and has been used since the 1940’s by medical physicians, physiotherapists, osteopaths and bodyworkers. It was John Barnes, an American Physiotherapist, who has taught many around the world, the benefits of using MFR to produce “consistent results in relieving pain and restoring functional mobility”. Please refer to www.myofascialrelease.com for more detailed information.
My wonderful tutor Amanda Oswald here in the UK, was taught by John Barnes and she echoes his philosophies of teaching, whilst adding her own knowledge from many years of working in manual therapy and I am proud to be able to use this knowledge with my clients also. She provides wonderful content on all things Fascia here: www.paincareclinic.co.uk/news-and-articles
More on Myofascial Release
Myo ———> Muscle
Fascia ———> The main connective tissue in the body
Release ———> To let go, reduce pressure
Myofascial Release (MFR) is a manual, non-invasive bodywork technique which accounts for the body as a whole system that is out of balance and is used to understand the true cause of pain and how to address it.
The technique itself is slow + gentle - yet deep, using a consistent pressure (compared to the more typical deep tissue or sports techniques), working to release deep and painful fascial restrictions and helps to restore balance and alignment throughout the body’s whole physical structure.
MFR works well for clients with chronic pain and pain caused by injury, physical and/psychological trauma, surgery, scars, chronic inflammation and the general overuse of tissues (sporting injuries).
Many of our injuries and illness’ stem from chronic stress and MFR is a WONDERFUL treatment to encourage the physical release of this stress, which in turn helps to calm the Autonomic Nervous System and thus reducing the reaction and impact of stress to our bodies in the longer term.
Gentle MFR techniques lead to dramatic changes to the whole body structure and alignement.
For the curious ones
Below is a video to show you what fascia tissue looks like under the skin and how it works.
Other techniques used in treatments
Soft Tissue Therapy.
An umbrella term used to mean a whole variety of massage and stretch techniques to include: Trigger Point Therapy, Muscle Energy Techniques, Soft Tissue Release, Positional Release and so many more. The tools used in your treatment will be appropriate to the needs of your body and although my greatest focus is the use of Myofascial Release, I have a “toolbox” and will use which ever techniques you respond well to in order to make changes within your neurological and muscular system. All to relieve pain and help your structure to realign for the long-term.
Sports-Injury Acupuncture.
I use a blended approach of dry needling and acupuncture to elicit change in the muscles, releasing the trapped energy in the muscle adhesions (“knots”). Usually, I incorporate the needling within a Soft Tissue Treatment rather than a stand-alone treatment and only used with the agreement and comfort of the client.
Inter-Treatment Self-Care.
It is clear that an individual will make the most improvement by taking action themselves to encourage change in their bodies through stretching, self-myofascial release, muscle activations and strengthening where appropriate. With my guidance, this is encouraged and as a part of a treatment plan, I can write individually-tailored programs for each of my clients. I feel this empowers you and brings more body awareness, whilst speeding up the healing process.
“What can I even say, Gemma completely changed my perspective on what is possible to achieve from therapy, thus changing my relationship with my own pain. Gemma is a genuine empath with a borderline magical sense of intuition and attention.
Let me put this into perspective, I broke my back ‘very badly’ 6 years ago and from the first session; straight off the bat, Gemma moved some pain that I had truly…well it was a part of me, just even the smallest relief from it would have been satisfactory, but I got so much more than that. I’m so careful who I let do anything to me; especially my back and not once has my body ever sent me even the slightest signal to be concerned, pure bliss. Those hands are medicine”.
- J.Edwards