Myofascial Release
Myofascial Release is the three-dimensional application of sustained pressure and movement into the fascial system in order to eliminate fascial restrictions. John F. Barnes, Physical Therapist, has been in the forefront of developing this innovative whole-body approach for the evaluation and treatment of pain and dysfunction.
What is Fascia?
When you look at a piece of red meat, there are usually white striations throughout the meat. This is fascia. The fascia is an uninterrupted, tough, connective tissue that spreads throughout the body in a three-dimensional web from head to toe. Every muscle in the body is surrounded by a smooth fascial sheath, every muscular fascicle is surrounded by fascia, every fibril is surrounded by fascia and every micro fibril is surround by fascia. Ultimately a muscle’s length and function are affected by the fascial system.
The fascia is classified as superficial, or lying directly under the skin; deep, which surrounds and blends with muscle, bone, nerves, blood vessels, and organs to the cellular level; and deepest, the dura of the craniosacral system, encasing the central nervous system and the brain. (There will be a future article on craniosacral therapy).
What is the function of Fascia?
The fascia is significant in supporting and providing cohesion to the body structure. Fascia needs to be intact and properly distributed or body movements feel tight and awkward.
What is Fascia made up of?
Connective tissue is made up of:
- Collagen
- Elastin
- Polysaccharide gel complex (ground substance)
The three components provide strength, support, elasticity, and cushion to the fascial system. As long as the forces on the body are not too great, the gel of the ground substance is designed to absorb shock and disperse it throughout the body. If the fascia is restricted at the time of trauma, the forces are not dispersed properly and areas of the body are then subjected to an intolerable impact. The result is injury.
Injury can also occur slowly over time from repetitive use. An example is talking on the phone while holding it with your head bent side ways toward your ear. This can cause the fascia tissue of the neck and shoulder to tighten and become shortened. This causes the body to lose its adaptive capacity. Over time the tightness can spread like a pull in a sweater or stocking. Flexibility and ease of movement are lost, setting the body up for more trauma, pain and limitation of movement. These powerful fascial restrictions begin to pull the body out of its three dimensional alignment. This causes the body to be inefficient in its movement and increases the energy used for movements and sustaining posture.
What is Myofascial Release?
Myofascial release is a whole-body, hands on approach for the evaluation and treatment of the body. The goal is to remove the fascial restrictions and restore the body’s balanced state. This is done through stretch like movements usually in diagonal planes or 3 dimensionally.
The therapist assesses the cause of the symptoms by visually analyzing the body in static and movement postures. The therapist palpates the tissue by pushing them up and down, side to side and diagonally to find where tissues move poorly. When the location of the fascial restriction is determined, gentle pressure is applied in the direction of the restriction. This has the effect of pulling the elastocollagenous fibers straight. Initially the therapist will feel some spring or give to the tissue, which is slowly stretched until reaching a barrier. A gentle sustained pressure will release this barrier. The therapist follows the motion of the tissue, barrier to barrier until the restriction is released.
What will the patient feel?
As the fascia releases there will be a warm sensation in the area. The tissue will begin to relax and is often described as a “sensation of melting butter.” The patient may notice pain or a pulling sensation in other areas of the body due to the three-dimensional component of the fascia tissue. The therapist may note a vasomotor response “redness” in other areas, which are related to the web layout to the fascia pattern. The patient should note more freedom of movement following the treatment. Some patients experience memory of the injury and emotions related to that memory during the tissue release.
Who would benefit?
Myofascial release has great flexibility as a treatment too. It can be incorporated into treatment plans to increase range of motion and decrease pain. It is especially helpful in managing acute and chronic pain, neurologic and movement dysfunction, birth trauma, head injuries, pediatric and geriatric conditions, pelvic and menstrual problems, scar tissue from surgery, TMJ, headaches, sports injuries, restriction of motion, recurring injuries and enhancement of optimum performance.
