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Myofascial Release

 

Fascia is the elastic connective tissue wrapped around muscles and other parts of the body. When myofascial restrictions (stuck areas) are located the massage therapist uses gentle sliding pressure applied in the direction of the restriction to stretch the tissues. The stretching of tissues and the heat imparted by the practitioner's hands help produce a softer consistency of fascial tissues, and allows the muscle to not be constricted.
 
• TECHNIQUE: Each Myofascial Release treatment is performed directly on skin without oils, or creams. This enables the therapist to accurately detect fascial restrictions and apply the appropriate amount of sustained pressure to facilitate release of the fascia.
 
• BENEFIT: Bring balance between opposing muscle groups. Release adhesions, tense muscle fibers and create space within the fascia to allow for the muscle to relax. Myofascial Release is a highly specialized stretching technique used by massage therapists to treat clients with a variety of soft tissue problems.   To understand what Myofascial Release is and why it works, you have to understand a little about fascia. Fascia is a thin tissue that covers all the organs of the body. This tissue covers every muscle and every fiber within each muscle. All muscle stretching, then, is actually stretching of the fascia and the muscle, the myofascial unit. When muscle fibers are injured, the fibers and the fascia which surrounds it become short and tight. This uneven stress can be transmitted through the fascia to other parts of the body, causing pain and a variety of other symptoms in areas you often wouldn't expect. Myofascial Release treats these symptoms by releasing the uneven tightness in injured fascia.

 

In other words, Myofascial Release is stretching of the fascia. The stretch is guided by feedback the therapist feels from the client's body. This feedback tells the therapist how much force to use, the direction of the stretch and how long to stretch. Small areas of muscle are stretched at a time. Sometimes the therapist uses only two fingers to stretch a small part of a muscle. The feedback the therapist feels determines which muscles are stretched and in what order.   Each Myofascial Release technique contains the same components. The massage therapist finds the area of tightness. A light stretch is applied to the tight area. The massage therapist waits for the tissue to relax and then increases the stretch. The process is repeated until the area is fully relaxed. Then, the next area is stretched.
 
The therapist will be able to find sore spots just by feel. Often, clients are unable to pinpoint some sore spots or have grown used to them until the therapist finds them. The size and sensitivity of these sore spots, called Myofascial Trigger Points, will decrease with treatment.
 
Most clients are surprised by how gentle Myofascial Release is. Some clients fall asleep during treatment. Others later go home and take a nap. Most clients find Myofascial Release to be a very relaxing form of treatment.
 
Myofascial Release is used to equalize muscle tension throughout the body. Unequal muscle tension can compress nerves and muscles causing pain. Progress is measured by a decrease in the client's pain and by an improvement in overall posture.


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Works Cited


Barnes, John F. Welcome to Myofascial Release - Myofascial Release - John F. Barnes, PT. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. http://www.myofascialrelease.com/fascia_massage/public/default.asp.
Braun, Mary Beth., and Stephanie J. Simonson. Introduction to Massage Therapy. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005. Print.
Manheim, Carol. Myofascial.com. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. http://www.myofascial-release.com/.
Tappan, Frances. Tappan's Handbook of Healing Massage Techniques. Appleton and Lange. 1998

 

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