MYOFASCIAL RELEASE TREATMENT

Myofascial release therapy is based on the idea that poor posture, physical injury, illness and emotional stress can throw the body out of alignment and cause its intricate web of fascia to become taut and constricted. Because fascia links every organ and tissue in the body with every other part, the skillful and dexterous use of the hands is said to free up, or “release”, disruptions in this fascial network. Pressure on the bones, muscles, joints, and nerves is relieved in the process, and balance is restored.

Myofascial release is a manual therapy technique that is often used in massage therapy. This technique focuses on the myofascial tissues, tissues that wrap around, connect and support your muscles. Myofascial Treatment is a soft tissue treatment for the treatment of skeletal muscle immobility and pain. The aim of Myofascial Release is to relax the contracted tight muscles while at the same time help improve blood circulation, lymphatic circulation and to stimulate the stretch reflex in muscles.

Myofascial tissue is a thin but tough connective tissue that wraps around most structures within the body including muscles. When you arrive for your session the therapist will palpate and locate those myofascial areas that feel stiff and fixed instead of the more elastic and moveable tissues. These are felt by the therapist under light manual pressure and while these areas may not be near the source of the pain, these tissues are thought to restrict muscle and joint movements which contributes to the rigid feeling tissue but also contributes to the muscle pain. Think of myofascial as focusing manual pressure and stretching the tissue to release the restricted movements of tissue thereby leading to reduced pain.

Often many patients seek myofascial treatments are losing function or flexibility due to or following an injury. Myofascial release can help with those individuals experiencing ongoing back or shoulder pain, as well as pain in other soft tissues.

How does one associate Myofascial Pain?

Often felt as tightness of tissues that restrict movements or motion or can pull the body out of its alignment. You may feel or sense excessive pressure on your joints and muscle that can produce pain. Pain may be felt in various parts of the body and can include headaches.

Causes of Myofascial Pain

Myofascial pain can have two sources. Pain can come from the connective tissues that are tight. As well pain can come from damaged or injured myofascial tissues. This pain may come from a nearby trigger point where muscle fibers are contracted. The restricted or contracted tissues slow down and inhibit blood flow to the affected areas, which further increase the contraction unless treated.

Additionally myofascial therapy can be a complement to other forms of therapy such as deep tissue massage, physiotherapy and acupuncture. All these therapies can help promote tissue healing, pain reduction as well as reducing muscle spasms and tightness that contribute to tight tissues.

Stretching exercises can be helpful to maintain flexibility of the tissues, help increase range of motion and help increase blood circulation to the affected areas.

Using myofascial release therapy to target specific areas of the fascia can help prepare patients for more aggressive forms or strengthening, while providing pain reduction for those patients that have restricted movements. This will also help patients to have more normal unrestricted movements as well as increased function.

Myofascial release sessions typically last for up to 30 minutes, however myofascial can be a part of a massage treatment whereby the therapist will focus on the tissues that are restricted.

For further information, contact the specialists at Dynamic Physiotherapy at 905-273-5433, or contact us directly.