Myofascial Release

Most of my blogs have been about acupressure and Chinese Medicine which has greatly impacted my life for the better. In the almost 30 years that I have been experiencing it and the 19 years that I have been practicing it, there is always more to learn. It is such a rich study and despite the fact that it was developed over 5 thousand years ago, it still holds validity for us today.

In this blog I want to discuss a large part of my practice, Myofascial Release. I was first introduced to Myofascial release in 2009. A friend of mine had a session and recommended that I try it. In those days I had constant neck pain/ discomfort from an old whiplash injury. The acupressure and other therapies I had tried improved my discomfort but if I slept in an awkward position I’d wake up in pain. After one session I knew that this was something I needed to continue with and to study. I could feel that my neck problems were connected to restrictions in the muscles in my back.

Similar to Chinese Medicine Theory, Myofascial Release as developed by John Barnes, describes the entire body connected by the fascial system (connective tissue) a three dimensional web which along with the muscles supports our body and facilitates movement. When we are injured or overworked our muscles and connective tissue can develop restrictions or blockages that obstruct the flow of energy and create soreness or tightness and decreased mobility. Overtime these restrictions grow similar to a spider web and attach to other structures or bones and can create pain. The restrictions become tighter and can squeeze the vertebrae together to create nerve pain.

Myofascial Release helps reduce the chronic pain and improve mobility by utilizing sustained pressure into the restrictions and releasing them one by one. Overtime you will experience relief from not only temporary tightness but also long held tension. Without the pull of tight fascia muscles can stay lengthened. As a result, people often notice long lasting increased comfort and mobility.

Myofascial Release is especially effective in relieving stiff necks, chronic headaches, plantar fascitis, low back pain and shoulder pain.