Myofascial Release in Jupiter, Florida

Can Myofascial Release Help You?  Let’s Talk About Fascia….

The words fascia and myofascial release are getting a lot of attention these days.  Most people are familiar with bones and muscles and are able to identify quite a few of them by name.  For many people, fascia is a mysterious part of the body that they have heard about repeatedly in the media and our curiosity has been aroused.  Fascia is made up of fibrous connective tissue with closely packed bundles of collagen fibers.  It is both flexible and extremely resistive of unilateral tensile forces.  Many think of fascia as a body stocking that plastic wraps you just under the skin.  This may be true of the superficial fascia, but it is also a multi-dimensional tissue that forms your internal soft tissue architecture.  Deep fascia forms fascicles that wrap around muscles and our visceral organs (heart, lungs, liver, etc).  Think about what it looks like when you open up an orange.  Each wedge is individually wrapped in its own membrane that hold the contents of that wedge intact.  Your fascia is similar to this analogy.  Fascia is everywhere in your body.

Is Fascia Causing Your Pain?

When our fascia is healthy and hydrated, we have a very strong and flexible body that can move freely.  If you have experienced physical trauma, emotional trauma, scarring, or inflammation, however, the fascia can lose its pliability.  Fascia becomes tight, restricted, and a source of tension to the rest of the body.  Trauma such a fall, car accident, whiplash, surgery or just habitual poor posture and repetitive stress injuries has cumulative effects on the body.  Perhaps you’ve experienced a domino effect of pain and injuries without being able to specifically understand why.  Maybe you injured your neck with a minor whiplash injury 10-years-ago and now you are having persistent shoulder pain.  You assumed it was due to poor posture.  Recently, you’ve also developed back spasms and plantar fasciitis, which you attributed to your new found obsession with yoga.  In summary, the body is a dynamic structure and a restriction in one location can produce a cascade of other unwanted effects.

Myofascial Release Treatment to Relieve Your Pain

Myofascial release (MFR) is different than traditional massage.  Massage typically involves repetitive kneading, stroking, percussion, or vibration.  MFR is a safe technique that involves the application of a gentle, sustained manual pressure into the myofascial connective tissue.  Myofascial release takes advantage of the phenomenon that when a low load pressure is applied slowly to a viscoelastic medium, the connective tissue (fascia) will elongate.  Myofascial restrictions that can cause tensile pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch on physical structures can be alleviated.  The result is elimination of headaches, chronic neck and back pain, shoulder pain, improved posture, and many other beneficial physical effects.

Let Our Therapists Help You

Myofascial release (MFR) is provided at Synergy Health and Wellness in the one-on-one comfort of a private treatment room.  Many of us have learned the art of MFR through the coursework and education offered through the teachings of the John Barnes Myofascial Release Approach®.  During an MFR session, there are no oils or creams used.  You should wear light clothing that can easily be moved or removed.  Come see if our skilled Doctors of Physical Therapy and Massage Therapists can provide relief for your chronic pain.

Sources

John Barnes MFR

What is Fascia (Wikipedia)

https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-top-5-ways-fascia-matters-to-athletes