Myofascial Release is a physical therapy which works with the muscles (myo) and connective tissue (fascia) to release tensions caused by physical or emotional trauma.

The connective tissue, or Fascia envelops all the other tissues in the body with a web-like living lattice. Imagine what happens to a string shopping bag when a heavy load is put in one corner - the whole web is pulled out of shape - this is what happens to the fascia in the body, when a tension is present in one area the whole system is pulled out of alignment.

By using focussed stretching and pressure on the muscles and fascia the whole system can be realigned, resolving long established discomfort.

This physical therapy is a valuable tool in relieving chronic pain in the back, neck and shoulders, headaches, jaw pain, frozen shoulder, sciatica, PMS and many other common ailments.  It is also very beneficial pre and post surgery.

There are three main elements to myofascial release :

1. Myofascial Structural Release – Allowing the Melt

Structural release involves applying gentle, sustained pressure into areas of tightness, restriction, or pain and waiting for your body to release.

Never forceful, pressures are applied to gently reach the area of the tissue restriction. Initially, you will feel an elastic or springy give.

It feels like a release. It feels like a bit of change. However, the tissue will just spring back once the pressure is disengaged. This is only the elastic component of the tissue giving way. The only way to experience a lasting change in the tissue is to wait. Additional time spent holding the pressure (beyond 5 minutes for each restriction) enables your connective tissue to fully ‘melt’ and lengthen. Science tells us that there is yet another benefit to waiting long enough to allow for a change in the tissue. After five minutes, the body begins to produce interleukin, a natural anti-inflammatory. This response is only elicited when pressure is sustained and uninterrupted – no rubbing, poking, manipulating, or bouncing!

Please note that Structural Myofascial Release is performed on dry skin. Using oils or creams during treatment means the therapist is sliding on your skin and therefore unable to properly sustain pressures that release and melt restrictions in your body.

Please do not use any creams or lotions on the day you are having a treatment. 

 

2. Myofascial Unwinding – Untangling  the Knots.

Everyone has an innate ability to self-correct tension, postural imbalances, and tissue restrictions through natural, intuitive movement.

When you first wake up in the morning and yawn and roll and stretch a bit before hopping out of bed,  you are experiencing a snippet of your body’s self-correction mechanism. Similarly, when you’ve been sitting at the computer for too long and feel the urge to reach your arms up over your head and arch your upper back over the back of the chair getting a good stretch through your arms, chest and shoulders, you are unwinding.

With the help of a therapist to support your body and minimize the effect of gravity, your body can stretch and move far more, taking the unwinding to a deeper level to thoroughly clear your body of stress, holding patterns, and the tension which has built up.

3.Myofascial Rebounding – Waves of Release.

Can you remember being rocked as an infant? Have you felt the gentle wave that moves through your body when you’re floating on a raft in the water?

We are approximately 75% fluid, and when rocked,an internal wave of motion and energy begins to form and move through the fluid inside our bodies.

If the rocking is gently sustained and continued over time, as with rebounding, this fluid motion perpetuates and begins to reach and affect the solidified areas of our bodies. This wave gently starts to move into those tight,restricted areas giving opportunity for softening just as waves at the beach gently erode away the shoreline. With rebounding, every cell of your body can be reached, even the denser structures such as your bones, by this profound fluid wave.

Rebounding is also helpful for accessing and clearing out habitual holding and bracing patterns which linger in our bodies due to a buildup of stress and trauma.

If you feel like you are in a cycle of feeling better after treatment but the tension and tightness soon comes back, rebounding may be the missing piece that can eradicate bracing and holding patterns to break out of the cycle of recurring symptoms.

To find out more about Myofascial Release please see

www.myofascialrelease.com

For further details, or to book a session, please contact James on:

[email protected] or telephone 07545 116516