Myofascial Release - Scottsdale Chiropractic Wellness

Myofascial release refers to the manual massage technique for stretching the fascia and releasing bonds between fascia, integument, and muscles with the goal of eliminating pain, increasing range of motion and equilibrioception. Myofascial release usually involves applying shear compression or tension in various directions, or by skin rolling. All muscles, arteries, bones, organs, etc. Myofascial release refers to the manual massage technique for stretching the fascia and releasing bonds between fascia, integument, and muscles with the goal of eliminating pain, increasing range of motion and equilibrioception. Myofascial release usually involves applying shear compression or tension in various directions, or by skin rolling. All muscles, arteries, bones, organs, etc. are held together by a Saran wrap kind of tissue called fascia. Developed in the late 1960’s by John Barnes, Myofascial Release works by the manipulation of the fascia that connects and surrounds muscles. Because the fascia is body-wide, a tension or trauma in one part of the body can affect another part. The fascia responds to the trained touch to release the adverse effects of inflammation, tensions and trauma trained touch to release the adverse effects of inflammation, tensions and trauma. Myotherapy is a method of relaxing muscle spasm, improving circulation and alleviating pain. It works by defusing “trigger points,” When a trigger point is under excess emotional or physical stress it often responds by throwing a muscle into spasm. Spasm, in turn, causes pain. The myotherapist erases the spasm by pressing on the appropriate trigger points for several seconds by means of fingers, knuckles, and elbows and then re-educates the affected muscle to its normal resting relaxed condition with special exercises designed for each individual problem. Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgical procedures create Myofascial restrictions that can produce tensile pressures of approximately 2,000 pounds per square inch on pain sensitive structures that do not show up in many of the standard tests (x-rays, myelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc.) The medical approach is to drug patients so they temporarily are free from pain, but does nothing about what is causing the pain. Traditional physical, occupational and massage therapy treats the symptoms caused by the pressure of the Myofascial system, but does nothing about the “straightjacket” of pressure that causes and perpetuates the symptoms. This is why so many patients only have temporary results never seeming to get better with traditional therapy. Only Myofascial Release treats the entire Myofascial mind/body complex eliminating the pressure of the restricted Myofascial system that causes the symptoms.