Myofascial Release

What is fascia?
"The fascial system surrounds, infuses, and has the potential to influence profoundly every muscle bone, nerve, blood vessel, organ and cell of the body. Fascia also separates, supports, connects and protects everything. This three dimensional web of connective tissue is alive and ever changing as the body demands. Thus it is a network for information exchange, influencing and influenced by every structure, system and cell in the body." (JF Barnes)

This three dimensional spider-web of connective tissue throughout the body is made up of elastic collagen fibers which when in a "natural" state are flexable and naturally "wavy". However, due to trauma, injury, gravitational pull and poor posture, the fascial fibres loose their pliability. When the facia looses its elastic component, it becomes tight, sometimes hard, restricted and a source of tension to the rest of the body.

What is involved in a treatment?
A session of MFR ranges from 1 hour to 1-1/2 hour. The session begins with a structural analysis of your body and then a hands on MFR treatment focusing on areas of structural tension or trauma. However due to the characteristics of fascia, the area of treatment may not be the area of trauma as the facial planes are such that the tissue reorganizes along the lines of tension imposed on the body and fascial strains can slowly tighten causing the body to lose its flexibility and, like a pull in a sweater ultimately result in symptoms far away from the original site of trauma or injury.

Myofascial release (MFR) looks at each person as an individual and provides a unique treatment for every person. The practitioner applies gentle sustained pressure to an area with sensitive hands and follows the motion of the tissue three dimensionally as it twists and turns, until the elasticity of the fascia is restored. As a result the surrounding tissues are able to regain their normal function and range of motion without eliciting the old pain pattern. This process is beneficial for everyone, but especially for those who have experienced injury, trauma, whiplash, surgery, or habitual poor posture.

MFR is done with out oil and the client is clothed in a bathing suit or in shorts so that the practitioner can observe the body and its responses during treatment.