Gentle exercise, stretching, and staying well hydrated can help keep your fascia healthy, and many people find relief using self-massage, tennis balls, and foam rollers. However, sometimes it's a good idea to get some help from the pro's.
Benefits of Myofascial Release Therapy
A single myofascial massage won't offer long-term relief. However, regularly receiving myofascial release therapy can: Improve range of motion. Reduce soreness.
Massage therapists can help with a technique called Myofascial Release that uses sustained pressure to loosen and lengthen constricted fascia. Cupping therapy is another technique that stretches and lengthen fascia with the use of vacuum cups.
Myofascial Release is a specialized type of massage therapy that can help to free up stiff fascia and reduce tension or restriction. In this type of massage, therapists feel and stretch slowly down into the tissues, all the time feeling for a glue-like texture which means there's a 'sticky' fascia.
Myofascial Release brings about an increase of hydration of the ground substance, the collagen fibres and the whole of the fascial system. It increases the distance between the collagen fibres, and restores elasticity, allowing for further hydration and a decrease in compression around other structures.
What is that “crunching” noise I hear when the massage therapist rubs my shoulders? Fascia is a connective tissue that runs throughout the body and surrounds all of the muscles and organs. If this fascia is hard, a “crunching” noise may be heard until it is softened and is able to be “worked” or “kneaded”.
When the fascia – or connective tissues in your body – get restricted, it leads to exhaustion, inflammation, chronic pain, and improper functioning of the immune system. But what many people don't realize is that fascia restriction can happen in response to emotional trauma as well as physical injury or illness.
Although there are many immediate benefits from self myofascial release, actual reconstruction of the fascia occurs over time, taking anywhere from six to 24 months (unlike muscle repair, which can take six to eight weeks). The key is to do a little myofascial release every day.
Toxins tend to get trapped in the fascia when the body gets out of alignment, causing tight and thick fascia tissue. The lymphatic system is responsible for flushing the body's toxins and is vital for a healthy immune system, overall health, and weight loss.
Our bodies are able to “remember” or “store” emotions. Because our fascia makes up such a large part of our physical being, it is also the primary source for storing our emotions. Our bodies hold this information below the conscious level as a protective mechanism and become state or position-dependent.
When the hyaluronan dries up, your body fascia can seize up around muscles, make it harder to move, or get uncomfortable knots. Dried-out fascia — called fascia adhesions — can happen because of: A lifestyle without enough physical activity. Activity that uses the same part of your body over and over.
You might feel some unique sensations in your body following a session. These can include muscle twitches and tremors, pulsating, or heat as blood flows back into chronically starved regions. Again, this is normal, and all symptoms should pass within 24-48 hours.
With self-myofascial release, you achieve the benefits by using a foam roller or a particular massage ball to treat yourself. As we mentioned, it's usually not as effective as working with a trained therapist. But it is beneficial and can be used to help maintain muscle and tissue flexibility.
The appearance of cellulite is from pockets of fat pushing up through the connective tissue (our fascia), this happens when the fascia is tight and restricted.
During a massage treatment, when we stretch this tight tissue you could feel a burning sensation. This is a myofascial release sensation and is generally short lived and quite normal, but not felt by everyone. The intensity and sensations felt, will vary between clients.
Over time a tight fascia begins to trap fat, adding inches, and preventing definition and causing not only cellulite, but sagging skin. This most often appears on the thighs, hips and buttocks.
This is most of the work a massage therapist does. By manually manipulating the muscles of the body, a massage therapist can speed up the process of relieving knots. You can also apply heat and ice to sore areas, utilize self massage tools like an S-hook or racquetball, or try a massage gun.
Background: Myofascial decompression (MFD), or cupping, and self-myofascial release (SMR) are common techniques utilized to treat soft tissue injuries and increase flexibility. MFD is a negative pressure soft tissue treatment technique using suction to manipulate the skin and underlying soft tissues.