Advanced Myofascial Release

Advanced Myofascial Release

What is Fascia?

Fascia is a three-dimensional web connecting every structure in the entire human and canine body from head to toe/paw without interruption. It is a continuous unit, flowing from one form to the next, changing shape and tone depending on the structure it infuses with.

Fascia is made of 3 main things: Elastin a stretchy material; Collagen an extremely tough and inflexible material and Matrix a gel-like substance. Collagen exhibits a huge amount of tensile strength, around 2000Ibs per square inch!

Fascia is the connective tissue that supports and coordinates every move of the body. It wraps every muscle fiber, muscle bundle and every muscle group and when it is in its healthy state, it's relaxed and flexible. When it is unhealthy or restricted, it binds muscles and soft tissues making movement limited which can lead to tension, pressure and pain.

When the body goes through a trauma, an injury, an inflammatory process, or exhibits poor posture over time, fascia has the natural tendency to become solidified, shortened, and thickened. Fascia will organise itself along the lines of tension that are imposed on it causing ischemia (an inadequate blood supply), pain and imbalance. 

These lines of tension created at the time of injury tend to stay in the body. Over time these trauma and injury induced fascial lines of tension will pull the body into and out of it's natural, crucial and three-dimensional alignment. This is because fascial lines of tension are stronger than healthy tissue.  

This pulling and distortion from natural alignment forces the body to exert an enormous amount of energy to sustain centered balance. It often results in many symptoms including pain, trigger points (irritable knots), restricted mobility and muscle tension that develops at the site of the stretched tissue. If left untreated it may develop into wide radiating myofascial pain affecting closely linked muscles and soft tissues.

Indirect Myofascial Release

Indirect myofascial release is an effective hands-on technique. It is applied with a gentle sustained pressure to move and stretch fascia to achieve a Thixotropic effect (returning the fascia from gelatinous to a fluid state). In turn this will reorganise the fascial lines of tension to allow for more oxygen and blood flow to these soft tissues, therefore reducing pain and increasing movement.

Direct Myofascial Release

Direct myofascial release focusses on applying specific techniques of pressure and movement directly to the areas of fascial restriction. Deeper fascial sheaths surrounding the skeletal structure are released to restore structural balance, reduce pain and increase range of movement.

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