Myofascial Release, known as MFR, is a whole body "hands-on" approach to the evaluation and treatment of the human structure. The therapist is taught to evaluate the fascial system through visual analysis of the human frame by palpating the tissue texture and various fascial layers while observing the symmetry, rate quality, and intensity of strength of the craniosacral rhythm. Proper MFR requires on-going re-evaluation, including the above mentioned procedures, applying gentle pressure into the direction of the restriction, and observance of vaso-motor responses and their location as they occur after a particular fascial restriction has been released.
This provides instantaneous and very accurate information therefore enabling the therapist to proceed intelligently and logically from one treatment to the next; ultimately resolving the patient’s dysfunction. MFR is a state-of-the-art therapeutic approach. It is not meant to replace the important techniques and approaches a client currently utilizes, but acts as an important expanded dimension for increasing effectiveness and permanency of results in relieving pain and restoring ease in motion and function of the client’s body, ultimately expanding quality of life.
Through the treatment of MFR, fascial restrictions can stretch and relax and return to a healthy state. Fascia is a tough connective tissue which spreads throughout the body in a three dimensional web from head to foot without interruption. The fascia surrounds every muscle, bone, nerve, blood vessel and organ of body, all the way down to the cellular level. Therefore, malfunction of the fascial system due to trauma, posture, dehydration, or inflammation can create a binding down (as much as 2000psi of tensile strength) on the fascia. A fascial restriction is much like a sweater that gets a snag in it. The fibers as far away as the other side to it will reorganize themselves against the snag thus altering the integrity of the whole. This snagging results in abnormal pressure on nerves, muscles, bones and organs. This can also create pain or malfunction throughout the body, sometimes with bizarre side effects and seemingly unrelated symptoms, not always following dermatonal zones. It is thought that an extremely high percentage of people suffering with pain and/or lack of motion may be having fascial problems; but most go undiagnosed, as the importance of fascia is just now being recognized. All of the standard tests, such as x-rays, mylelograms, CAT scans, electromyography, etc. do not show fascial restrictions.
MFR can free the structures producing pain and also relieve the emotional pain associated with past unpleasant events or traumas. The painful memories or emotions from beatings, rapes, molestation, abuse, accidents and fear seem to be stored in the body's memory. Many times people have dealt with these situations intellectually, but on a subconscious level, the body (the myofascial structures in particular) will store these past painful events. As MFR frees the adhered tissue, the trapped emotions and painful memories fade away, leaving the person with a sense of peace. This return to balance is like letting the steam out of a pressure cooker. The comments I hear quite frequently form my patients are, "I finally feel like myself again" and "My sense of calm has returned”. The nontraumatic, gentle nature of myofascial release is reassuring in that the patient need not worry, since these effective procedures will not worsen the patient's symptoms or cause harm.
It is known that each time we experience a trauma, undergo an inflammatory process, or suffer from poor postures over time that the fascial system becomes restricted. These restrictions act like the concentric layers of an onion. These adaptive layers slowly tighten until we begin to lose our physiologic adaptive capacity (our margin of error). Therefore, we slowly tighten, losing our flexibility and spontaneity of motion, setting us up for trauma, pain or restriction of motion. These powerful restrictions begin to pull us out of our three-dimensional orientation with gravity. The goal of MFR is to help return the individual's physiological adaptive capacity by increasing space and mobility while restoring three-dimensional balance and returning the structure to as close as potentially possible to its vertical orientation with gravity. This equilibrium allows the individual's self-correcting mechanisms to come into play and alleviate symptoms and restore proper function.
This is to ackowledge that the above words are abstracted from John Barnes, acknowledged expert on myofascial release (www.myofascialrelease.com).