Let’s talk about one of my favorite specialties to use during massage therapy and its importance: Myofascial Release.
This technique focuses on loosening your fascia. Fascia is something I have in mind from the first touch during your massage and it gives me clues as to how I can customize your massage therapy treatment to give you the best benefits that last beyond the massage table and into the rest of your life. So, let’s dive into what the basics of fascia are.
The easiest way to picture fascia is the thin casing webbing that encases everything in your body.
These microfibers act as a cocoon that encase your muscles, bones, organs, veins, nerve fibers… everything! Your body is essentially made up of about 90% fascia and incredibly water soluble. Yet another reason to stay on your hydration path. When fascia gets dehydrated, it tightens around all your internal structures, so as a massage therapist, I can feel - through how tight your fascia is - if you need to uplevel your hydration game or move your body more to loosen up that fascia. In fact, that tight muscle pain may not even be the muscle itself, but rather the fascia that encases the muscle and creates knotting. This is the beauty and importance of myofascial release in massage therapy and why it’s one of my specialties.
More than half the time, when someone has chronic recurrent pain or tightness in their body, it’s the wrong area being treated to minimize that discomfort and create more elasticity. Oftentimes, where the location of pain is, isn’t the place where it originates or the issue lies. This is why I trace the muscles back and work the fascia over it to create lasting change from the point in which your body holds the source of tension and creates discomfort throughout different areas of your body.
Common tools you can use to help sustain healthy fascia within your body are: yoga, massage therapy, hydrating with electrolytes, and using heat therapy. Healthy fascia is smooth, slippery and flexible. This is exactly what I aim to create during your customized massage experience.
I hope to see you in the clinic soon so we can check in on the state of your fascia and find your source of tension.
