MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
What is John F. Barnes Myofascial Release? It centers around the most ignored system in your body.... The Fascial System
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Fascia is a web-like tissue tied to our muscles, bones, nerves, organs, all the way down to the individual cells. All the space that isn't occupied by our body parts is occupied by fascia.
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From a functional point of view, the fascia is a continuous sheet of connective tissue that extends without interruption from the top of our heads to the bottoms of our feet.
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Fascia is composed of 2 types of fibers: Collagenous fibers, which are very strong and have little flexibility, and Elastic fibers which are strong and very flexible. Fascia also contains an amorphous gel-like fluid called Ground Substance which fills the spaces between the cells and acts as a lubricant.
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Fascia has a tensile strength of up to 2,000 pounds per square inch.
Injured Fascia is Like a Strait Jacket
Myofascial restrictions do not show up on any of the standard tests (x-rays, CAT scans, MRI's etc.). As a result, myofascial restrictions have been largely ignored and/or misdiagnosed by conventional health care and most body work modalities. Since fascia permeates all regions of the body and is interconnected, when restrictions occur in one area they can cause tension in adjacent pain-sensitive structures as well as structures distant from the restriction. Many people have pain in areas that appear to be unrelated to the primary complaint. These symptoms can now be better understood in relationship to our understanding of the fascial system.
Treating Fascial Restrictions
Since restrictions in the fascia can have effects on areas of the body distant from the site of the restriction, your therapist may treat you in areas that you may think are not related to your condition. The trained therapist has a thourough understanding of the fascial system and will "release" the fascia in areas that have a strong "drag" on your area of discomfort.
Muscle provides the greatest bulk of our body's soft tissue, and since all muscle is enveloped and ingrained with fascia, myofascial release is the term that has been given to the techniques used to relieve soft tissue from the abnormal grip of restricted fascia. The types of techniques used by the therapist will depend on the location(s) of your fascial restrictions.
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Skin to skin contact is necessary to effectively "grab" each fascial restriction and allow it to release. Therefore, please avoid the use of lotions, creams or oils prior to your treatment session. Also, you should be "comfortably undressed", wearing, for example a two piece bathing suit, gym shorts and sports bra/tank top for women and gym
shorts for men.
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Myofascial Release treatment sessions are often very relaxing. There may or may not be conversation during the treatment, however, feedback about what you are feeling during the treatment will help me to be as effective as possible. Your comfort and feeling of being safe are of utmost importance.
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MYOFASCIAL RELEASE SESSIONS
Sessions are approximately 60 minutes: $175
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THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE
60 minutes: $115
90 minutes: $165
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