It is difficult to go throughout life without the body experiencing some kind of pain or discomfort. Whether you have injuries or trauma that flare up periodically, structural misalignment, or just regular old wear and tear, the body can and does withstand a lot. It is made to be used, and it should be! But we all need a little help from time to time in order to provide maintenance and feel good so we can keep up the physical activity. Alternative medicine and bodywork are excellent ways to take positive and proactive steps to keep your body in tip-top shape. Myofascial release is an excellent bodywork option for people who experience muscular pain or restriction, as well as their repercussions. 

What is fascia?

The word fascia can be described as “a clingfilm-like substance that wraps around all our muscles and organs, offering support and reducing friction during everyday movement.” It is a connective tissue system that literally weaves around all of our bones, muscles, organs, nerves, arteries, and veins. It is a continuous system (that’s to say, it’s all connected and has no real beginning or end), and can be compared to the yarn of a sweater. Needless to say, it’s an important system for the structural integrity of the human body. It can have vast consequences when there is an issue in the system. 

Causes of fascial restriction

Fascial restriction can be caused by a variety of reasons, but when it occurs, it can lead to pain and loss of mobility. 

Some of the causes are physical, and thus more obvious:

• Physical trauma/injury
• Muscle overuse/tightness
• Inflammation
• Poor posture/structural alignment 
• Poor health

That last one is very general, but it segues into an interesting topic, the lesser-known causes of fascial restriction:

• Not moving enough (having a sedentary lifestyle)
• Dehydration or poor diet
• Not enough good quality sleep
• Stress
• Mental or emotional trauma

What you can do about fascial restriction

There is a predominant idea that we have been told often, that we need to stretch sore, tight, and knotted muscles. Yet visualize a rope with a knot in it: taking it and stretching it from either end. What do you imagine? The knot getting tighter. There is an alternative school of thought that suggests that we need to take our knotted muscles and break those knots up. This, in essence, what myofascial release is. 

Some common ways to deal with fascial restriction are the following: 

• Rolling out fascia bands on foam rollers
• Using the pressure from lacrosse, tennis, or massage balls on affected areas
• Yin yoga (more passive yoga poses held for 2-5 minutes, targeting specific muscles or areas)
• Myofascial release deep tissue massage

An empowered approach to health

The wonderful thing about myofascial release is that there are so many techniques that are DIY. Of the four listed above, three of those can be done to yourself by yourself. There is nothing more gratifying (and frankly, empowering) than being able to identify the issues preventing/ obstacles to you having good health and being able to manage or even improve them on your own. The trick is to be proactive with your health versus treating and dealing with the issues as they flare up or become unbearable. Just like anything mechanical, all of the individual moving parts of the body require attention and care. The fascia is another part of the body, albeit an extensive one, that requires tender loving care.  

Myofascial release at Paraiso Wellness Center

At Paraiso Wellness Center, we believe that a holistic approach to health is the best way to achieve optimal health. It’s affected by a great combination of factors: diet, exercise, sleep habits, mental wellbeing, stress management, and attitude. It’s assisted by regular bodywork such as massage, chiropractic, acupressure or acupuncture, and yoga — this is where we come in. We are specialists in (and have a great deal of tools in our arsenal) to assist our patients and clients. 

Myofascial release is one of the tools that we use in combination with our chiropractic work to help loosen, relax, and release the fascia surrounding muscles, skeleton system, and organs. We have found that it leads to optimal results when done with chiropractic work as the body is a complex system and it’s impossible to treat one aspect while ignoring the others. 

We are excited to help you be more proactive with your health, and see the positive results on your health, happiness, and life!