Winning Hands Massage

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Types Of Bodywork/Modalities

Myofascial Release

In brief, through trauma or injury, the body’s fascia can develop restrictions. These can be in the form of knots of tension or adhesions where adjacent sheets of fascia in effect stick to each other. These restrictions inhibit normal, smooth physical movement of muscles and organs. Since the fascia itself is a continuous, unbroken sheet that extends throughout the entire body, a restriction in one area (the cause) can present itself as a significant dysfunction in an entirely different area of the body (the symptom). There is much truth to the statement “First identify the symptom and then look elsewhere for the cause.”

I have already related my daughter’s story in the “Why Do I Do It” section. To recap, her symptom was severe lateral rotation of both her legs and feet. The cause, however, was a fascial restriction in her lumbar and lower thoracic back. An equally dramatic and less obvious example was a case I worked with in Canada in 2004. There were two primary symptoms. One was severe, unremitting, 24/7 pain in the left Quadriceps muscle group that had lasted unresolved for approximately seven years. In spite of repeated tests, no cause had yet been found. The other symptom (one identified by the individual’s doctor) was severe left-side abdominal pain. Cause of this pain had also been identified as an adhesion between her left ovary and her descending colon. In effect, the two tissues were glued together. Normal peristalsis movement within the colon caused a pull on her ovary which in turn generated pain. The suggested treatment (which she was avoiding because of past problems with surgeries) was another surgery to free the adhesion. Immediately upon pressing into her abdomen in the region of the adhesion, I noticed a line of tension down toward her leg. She also immediately experienced leg pain. I worked on her energetically to successfully release the abdominal adhesion. A side benefit was that her leg pain also immediately ceased. Why? Because the CAUSE of both was a fascial restriction (adhesion) that pulled on both her left ovary AND her leg whenever movement occurred within her colon.

MFR is a very powerful modality. I do, however, have a caveat here. There are more than a couple of ways to teach and do MFR, ranging from very gentle and non-invasive to very aggressive (such as Rolfing). The more aggressive forms are contraindicated for anyone with either skin fragility or Vascular EDS.