Myofascial Release Therapy

You may have seen some posts on facebook from people who are doing or looking for someone to do myofascial release therapy (MRT). I'm telling you it is a bear to spell (!) but what exactly is it?

Here is an explanation as given on the site http://www.myofascial-release-therapy.com/

"Myofascial release works with the idea that surrounding every muscle, bone, and nerve system in the body is a network of fibers called fascia. Fascia resembles something like a total body suit in that every single fiber is connected and so affects each other, both positively and negatively. When fascia is normal, it’s wavy and relaxed and able to stretch, constrict, and move around without any restrictions and pain. However, when something in the body is injured or sore, the fascia bunches up in response, becoming tight and uncooperative. Much like a pulled thread in a sweater, the surrounding fibers become tight and unresponsive, leading to pain and dizziness. Sometimes, the bunching in one area can cause bunching in a completely different area (such as a lower back pain causing neck pain) and so while a drug might take care of the back pain, the neck pain will remain and there can seem to be no relief for it. This is often what causes the misdiagnoses of pains.

Myofascial release is very much a hands on approach to pain management. It involves a variety of massages, ranging from gentle massages using only a couple of fingers to deep tissue massage that is also very gentle, but highly effective for things like arthritis. These massages are meant to stretch out the bunched fascia and bring it back to its normal state. Sessions are almost always under an hour in length and are usually scheduled for a few times a week until the pain is gone. They are usually very relaxing, the point where some clients actually fall asleep. Others leave very relaxed and pain free. There are others though who have an increase in pain for a time, just a vaccination that can give a fever or nausea for a bit before getting rid of the chance for that illness. This pain increase rarely lasts more than a day and then all pain is gone. Still others report a change in emotional well being (generally in a positive way) as the stress of living with pain lifts. Be advised though that no matter how feel you good after the first session or two, this doesn’t mean that you are finished. It usually takes a few to several sessions to get rid of pain entirely and if you skip out on sessions, the pain will come back and possibly worse. The longer you have lived with the pain, the more sessions there will be; however, even the most long term sufferers of pain have found relief with myofascial release.

Myofascial release is an alternative medicine though, meaning that unless you do some research, you probably don’t know about it. Doctors don’t talk about it because it’s not something that is taught in standard medical school and so many view it as quackery at best. However, it is a very viable form of pain relief, especially for those who do not or cannot afford to be chained to pain medicine and drugs to handle their aches. It is able to handle a wide variety of pains from different sources, unlike medications that are created to only handle one or two sources of pains effectively. All in all, myofascial release is effective, efficient, and practical; all very good reasons to give it a try or at least learn more about it."

I am having MRT done on my left arm. I've been experiencing numbness for months. It doesn't seem to be carpal tunnel - though it could be. Per my doc, it is also possible a lipoma is pressing on a nerve. But in February I had MRT done on that arm just as an experiment and the numbness was minimal for almost 4 weeks after! I had another session about 3 weeks ago. It seemed slightly less effective but still helped quite a bit. I may have better success if I do the sessions closer together but I'm experimenting right now.

Based on my experience, I would encourage you to talk to your doctor about it if you think it might help you. You need to have a therapy order for it. You will probably need to check around to find someone who is trained to do it in your area.

Take care!