What is Myofascial Release?
The John F. Barnes' Myofascial Release (JFB MFR) approach is a safe and effective, hands-on, whole body approach to treatment targeting the cause of your symptoms. A variety of sustained pressures are applied to the fascial system, allowing the body to release restrictions, eliminate pain, and restore function.
What is Fascia and how do restrictions form?
Fascia is a tough, dense, connective tissue that spreads throughout the body from head to foot without interruption.The fascial system supports, protects, and envelops the muscles, bones, nerves, organs, and blood vessels - from the largest structures down to the cellular level. In addition, it plays an important role in the support of our bodies since it surrounds and attaches to all structures. These structures would not "stay in place" and our bodies would not be stable without this important system. Think of your body as a tent and the bones as the tent poles. The tent poles (bones) cannot support the tent (body) without the constant support of the guide wires (fascia) to keep an adequate amount of tension to allow the tent (body) to remain upright with proper equilibrium
In the normal healthy state, fascia is relaxed and wavy in configuration and is bathed in a gelatinous matrix. It has the ability to stretch and move without restriction. Restrictions occur when surgery, injury, trauma, and poor postural habits cause the fascial system to solidify, tighten, and adhere. To compensate, tension and restrictions can then develop in other areas of the body as well.
How do these tissue changes cause pain?
As fascial restrictions occur, abnormal pressure is placed on the muscles, bones, nerves, organs, and vasculature. This can cause pain, swelling, and other undesirable symptoms. Because the fascia spreads without interruption, a restriction in one part of the body can create pain or dysfunction in another, even seemingly unrelated, part of the body.
Fascial restrictions can create a tensile strength of up to 2,000 pounds per square inch and do not show up on x-rays or other diagnostic tests. No wonder people are often frustrated when their complaints of pain are not validated! In addition, medical, dental, or therapeutic interventions generally target the symptoms (rather than the cause) and often result in poor or temporary results.
