Effects of Myofascial Techniques

Having completed this lesson, you will be able to:

• List two goals of application methods used in a myofascial therapeutic paradigm (e.g., to reduce myofascial restrictions and promote postural balance and pain-free movement, etc.).
• List two primary benefits or effects of myofascial massage/bodywork for clients (e.g., “melt” and “stir” ground substance to improve fascia health, reduce fascial restrictions, break hydrogen bonds that hold adhered strands of tissue together to increase tissue pliability, ensure that separate structures can slide freely over one another, etc.).

The following lessons explore massage techniques, often called myofascial release, which work directly with fascia to promote pain-free movement and postural balance. The effects of myofascial techniques on the body are described along with general assessment techniques for identification of myofascial restrictions, guidelines for the application of myofascial techniques, specific techniques for reducing myofascial restrictions, and integrating myofascial work with Swedish massage.

While the focus here is specifically on certain myofascial techniques, note that Swedish massage and many other massage and bodywork methods also affect fascia. Myofascial techniques are applied in specific ways to take advantage of the thixotropic, viscoelastic, and piezoelectric properties of connective tissue to reduce myofascial restrictions and promote pain-free and balanced motion. The myofascial techniques included here promote these general effects:

• Melt ground substance: The warmth of the therapist’s hands melts thickened ground substance, making it easier to “stir” it with techniques that lift, compresses, twist, and raise energy in the tissue. When the ground substance becomes more sol, stagnant fluids are more easily exchanged with fresh fluids, improving ground substance health and the health of associated cells.
• Increase piezoelectricity: The electrical potentials created by the piezoelectric properties of connective tissue and muscle tissue are stimulated, leading to increased soft-tissue health.
• Reduce fascial restrictions: Myofascial techniques break the hydrogen bonds between fibers that have become closely packed together. Separate structures that were once adhered can again slide over one another smoothly. Elongating shortened myofascia takes advantage of the viscoelastic properties of fascia to create long-term changes in the tissue, allowing associated muscles to achieve their maximum length and range of motion. As muscular tension is balanced, the body regains optimal form and function.
• Decreased adhesions: Myofascial techniques help to break the hydrogen bonds that hold adhesions together. Collagen fibers distributed in crisscross arrangements are returned to their healthy parallel alignments along the lines of mechanical stress, allowing greater range of motion and improved muscular balance.
• Reduce stress: Myofascial release is pleasurable to receive and may feel very relaxing, triggering the parasympathetic nervous system response. Chronic stress is reduced, helping body chemistry normalize and thereby reducing the effects of cortisol and other stress-related chemicals on body tissue.