Fascia?
by Hayley Kotton, LMT
What is happening when you perform postural balancing on me? How do you know when my muscles have released? These are two questions I often hear while performing Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®, to balance posture and relieve pain. Let’s tackle these questions one at time starting with what is actually happening on a cellular and systemic level.
MRTh® is based, in part, on the existence of Fascia. The fascia system is an amazing network of soft tissue running throughout the body, head to toe. It relates to muscles, circulation, bone position and function, organ position, and the chemical and nervous system. It is what gives the body its shape. Fascia is omnipresent, as it wraps around individual muscle fibers and even groups of muscles. It is truly everywhere. One network can span the entire body. This is why a therapist can work on the ankle to affect the spine. Certainly one can see how effecting the fascia system will affect the entire body. Unfortunately Fascia is sensitive and is injured easily. Injury could be due to anything such as bumping into a chair, twisting your ankle, or falling on the ice. When injured, this connective tissue becomes disorganized; fibers begin sticking to one another and hindering movement, rather than helping the body’s natural healing process. This is where the Massotherapist enters the picture.
The therapist’s role is to facilitate the client’s return to balance and homeostasis. On a macro level, certain effects happen in all Postural Balancing sessions. Fascia exists in 3D. For example, when releasing part of the pelvis, legs may flop to the right then return to center only to flop to the left. This is due to the 3-D quality of the Fascia. This leads us to what is known as the unwinding effect. The therapist finds the “barriers,” or trigger points in the Fascia and contacts the client at these points. This then stimulates the Fascia to search for order and thus release its trigger points to better return to alignment. This may look and feel like great movement from force applied by the therapist, but it is important to note that although the movement may feel like it is coming from the therapist, the therapist is actually the facilitator for release, acting on the client’s own subconscious. The answer to our second question is simple. When the movement stops the client’s muscles have released.
During the therapy the patient will experience movement, sometimes as though the therapist is moving their hands. In reality it is the Fascia and Soft Tissue repositioning itself back to a neutral posture. As the tissue warms up and becomes more motile, as in the case of water, it will seek its own level. This is the premise of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® that is practiced at Chagrin Valley Wellness Center.
Part of my technique is to help each client understand his or her own individual and special manner of healing. I believe with knowledge comes realization and awareness. After this, recovery is only around the bend!
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