Myofascial Release

Therapeutic Massage

When most people think of a massage, they’re generally referring to a traditional Swedish massage. There are many different types of therapeutic massages you can experience. Amy utilizes Mother Earth Pillows that are heated, creating thermal or heated myofascial release.  This allows your body to release with ease – all specific to the area or system of your body where you need to remove tension and soreness.

This tension and repetitive motion causes pain, discomfort, and even sometimes emotional and physical distress. Managing pain with massage and other healing such as yoga, chiropractic care, physical therapy, acupuncture, and meditation are all great alternatives to hitting the medicine cabinet. Please consult your doctor if pain persists.

A myofascial massage is distinct from a traditional massage that would be aimed to target the fascial system and muscle tension. Although tension in the musculoskeletal system can cause pain – and does need to be released in certain cases – a massage that targets the fascia is one that is designed to relieve strain or pressure in the connective tissue in your body.

What is Fascia?

There is a layer of connective tissue beneath the skin that separates muscles, internal organs, and separates these from the skeletal system. Fascia is a fibrous tissue that runs all throughout your body, essentially holding everything together. It tends to look much like the skin of an orange, like you see in the picture shown here:

When there is tension located in your fascia, this can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort in a wide area. In fact, fascia contains 6 to 10 times more sensory nerves than muscle. That means when you have tightness in this tissue, the sensation can often feel more exaggerated or intense than just having a regular muscle knot.

Release of Fascia Tissue

When a part of your fascia tissue is tightened up, sometimes pain is only one part of the problem. Your range of motion can be severely affected. Since fascia is part of a continuous connection all around your body, tension in one part of this tissue can affect the range of motion in a completely different area.

For example, if you have restricted fascia located on your left rib cage – under your arm – this won’t just affect the range of motion of that arm. If you tried to raise both your arms above your head, your right arm’s range could be affected as well. Remember…it’s all connected.

A thermal myofascial release discharges tension in one location of your body, relieving tension that can sometimes be felt in a very broad area. This is done by strategically applying pressure along the connective tissue. The message therapist will focus direction along the tissue lining – not against it. This is the key to ensuring a full release in your body that you may have never felt before.

If you feel you would benefit from this type of therapeutic massage, contact Amy TODAY and make an appointment.