Myofascial Release Therapy

In order to understand myofascial release therapy, one must first have an understanding of fascia. Fascia is a very dense, woven tissue that interweaves all tissues in the body including individual muscle fibers, nerves, and blood vessels. In visually exploring fascial tissue, one will find that it looks similar to a spider web. However, fascial tissue is extremely dense and is one of the strongest tissues in the body. One other unique characteristic of fascia is that it weaves as a continuous structure without interruption from head to toe. This is significant because fascia has the ability to connect body parts that are not in close proximity to one another. Fascial injury and inflammation creates adhesion within this dense woven tissue and can lead to widespread muscular dysfunction and pain throughout the body. As the adhesion develops, it limits mobility within the individual muscle fibers and thus limits mobility within the body. The goal of myofascial release therapy is to break down these adhesions by using a combination of stretching and gentle pressure along the path of the fascial sheath to restore mobility and increase blood flow within the tissue. There are several conditions that benefit from the use of myofascial release therapy. Dr. Eaton uses these techniques most commonly on ilitibial band friction syndrome (ITB syndrome), plantar fasciitis, and piriformis syndrome. However, this technique can be easily incorporated into any treatment plan to ensure complete healing and restored mobility of any tissue.