written by Gita Desyanti, Certified Yoga, Yin Yoga, MFR & Functional Movement, Breathwork & Qigong Teacher
What is Myofascial Release?
Myofascial Release (MFR or Self-Myofascial Release) is a massage technique that targets connective tissues, including fascia. This technique effectively treats muscle immobility and pain by relaxing contracted muscles, loosening adhesions in the fascia, improving blood and lymphatic circulation, and stimulating the stretch reflex in muscles. Using foam rollers or fascia balls before or after exercise has been found to be very helpful in decreasing muscle soreness.
What is Connective Tissue?
Connective tissue is the body’s glue; it functions as a support system that connects, protects, and forms structures like tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Fascia is a thin, tough, elastic type of connective tissue that wraps around most structures within the human body, including muscles. It supports and protects these structures. Osteopathic practice holds that this soft tissue can become restricted due to age, overuse, diet, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, stiffness and diminished blood flow.
Why Do We Need to Have Healthy Fascia and Connective Tissue?
Every stimulation in the connective tissue affects cellular connections in the body. When connective tissue is stimulated, the cells within the extracellular matrix (ECM)—which consist of proteins like actin and myosin—move around. This stimulation can have a global impact on the body. Body movements (changes in position, exercise, stretching) could play an important role in immune surveillance mechanisms and possibly in autoimmunity (Langevin, Helene, www.the-rheumatology.org. “What Role Does Fascia Play in Rheumatic Disease?” 2014).
Any mechanical stress on the connective tissue (pressure, stretch, or compression) acts as electrical signaling, which charges the ionic fluid and sends information to stimulate and generate nearby cells. Healthy fascia has a parallel wave structure, allowing the collagen to stretch during movement or compression. The fascial wave can be affected by age, physical and emotional trauma, overuse, inflammation, or scarring.
The fact is that we can remodel the tissues. All tissues in the body need stress to stay healthy, as stress remodels tissue in accordance with the line of stress (wave). Fluid dynamics play a critical role in regulating collagen, elastic fibers, microfibrils, hyaluronan, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins. Fluid flow within this matrix functions to regulate cellular hydration, nutrient delivery, and communication. The formation of adhesions due to chronic inflammation or surgery changes the internal environment of the connective tissue matrix. When connective tissue is dehydrated, communication, conduction, and nerve transmission are impaired. Blood flow decreases, joints become inflamed, and the support functions of connective tissue are diminished. With dehydration and adhesions, there will be a limited range of motion and muscle contraction.
Fascia can lose its flexibility, which creates tension, restriction of movement, decreased blood flow, hypoxia (lack of oxygen), and pain. Energy blockages in fascia due to physical trauma, inflammation, overuse, scarring, and dehydration can result in stress buildup in the tissue (fibrosis, edema, etc.), which creates tension both physically and emotionally. Stressing the fascia with compression, pressure, or tension may help in unblocking the energy trapped in the fascia.
Musculoskeletal System and Pain or Trigger Point
Our musculoskeletal system is the largest system in the body. Muscles are used in all movements of the body, and they also contribute to the maintenance of body heat. When muscles become impaired, the systems that control them can also be affected. If there are dysfunctions in the muscles, they can affect the body as a whole. When an injury occurs, the primary concern of healing is directed toward the ‘trauma’. Most injuries return to almost normal function, but not complete function. When a joint or bone is injured, it may affect the control of the surrounding tissue, which may lead to chronic pain if not attended to or cared for.
Muscles are composed of individual tissue fibers lying parallel to one another and working together to contract. During contraction, actin and myosin filaments interact to create movement. Actin filaments are responsible for movement, while myosin filaments are responsible for converting mechanical energy into force and movement. When muscles contract, actin and myosin slide between filaments and shorten without changing the filaments, functioning somewhat like an interlocking mechanism. When muscles are not contracted, actin and myosin return to their original length. When trauma or muscular strain occurs, it can result in the restriction of one or more fibers, called a ‘taut band’. A taut band is like a micro ‘spasm’, a small contraction of one of the fibers when it is not brought back to its relaxed state.
Why Myofascial Release & Functional Movement Including Yin Yoga?
When ground substance (GS) or fluid in the body is high in hyaluronic acid (HA), it facilitates gliding between fascia and muscle. Pressure, stress, and compression will increase HA in the GS and prevent tissue adhesion. The flexibility and adaptability of tissue require hydration. Fascial components depend on water for structural integrity, protection from physical trauma, and mechanical functioning. When tissues dehydrate, ground substance decreases, limiting movement and range of motion.
Treatments for Healthy Fascia and Connective Tissue
There are several different treatments for maintaining healthy fascia and connective tissue or treating trigger points, including:
- Deep tissue massage
- MFR with massage balls or foam rollers
- Acupuncture
- Stretching
- Trigger point therapy
MFR with Massage Balls
MFR with massage balls is proven to be one of the most practical and accessible ways to treat trigger points and muscle tightness. As mentioned in the above paragraph, there are some techniques to stimulate the connective tissues by stressing the fascia with compression, pressure or tension, which may help in unblocking the energy trapped in the fascia.
Tom Myers developed 12 Myofascial Meridians in the Anatomy Trains to give a broad understanding on how to approach our skeletal muscle from a perspective of Myofascia as a spatial medicine.
The Myofascial Meridians are :
- Superficial Back Line
- Superficial Front Line
- The Lateral Line
- The Spiral Line
- The Arm Line – Superficial and Deep
- The Functional Line – Back Functional, Front Functional, Ipsilateral
- The Deep Line
Here are some examples of areas that you can target while practicing myofascial release at home:
- Superficial Front Line:
- Arm Lines:
- Lateral Line:
There are several ways to apply pressure or stimulation, including:
- Sustained Pressure: Applying a steady amount of pressure to a target area or trigger point for about 1 to 1.5 minutes. This helps to release tension in the fascia and surrounding muscles.
- Rolling: Using a ball to apply pressure while rolling over the muscle, which can help to break up adhesions and improve circulation.
- Incorporating Movement: Combining pressure with movement or yoga poses can provide varying levels of pressure and target different areas more effectively. This method allows for a more dynamic release, adapting the intensity based on your needs.
Please join our weekly 75 min MFR & Yin class on Fridays at 2:30PM to give it a try and find the MFR balls at our store.
Resources:
Myofascial release – Myofascial release – Wikipedia
Myofascial & Functional Movement Training with Dini Yoga School, USA