Myofascial Release & Deep Tissue Massage increase blood flow and reduces inflammation and pain.
Myofascial release and deep tissue massage are a western alternative medicine style of massage and manual therapy techniques. They focus on treating chronic pain and acute injuries, including sports and work-related injuries.
Deep tissue massage allows the muscles to relax for the practitioner to get to the deeper layers of connective tissue. It involves deep strokes with sustained pressure to target the inner layers of the muscles. This hands-on technique can treat exercise soreness, muscle tightness, “muscle knots,” and muscle overuse.
Fascia is a layer of connective tissue surrounding the muscles. When the fascia is “stressed”, it tightens up. Acute muscle injury or continuous muscle overuse can form sensitive areas in tight muscles, known as “trigger points.” These trigger points can create pain throughout the entire muscle, and when the pain worsens and continues to persist, it is known as Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Myofascial release is a hands-on therapeutic approach used to treat this painful conditions and reduce muscle tightness and sensitivity to restore movement and eliminate pain.
Muscle tension is a sign of stress that affects physical and mental health. This stress can cause Myofascial Trigger Points to get worse. Targeting pain points relaxes the muscles, decreases emotional tension, and reduces pain/discomfort.
Myofascial Trigger Points (painful knots) also affect joint mobility. These knots lead to tighter muscles, and tighter muscles lead to decreased range of motion. The muscles relax by releasing these knots, allowing them to move more freely and safely. This improves joint movement.
Exercise (especially heavy-resistance training) can cause micro-trauma to involved muscles. The body’s first response to these small injuries is muscle degeneration and inflammation, followed by the repair and recovery process and muscle growth.
In other words, muscle knots reduce the muscles’ ability to recover. Reducing trigger pain points and myofascial tightness improves the body’s resting state and your ability to recover faster from exercise-induced traumas.
Exercise, pain, eating, excitement, love, and sexual activity releases endorphins. Myofascial Release can be slightly painful because the practitioner is releasing those muscle knots. This painful stimulus causes nerve impulses to travel to the brain. The brain releases endorphins in response to this stimulus to reduce further pain and boost pleasure.
Therefore, Myofascial Release assist’s the body’s natural way of releasing endorphins to feel better, elevate your mood, and reduce pain.
Myofascial Release & Deep Tissue Massage Benefits
- Increase blood circulation.
- Move lymphatic fluid.
- Decrease swelling and inflammation.
- Relieve pain (backache, neck pain, headache, joint, and muscle pain).
- Loosen fascia and scar tissue.
- Help eliminate toxins.
- Relaxe deep muscle tension.
- Improve joint mobility.
How Myofascial Release & Deep Tissue Works?
These techniques apply deep strong pressure and stretching forces on the muscles and soft tissue. The pressure and stretching move body fluids and promote blood circulation to the affected areas increasing the body’s ability to flush out toxins that can irritate nerves.
The increased force and pressure needed for these techniques also causes micro-trauma, which releases histamine. The histamine triggers the body’s immune response to begin the healing process.