Myofascial Release addresses Chronic pain, offers alternative to just “live with it”

Have you been living in pain and thinking that this is as good as it’s going to get?  This may be your answer!

For years chronic pain in your neck (or shoulders, jaw, back, head) has plagued you. Fibromyalgia, TMJ, or one of the many diagnosis, or pain after a surgery that was supposed to end your pain. You experience feeling tired, achy, stiff. The pain wears you down; you just don’t have the energy you once did. Nothing has helped–not a battery of doctors, therapies, pain pills, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories. Everyone sympathizes but no one can explain your chronic pain. You tell yourself, “Guess this is part of getting older and I’ll just have to live with it.”

One day a friend who shares many of your symptoms recommends Myofascial Release. You resist, “Please, no more treatments, no more disappointments.” But your friend is looking good; she has more energy and no pain. “Why don’t you just check it out? Maybe it can help you too,” she suggests. Then she adds, “You don’t have to live with pain.” That evening, as you reach for another pill, her words echo in your head. You begin to do your research, and a new world of possibilities opens for you.

You learn that your body is surrounded by and filled with its own nylon stocking, a spider-webbed sheath, from head to toe: that is the fascial system. This connective tissue lies under the skin and runs deep, surrounding every cell of every part of the body: muscles, bones, nerves, blood, lymph, organs, down to the cellular level of each cell. The purpose of the fascial system is to hold and support these structures and allow easy communication between the organs.

A glitch in the fascial system can come from physical and emotional trauma, from postural problems, or from inflammation. To protect the body, the fascial system responds by becoming tighter and thicker. This tightening can cause pain or malfunction. Because most people are unfamiliar with the fascial system, they don’t understand what causes the pain. Patients are often subjected to tests that reveal no cause. Treatments may mask the problem, and pain is chronic.

As stress levels rise, old injuries and traumas can kick up again. Many times people say the pain comes “out of the blue”. That “out of the blue” can be from a car accident twenty years ago, a surgery ten years ago, a fall as a child. Whatever the cause, when pain disrupts the quality of life, and no treatment helps, people often will look for alternatives. Myofascial Release is highly effective for a myriad of conditions: TMJ, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, headaches, back pain, scarring from surgeries, menstrual pain, movement restrictions, incontinence, and postural problems.

Therapists trained in myofascial release look at the whole human being, not just at the part that is feeling pain. If a patient comes in with neck pain, they look at the whole body for the causes. They address daily routines, nutrition, water consumption, stress levels, all of which impact the fascial system.

According to John F. Barnes, Physical Therapist, Teacher, Author, and a leading authority on the fascial system, Myofascial Release is the “missing connection” in healthcare today. “The health professions have ignored the importance of an entire physiological system, the fascial system that profoundly influences all other structures and systems of the body.”

It all makes sense. You call your friend and ask for the referral. With confidence, hope, and a new understanding, you decide to try Myofascial Release. What have you got to lose except your chronic pain? In a way, just making the decision makes you feel better already.

Antonia Nelson, Nationally Certified Massage Therapist, Myofascial Release Therapist, Facilitator – The Way of the Heart and Life Coach – Nelson Healing Center 44 S. 2nd Avenue Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 920-818-0045 or visit www.nelsonhealingcenter.com or antonianelson.com.