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Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
What is Myofascial Release (MFR therapy)? How can it relieve pain? Let's discuss how MFR has improved our health and reduced pain and share articles about how MFR works. MFR helps so many different conditions that have compressed tissues, and entrapped blood vessels and nerves. The time to avoid MFR treatment would be if a person has cancer, because in releasing tight tissues, cancer cells could be released and able to migrate through the body.
Myofascial release is a way to stretch the fascial layers that holds our body together. The fascia is connective tissue that forms a web matrix that interconnects everything in the body. It has recently been described as the "Interstitium" or a new organ in the body.
Fascia can be too tight from injuries or surgical scar tissue, and hold the body in poor ergonomics which can lead to nerve compression. Fascia can be stretched or "released" and it will remodel itself by changing from a semi solid to liquid form which brings circulation to an area of compressed tissue which then expands the tissue and circulation, and it enables removal of metabolic waste products. Using their hands, the trained therapist will find the path of fascial restriction in the patient's body and push against it gently in a shearing motion, and wait for the tissue to start to slide. The patient can feel the movement and become body aware. This path of fascial movement can reach the full length of the body and cross over between sides. This path changes as it unravels, and often there is a vasomotor response that can be seen on the skin temporarily as a reddish area where circulation has been restored which is shown on the photo below near the therapist's hands. Treatment must be slow and gentle to prevent the body from guarding in a protective response. This is why aggressive methods to stretch fascia often fail and can cause injuries by tearing the fascia and forming scar tissue that just adds to the problem of fascial tightness.
Fascia also holds tissue memory, and in releasing it, sometimes there is a release of emotions tied to an injury that was a cause of the problem. Stress and injury can cause guarding behavior and tissue tightness that become permanent over time, and MFR and working on emotional health helps a person recover from the physical and emotional effects of stress and trauma on the body.
MFR is helpful to so many conditions that have an underlying physical cause. The physical therapist who developed this treatment method forty years ago is John Barnes. He has developed courses and MFR certifications for physical therapists. There is a lot of information about MFR at myofascialrelease.com as well as directory of therapists treating with MFR. A person may also contact Therapy on the Rocks in Sedona, AZ, and ask for recommendations of therapists who have been trained in the John Barnes Methods. MFR therapy is becoming better known and accepted healing therapy, although there are some doctors who are unaware of the benefits.
I wanted to create this discussion to help organize this information and I thought the Neuropathy group would be a good place to start because someone in pain might look here, but we could have this discussion in many discussion groups. Animals such as dogs, cats and horses have also benefited from this therapy. Hopefully as we collect information here, this discussion can be referenced and shared in the many other discussions on Mayo Clinic Connect.
Here is an incomplete list of conditions that can be helped with MFR treatment.
You may find this list and further information at https://www.myofascialrelease.com/about/problems-mfr-helps.aspx
Back pain
Bladder Problems (Urgency, Frequency, Incontinence, Overactive Bladder, leakage
Birth Injuries
Bulging Disc
Bursitis
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Cervical and Lumbar spine injuries
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Pain
Degenerative Disc Disease
Endometriosis
Emotional Trauma
Fibromyalgia
Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)
Herniated Disc
Headaches or Migraines
Infertility
Interstitial Cystitis
Menstrual Problems
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Neck Pain
Osteoarthritis
Pelvic Pain
Plantar Fascitis
Pudental Nerve Entrapment
Scars (hypertrophic, hypersensitive, painful, burn scars, mastectomy scars)
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Shin Splints
Tennis Elbow
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
TMJ syndrome
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Vulvodynia
Whiplash
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Thanks, Chris for reminding me about this video that shows actual living fascial tissue and the way it moves and I thought we should add this to our MFR discussion. It does show live tissue from surgery and is very interesting. My therapist showed this to me a few years back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW0lvOVKDxE
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3 ReactionsOh yes, @jenniferhunter. let’s add it to the discussion. Thanks. Chris
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1 ReactionI am considering MFR for my preteen daughter who has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) Any recommendations for for a practitioner in the Jacksonville Beach / Intracoastal Areas?
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1 Reaction@dmac5 I think MFR is great idea for your daughter. I checked the provider list and there are a lot in Florida. The Expert level providers have the most training from John Barnes and they have to fulfill course prerequisits before they can advance to Expert. My physical therapist is also an expert level and she knows a lot. If you look at the first pages in this discussion, there is a lot more information there. Here are the providers. https://www.mfrtherapists.com/app/list.asp?state=FL&country=US
You can call and ask questions of who ever you are considering working with. I got lucky and had a therapist who taught me about this and has been doing MFR with me for several years and she taught me how to do some of this at home to assist what she does in the office.
Hi Jennifer, nice to see you again. Thanks for the myofascial information. I suffer from overactive/incontinence bladder issues. How can myofascial release directly benefit these conditions? Where is the therapy applied?
@red3 It's nice to see you here and I hope your surgical recovery is going well. I found a few links about myofacial release for female issues, and you would want a physical therapist who does pelvic floor work. You would want a female therapist. My physical therapist has talked about some of this, but I don't have experience with these issues. Some pelvis work which I have done is pressing on the tight muscles surrounding the pelvis and spine connection to level it if it is rotated out of shape or the sacrum externally. The iliac bones can be twisted or inflared which causes low back or sciatic pain. Pelvic floor work can be internal. Here are some links that describe this with MFR, and to the therapist, this is just another way to access the muscles. If you find a therapist you are interested in, call them and ask questions about how they treat these issues and what to expect. John Barnes developed the myofascial release techniques and is referenced in the first link.
https://www.myofascialrelease.com/downloads/articles/TheFascialPelvis1.pdf
https://www.osfhealthcare.org/blog/363274525-therapy-can-help-alleviate-pelvic-floor-issues/
https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/chronolog/2010-11-18/you-want-to-do-what-where/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492521/
Another MD specialist for incontinence is a Urogynecologist. There can be different reasons for incontinence that can be weakness in the pelvic floor or a physical issue in the mechanics or a spine or nerve problem. Some treatments done by the Urogynecologist include injecting a bulking agent to help the urethra be able to close tighter, pelvic floor therapy with electrical stimulation to strengthen the muscles, Botox injections internally in the wall of the bladder to decrease overactive contractions (usually done every 6 months), and UV internal treatments or hormone replacement which helps the pelvic floor maintain health and strength.
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3 ReactionsThank you for your comprehensive overview! I am 63 y/o, have scoliosis, a long fusion, spinal stenosis, migraines, fibromyalgia. I found a person that does body work, who is not a physical therapist, but a massage therapist who specializes in a particular method of myofasial release called KCR. This stands for Kinetic Chain Release. He has studied with the founder of this particular method, and I am the lucky recipient. It is more helpful than any physical therapy I have had over the years, and infinitely less painful. It is worth using my retirement money on weekly sessions.
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3 ReactionsI just realized you referenced John Barnes. His method is the one my therapist uses!
This sounds fantastic. So glad you found it and it's providing some helpful relief. Be well.
@jenniferhunter, Thanks for asking about my spinal fusion recovery. I am about 6 weeks out. It's been challenging. At the moment I'm dealing with symptoms of anemia and insomnia. I think that the anemia comes from blood loss during the surgery and diet. I simply haven't been eating enough iron rich foods...a month before my surgery my husband went to a plant based diet, it has affected the entire family. I had my first follow up with my surgeon last week. We reviewed my X-rays and he said that things look good thus far. The insomnia is something I've battled for many years and dealing with the incisional pain of the surgery hasn't helped my sleeping. Also, the bladder issues come into play when I'm trying to sleep at night. I've been treated for Interstitial Cystitis a couple years ago. The Doc. said that this treatment is supposed to last a life time but that is not the case with me. I am aware of the other treatments you mention (except the internal myofascial release) but have not tried any of them. The articles you've provided are good and informative. I looked on YouTube and there are a lot of different Kegel and pelvic floor strengthener videos, this is probably a good time for me to check these out as I am limited as to other types of physical movement. Thanks again!