@ashby1947 Sue, that's wonderful that you were a PT, so you probably know how to lay down to put your neck on slack and feel the spineous processes to see if they are aligned. The thing about MFR is there are layers of fascia that you work through like peeling an onion and that can take some time, but if you stick with it and keep doing home stretching to maintain it, you will make better progress. I have been doing MFR for several years mostly because of thoracic outlet syndrome, and my spine issue cropped up sending me to surgery and recovery.

Magnesium helps muscles to relax and most of us are deficient and it is needed for detoxing the body. Soaking in an epsom salt bath will help you absorb it through your skin. This weekend my physical therapist is at a workshop taking classes with John Barns, the originator of MFR and his gentle methods of stretching. The idea is to create a shearing force and go to the barrier and wait until it releases. With too much pressure, the fascia can tear and create scar tissue that just makes it worse.

At some point, PT may not help if there is enough bone growth pressing on the nerves and it becomes a choice of treating pain or fixing a structural problem of nerve compression. My PT bought me some time before spine surgery which was good because at that time (before coming to Mayo), I could not find a surgeon willing to help me and spent 2 years seeing various local surgeons. If you don't have disc issues, clearing up foraminal stenosis would be a lesser surgery and might even be able to be minimally invasive. Is surgery an option for you?