Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain

I have looked at using Kratom as well. I have found most of the conventional methods are not working. I can't even begin to tell you how many drugs that I've been on over the years. Now have post Covid issues and I'm feeling unheard in my pain issues. Ever since the opiate crisis, pain patients are left in the cold. I wonder if in there statistics, they have actual pain patients that have committed suicide. Contact me and let me know where you buy from and how well it has worked for pain.

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This is super interesting- thank you!

Hi all. My wife has chronic pain, and we are always looking for ways to help at home. I'm curious if anyone has experience with this tool.

The Hyperblade Pro
https://halipax.com/products/hyperblade-pro%E2%84%A2-myofascial-release-therapy-device

Oh, let's see - I do have some questions for you - have you or your wife actually experienced a physical therapist or massage therapist, whether using a device or by hand manipulation, perform myofascial release? Does she have a specific diagnosis for her chronic pain, such as an underlying disease or prior injury, or has it just increased over time due to unknown causes?

Here's the reason I am asking - I'm not a medical expert but I have lived with pain as my friend & enemy for a very long time. What causes my pain is definitely different than what causes it for others. And I have underlying issues as well. So what works for me, well, it works for me. But it may or may not work for any other person on the planet.

And what is safe for me is not necessarily so for anyone else. And that safety question is the most important. People with certain issues, implants in their bodies, heart problems, seizure disorders, and a whole host of other medical issues should never try electrical stimulation (part of what this tool does) except with expert care and instruction.

Remember, the hand held tools "as seen on TV" or in other settings are only as effective as the technique of the user. So even if it works for the therapist, the home version may not help, and ends up as an expensive paperweight.

Myofascial release, which this promotes, is a highly skilled process, and practitioners spend years learning to do it. I would be skeptical that a device could replace it.

Please share a few more details, and maybe we cah make some suggestions to help your wife.
Sue

Thanks for the reply. Yes, she has been through more PTs than I can count. We just started Myofascial release with someone trained in the Barnes method, but it's a 50 mile drive every time. We have a small handheld ultrasound that we use regularly and that provides some, minimal, help.

She has had two nerve ablations. Many rounds of PT. She does egoscue posture exercises. She works on SI joint, hip flexors, and glutes. But, no one has given a definitive diagnosis, which is what is so frustrating. This journey consists of ups and downs, more downs than ups.

The past week has been really bad. She can barely put weight on her left leg. Getting out of bed in the morning is one of the hardest things. I know there's no magic bullet, just always on the lookout for something that will provide some help.

I'm going to bring some friends into the discussion - chronic pain is a beast, and sometimes it takes a lot of ideas, false starts and retries to find what might work. Let's ask Rachel @rwinney , Jennifer @jenniferhunter and Chris @artscaping if they have any ideas to offer.
I encourage her to keep trying - and I love hearing that she is working to get better, because no one can fix it without her effort. Tell her I appreciate how hard it is to keep going when nothing seems to work for very long.
Sue
Oh, one more thing - she should ask the MFR therapist what to do between sessions. My best "therapy friends" at home were a 6 foot cotton webbing strap 2" wide with a hand loop sewn on each end, a rolled up thin old hand towel and a tennis ball sized ball with small bumps all over it (I think it is a dog toy)

You are right, a machine will not replace it. In my experience it is sometime before you see improvements. At times I have even asked if they were doing anything. I did not get much out of it. But many do, and swear by it.

@ssiem37 @sueinmn I took a look at this tool. It looks like it is trying to combine functions of tools that are used by physical therapists and do multiple things at once.

My PT has a Powerplate which is a vibrating platform large enough to stand or sit on that is about 10 inches off the ground. It has multiple settings for the vibration amplitude and duration and may even have patterns that change the vibration which is geared to allow a user to do stretching with vibration that is supposed to be able to help stretch the fascia, but the person is doing the stretch and it is just assisted by vibrations.

My PT also has a Dolphin Neurostimulation devices which is 2 hand held devices that send a current between them. That current is programmed for different patterns. Some are targeted to block the pain signals from neurotransmitters in the nerves, and using this helps release built up electric charges held in muscles that are spasming. Electric charges can also cause muscle contraction and spasms, so the setting is very important for what program the device is set to do.

The John Barnes methods for myofascial release work by first pressing into the body, and pushing in a direction causing a gentle shearing motion across fascia, and that depends on having a stretching force between 2 points, usually the therapists hands. Sometimes a person will lay on a ball and have a stretching force in a particular direction and that ball is holding the stretch because of using their their body weight to work for them. Holding a tool against the body, is not going to provide a lateral shearing force unless it is pressed in and then pushed sideways. This toll would be vibrating and providing some type of electric stimulation, so that isn't really myofascial release. It's possible using it with an additional hand providing a lateral shearing force could be helpful, but I don't know if the device can be pressed comfortably into muscle to hold pressure. I also don't know if the electrical stimulation will cause muscle contractions which kind of defeats the purpose of stretching if muscles start contracting.

Myofascial release has become a buzzword for marketing, and real MFR is a hands on manual therapy provided by a highly trained professional. There are other ways to stretch fascia like suction cups, but those are more aggressive. If you try to forcibly stretch fascia, it can tear creating more scar tissue and creating a bigger problem. The body tries to resist and brace against too much force, and that is why MFR works so well because it is under the body's reaction threshold. For professional tools, there should be scientific unbiased studies that demonstrate the benefit of what the device is supposed to do.

Would you consider consulting a therapist who does MFR work? That may be more beneficial, and they may have an opinion about this kind of a device being marketed to the public.

Good evening @ssiem37 and @sueinmn. I am another one of those chronic pain folks who is forced to find something or anything that brings relief without using techniques that increase rather than decrease my SFN (small fine neuropathy) pain. My MFR therapist has spent hundreds of hours in MFR training with John Barnes. She now owns her own clinic that focuses on pediatric patients as well as her MFR Expert work for adults. She is often called into the hospital to handle infants who need MFR to straighten out the fascia to help close skull openings and other abnormal body issues.

For me, I started with a once-a-week hour of basic MFR techniques. The goal was to keep the progressive neuropathy from taking over my life. It has now been 5 years and I cannot imagine how I would have survived without MFR. I now have two sessions a week and in so doing have eliminated all forms of pain medication other than medical cannabis. I should mention that very often on a treatment day, my body is pretty painful when I leave the clinic. Fascia has been stretched and then released. In so doing, I am left with discomfort by the end of the session. However, when I wake up the next morning I have my best and least painful day in front of me.

I think Sue addressed another issue and that is to be aware of what you should be doing for yourself between MFR sessions. Actually, my Yoga and Mindfulness teacher came up with a list of about 10 daily yoga stretches to keep my muscles flexible and calm until the next session. Mindful mediation, which I practice daily, can also provide me with a release of tension that could lead me right back to the pain game. As Spring brings melting snow and warmer weather, I will start walking along the river trail for up to 2 miles a day. This also is another supportive step to staying ahead of the fascia restrictions.

As we all know, there are no magic pills and no free lunches. Keep trying......don't give up.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris