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

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

Thank you @jenniferhunter for such a detailed information on MFR. you mentioned it is not recommended for cancer patient. I want to know if the cancer is in remission, can such patient try out MFR?
I went through most of the links to Che k that but could t find the information and hence bothering you.
Thank you.
Varsha

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Profile picture for varsha08 @varsha08

Thank you @jenniferhunter for such a detailed information on MFR. you mentioned it is not recommended for cancer patient. I want to know if the cancer is in remission, can such patient try out MFR?
I went through most of the links to Che k that but could t find the information and hence bothering you.
Thank you.
Varsha

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@varsha08 That was an older recommendation regarding MFR after having cancer. Your cancer specialist may allow it, and you may have scar tissue from treatment that could be helped, but your doctor needs to make the decision. Thanks for asking; it is a good question. I asked my PT who does MFR about it and she said that the doctors need to decide if it is right, but that some patients are doing this after cancer. The original thought was that if cancer cells were present in the area being stretched, it may liberate them in the body. However, for that to happen, it needs to be adjacent to blood or lymph system vessels.

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Profile picture for Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor @jenniferhunter

@varsha08 That was an older recommendation regarding MFR after having cancer. Your cancer specialist may allow it, and you may have scar tissue from treatment that could be helped, but your doctor needs to make the decision. Thanks for asking; it is a good question. I asked my PT who does MFR about it and she said that the doctors need to decide if it is right, but that some patients are doing this after cancer. The original thought was that if cancer cells were present in the area being stretched, it may liberate them in the body. However, for that to happen, it needs to be adjacent to blood or lymph system vessels.

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Thank you so much. I will check with my oncologist in my next visit.
Appreciate your response.
Varsha

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Thank you I forgot what it was called my PT moved out of state. It helped with my hip replacements and actebulum fracture along with broken pubic ramus. I see my orthopedic surgeon this week so I will get a new prescription. This made me feel a lot better a long with deep tissue massage and pool therapy.

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Is ART ( active release therapy)
Sounds similar to MFR
My doctor recommended ART to me for sciatica and SI joint dysfunction pain and it helped tremendously, unfortunately insurance companies will not pay. They consider this experimental, even though it’s been around since the 50s. I’m so tired of our medical world just wanting to treat conditions with pain painkillers, and those of us who want to do it holistically get screwed having to pay out-of-pocket when there’s a lot of proven benefits of these methods acupuncture acupressure ART Therapy MFR therapy and the list goes on. I wish that some doctors that offer these methods would charge less or work with those of us who want to do these treatments. Because they’re all very expensive.

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Profile picture for berard10 @berard10

Is ART ( active release therapy)
Sounds similar to MFR
My doctor recommended ART to me for sciatica and SI joint dysfunction pain and it helped tremendously, unfortunately insurance companies will not pay. They consider this experimental, even though it’s been around since the 50s. I’m so tired of our medical world just wanting to treat conditions with pain painkillers, and those of us who want to do it holistically get screwed having to pay out-of-pocket when there’s a lot of proven benefits of these methods acupuncture acupressure ART Therapy MFR therapy and the list goes on. I wish that some doctors that offer these methods would charge less or work with those of us who want to do these treatments. Because they’re all very expensive.

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@berard10 Physical therapists can code the session in a way that pleases the insurance company and just use something like a manual therapy code. You may want to discuss this with your PT. I understand the dilemma.

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I have used myofascial release for several years now. It got rid of my back pain which I had for 20 years and for which none of the traditional treatsment worked, Not even PT which I did at least once a year to no avail. The major bad guy turned out to be my Ilio psoas, which no one in those 20 years even mentioned.

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Hi - I'm new to this support group and have a question about MFR. Of all the conditions listed that could benefit from this therapy, neuropathy isn't listed. So for those of us with numbness of feet, burning and tingling in our feet and legs, could MFR be of value? Thanks!

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Profile picture for coloradogal @coloradogal

Hi - I'm new to this support group and have a question about MFR. Of all the conditions listed that could benefit from this therapy, neuropathy isn't listed. So for those of us with numbness of feet, burning and tingling in our feet and legs, could MFR be of value? Thanks!

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@coloradogal I don't have neuropathy and there can be many things involved. According to my physical therapist, nerves simply wear out with aging causing neuropathy. Other reasons related to tight fascia affect circulation of body fluids that can trap waste products in tissues or compression of nerves traveling through tight spaces. MFR can help that and also get the body moving better and with better alignment and mechanics. If neuropathy has physical issues such as these, MFR may help. There are lots of discussions in the Neuropathy group that do recommend trying MFR therapy. I do have a older friend who had lost feeling in her legs and feet and was unable to drive because of it. She was able to regain some of that with MFR and be able to drive again. That may not be all of the issues, but it did help in her circumstance.

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Profile picture for tonydven @tonydven

I have used myofascial release for several years now. It got rid of my back pain which I had for 20 years and for which none of the traditional treatsment worked, Not even PT which I did at least once a year to no avail. The major bad guy turned out to be my Ilio psoas, which no one in those 20 years even mentioned.

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@tonydven I'm glad MFR helps you. You may be interested in this technical article that explains how muscles connected to the spine and pelvis can cause symptoms that mimic a spine problem with overly tight muscles yanking on the spine.
https://mskneurology.com/identify-treat-lumbar-plexus-compression-syndrome-lpcs/

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