SOFT TISSUE MODERN MYOFASCIAL RELEASE

therapist applies moderate to gentle hand and elbow pressure into the tissue. The approach addresses the cause and effect relationship: the therapist waits for the tissue to release, signified by a yielding or softening of the tissue, and follows the collagenous releases in the deep fascial layers. The patient’s feedback and visual and sensory responses are followed, thus allowing time for emotional and sensory reorganisation. This permits the body time to move through the restrictions in order to regain its own natural balance. The non-direct approach views

the body as the container of the unconscious mind. I have trained in both approaches,

but I choose to use the modern form of MFR in my practice; this is also the style that I teach and promote. I prefer the modern approach because I don’t overuse my fingers and thumbs or have to work so hard to make the client’s body more pliable. Modern MFR is easy to use because we don’t need to follow lines or know where every muscle begins and ends. The modern approach allows the fascia to release naturally, breaking habitual holding and bracing patterns and permitting a reintegration of awareness with physical function. With the modern approach, we don’t need to work fast. We get more done by taking our time with fewer techniques, allowing the pressure and heat of our hands to do the work for us. We don’t use strength: our body weight, the heat of our hands and simply taking time initiate the release in the tissue. The release feels like a melting or yielding sensation, and we follow this feeling of fluidity. This is the piezoelectric effect: a low-load pressure, over time, creates a physical and chemical reaction in the tissue, allowing it to return naturally to a normal resting length. The Arndt–Schultz law states that

heavy pressures inhibit physiological activity while light pressure enhances activity. With the modern form of MFR, less is more. The results that occur from doing barely anything will change the way you view musculoskeletal dysfunction and the way you treat your patients.

TECHNIQUE In our workshops we teach therapists to feel and stretch slowly into the fascial network. The word “collagen” means “glue producer”. We teach therapists to feel for this glue-like texture, which, when dense, thick or hard, defines a fascial restriction. The modern MFR technique is very different from massaging muscles, tendons and ligaments. We teach therapists to be patient, to wait for the release, to allow their hands to be fluid in applying the pressure, and to move slowly though each and every fascial restriction. The time element is a vital factor: fascia cannot be forced, as it will naturally meet that force in return. Hence, the MFR therapist provides a sustained gentle pressure for a minimum of 90–120 seconds, allowing the fascia to elongate naturally and to return to its normal resting length, so restoring health and providing results that are both measurable and functional. Since fascia is a three-dimensional

structure, fascial restrictions are also three-dimensional and we must treat them in a three-dimensional manner. An area in the body that commonly becomes short or restricted is the anterior thigh. The rectus femoris attaches to the anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) and crosses the hip and knee. When this area becomes short, it pulls the AIIS forward and down. This creates an abnormal pull through the pelvic floor and sacroiliac and low lumbar joints and compresses nerves and blood vessels. This restriction is not isolated: there will be many counterbalances and compensations all

THE FUNCTION OF FASCIA, WE MAY BE ABLE TO TREAT MANY PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY WITHOUT THE AID OF SURGERY AND MEDICATION

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WITH A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN STRUCTURE AND

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