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Myofascial release is a form of soft tissue therapy used to treat somatic dysfunction - the impaired or altered function of the musculo-skeletal system. This system is made up of the body's bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints, and the connective tissue that holds it all in place, the fascial web.

Fascia - which comprises the fascial web - is like a thin film of fibrous connective tissue separating or binding together muscles and organs. This tissue covers every muscle and every fiber within each muscle. All muscle stretching, then, is actually a stretching of the fascia and the muscle or the myofascial unit.

As with most tissue, an irritation of fascia or muscle will cause local inflammation. In chronic conditions, inflammation can result in fibrosis, or a thickening of the connective tissue. This thickening causes pain and irritation, resulting in reflexive muscle tension that causes still more inflammation. And so the cycle repeats itself and can result in ischaemia (a restriction in blood supply) and somatic dysfunction even in the absence of the original problem.

Myofascial Release treats these symptoms by releasing the uneven tightness in injured fascia. This is accomplished by relaxing contracted muscles, increasing circulation, increasing venous and lymphatic drainage, and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia.

In other words, Myofascial Release is a stretching of the fascia. Guided by feedback felt from the patient's body the therapist determines how much force to use, the direction of the stretch, how long to stretch and which muscles are stretched and in what order.

Myofascial techniques generally fall under two main categories: passive - the patient stays completely relaxed (as one might expect during a therapeutic massage) and active - the patient provides resistance as necessary. Both techniques are used in Rolfing� Structural Integration (if you missed our last newsletter click here to learn more about Rolfing).

Myofascial Release can be used to treat a number of soft tissue problems and has proven to be an effective treatment for a variety of resulting conditions such as chronic back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, TMJ, and vertigo.

For more information on Myofascial Release please visit the article on Wikipedia and Carol J. Manheim's site, Myofascial Release.com. Both websites were useful resources in the creation of this article.