Is Trigger Point Release A Must For Quality Massage Therapy?
Myofascial Release is an alternative treatment treatment claimed to be tremendously useful for the treatment of chronic pain and frozen skeletal muscle cramps by relaxing tight contracted myofascial muscles, enhancing blood flow, boosting oxygen and nutrients, and increasing the release of pain signals from the nervous system. It's said to help alleviate the pain from conditions such as whiplash, tennis elbow, bursitis, tennis , carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger points, osteoarthritis, and multiple sclerosis. It's also said to be effective in helping to reconstruct and rehabilitate damaged tendons, ligaments, muscles, or bones. There are many different techniques for treating myofascial release, all of which may be used by themselves or in combination with each other.
The technique is frequently used for treatment of soreness throughout the body, especially in the lower back, neck, shoulders, and hip regions. A massage therapist may initially employ slow controlled shallow to deep superficial myofascial release methods to the affected muscles or tissues in order to unwind and release the tensed muscles and fascia. After the initial application of techniques, the massage therapist will progress to applying longer and deeper levels of controlled pressure until a desired amount of muscle relaxation and spasm are reached. Long sustained pressure is applied to the muscles to relieve any mechanical shortening of the fascia or the tensed muscles. Massage therapists using this technique of myofascial release on patients with injured tissues and muscles report improved blood circulation, increased oxygen and nutrition absorption in the area, and improved mobility in the treated tissues.
Controlled muscle elongation and stretching is another technique used to achieve long term and consistent pain relief and improve motor function. It is commonly used for patients with injuries to the low back, hips, shoulders, knees, or elbows. Control techniques are used on a regular and continuing basis to keep pain relief and prevent additional injury while reducing stiffness and inflammation. Most professional therapists offering myofascial release therapies are proficient in applying myofascial release techniques to patients suffering from many different chronic conditions including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis, and more. They've trained in the safe and effective application of the treatment method for more than 10 years and are highly trained in applying its specific techniques.
Among the most frequent areas where a therapist using a myofascial release device will apply the technique is in the neck, shoulder, knee, hips, and ankle areas. It is a very effective tool when used in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities like ultrasound, heat, ice, physical therapy, laser therapy, or ultrasound combined with heat and ice. A foam roller is a technical piece of equipment that is used during a massage therapy session to employ myofascial release techniques and supply deep tissue stretching. This special foam roller has a soft, insulating fabric cover that allows it to supply a comfortable, even pressure along the contours of the body while decreasing the possibility of injury.
When myofascial release techniques are used for pain control, they not only reduce the degree of discomfort in a specific area, but they also stimulate the growth of new, healthy, elastic myofascial tissues. In actuality, when a patient is undergoing a myofascial release therapy session, the therapist uses a low to moderate level stretch at the onset of the treatment and continues to do so during the session to maintain the integrity of the injured muscles and tissues. Often, depending on the depth of the pain, further treatments are applied to the client after the first treatment was administered. This is important to keep the customer comfortable and allows the therapist to determine which areas of the body require additional work and where more time should be allowed before moving on.
The method of myofascial release functions best when combined with other alternative methods of pain management, such as trigger point therapy and deep tissue massage. Trigger point therapy works by increasing the strength of the muscle you're working by applying continuous pressure over the length of the muscle. Trigger points are caused by muscle inflammation, irritation, or scar tissue that occurs in and around muscles that are overstressed. Trigger points may be treated with regular trigger point massages and/or trigger point injections, but a lot of chiropractors feel that by providing an additional method of pain control, trigger points can be effectively and completely removed with myofascial release techniques.
During a myofascial release treatment, your physical therapist may employ soft, even pressure to the targeted muscles and cells. The physical therapist will first apply gentle pressure to the area in question before moving to a midline pressure. The objective of this gentle pressure is to produce the essential trigger point decrease without causing any damage to any of the surrounding muscles or tissues. If you feel pain when the physical therapist is applying pressure to a particular spot, they're using too much pressure in that area, so just stop the session and try again later.
If you don't feel pain, it doesn't mean that your condition is treatable. Occasionally myofascia will heal on its own after a few treatments, but you may want to seek other kinds of treatment if the condition worsens. Myofascial release techniques are sometimes recommended by physical therapists or chiropractors after their individual has had three or more prior massage therapy treatments. A trigger point might be the cause of poor posture, but there are many other causes of poor posture, including muscle imbalance, weak muscles, joint stiffness, and weak ligaments and tissues. Trigger point release techniques may help all these conditions, or could be used in conjunction with other treatment approaches.