Myofascial Releases – a short introduction

Myofascial releases – many of you experience them quite noticeably during and even after your bodywork sessions. Commonly referred to as twitches, myofascial releases often manifest as uncontrollable contractions that occur anywhere in the body. While your therapist may welcome each it can take some time for you to get used to. For some that may take longer than for others.

Here is a brief synopsis of what myofascial releases actually are, and why you might want to embrace them…

Myofascial releases – what are they? What are these tugs, jolts, and spasms that sometimes occur during your treatments? Are they good? Bad? Are you the only one who experiences them? Is there something wrong with you when you do?

It is not unimportant to understand what they are. We could of course go highly scientific on these questions by talking in-depth about our human anatomy, neurology, and biochemistry. I think we might just give that a miss for now to keep this journal fairly simple. The short answer is that releases are good. Great things are happening within you when you experience them.

First, to get to heart of all this, let’s kick things off by covering some of the basics here.

Fascia is often described as the three-dimensional network of tissues that pervades our entire body. It literally connects all the cells that make up your physical presence. As it constantly responds to your body’s demands for structural integrity, balance, and strength.

While that statement is accurate it is also simplified. Despite the many deep inroads science has made over the last two decades to decipher what fascia really is and does it still holds tightly onto its mysteries. Yet, as research continues, we learn more about these tissues that have already proven to be so essential to our beingness. That said, the statement still proves useful for what’s coming below.

Let’s move onto some of the juicier details…

Myofascia as a sheath

To explain what those releases really are let’s imagine a large, smooth table with a full-cover sheet perfectly draped over its top. If it is not obstructed, and if the tabletop is smooth, that sheet will easily slide in any direction in which it is tugged. Even a very gently tug may move the entire sheet. Minimal energy is required to set things in motion.

Now, to make this analogy useful to what myofacial releases are about, substitute the tabletop for the outer layer of one of your muscles, and the sheet for fascia. Applicable, I think, because fascia is often referred to as a sheath, as in fascial sheath.

What, then, is that tug? Where does that come from?

Tugs on that sheath come from the movements you make. When you reposition your limbs – say, raise your arm, rotate your head, or lift your knee – at least one of your muscles creates a three-dimensional tug on that all-encompassing sheath of fascia. Ideally, when you do, that sheath will slide unobstructed and thus effortless over and along all the anatomical elements it touches – other muscles, organs, joints, and bones. If that’s the case you will be able to make that movement fluidly, painlessly, and even swiftly if needs to be.

Did I say ‘all-encompassing sheath of fascia’ just now? Yup, I did, and deliberately so. Remember that your fascial sheath is unending. In your body, it has no beginning and no end. Think of a circle or, better still, a sphere. Where does that start? Or end? All are continuous. In as much as it may sound inconceivable, it means that the fascia in one end of your body continuously ‘registers’ what happens at the other end. Facial connects everything in your body. Basically, if we take a few scientific liberties here, we can say that the fascia in your little toe will register any movement you make with your little finger, and vice versa.

It is possible to see how all that might work with the outer layers of your fascia by observing how your skin behaves when you move. Look what happens when you do something as simple as rotating your head from left to right. It is easy to understand that the skin on the side you rotate away from will stretch, whereas the skin on the other side will fold. The same happens when you look the other way, in which case the stretching and folding sides will of course alternate. However, when you do this you may also notice that the upper layers around your shoulders stretch too. When you really pay attention to what’s happening you may also similar sensations beneath your skin across your lower back and top of your arms. If you can sense all this you are witnessing how your fascia relays the pulls that you created with one simple head movement across your body.

Obstructing the myofascial sheath

Let’s return to the table and our sheet. This time we will attach them with some randomly placed pushpins. Naturally, as you may expect, the sheet will no longer slide off the table when we tug on it. It’s held firmly in place by the pins. What’s interesting here is to look at what happens with the sheet around the pins when we do so – it bunches up at the side that’s opposite from the direction in which the sheet is pulled. Then, like the wake of a speeding boat, it folds along the pin and stretches into the direction of the pull.

So, what would happen when we remove a pin while the sheet remains tensed like that? Assuming the sheet wasn’t damaged or permanently deformed by the two opposing forces – the tug that wanted the sheet to move, and the pin that wanted it not to move – the unobstructed sheet will now reform itself and stretch toward the only force still in play which is, of course, that of the tug itself. That’s what the sheet wants to do. How will the sheet go from its obstructed to unobstructed state? As quickly as possible, precisely like a recoiling spring.

If you can already guess how this table-and-sheet example may play out with fascia in real life, one question probably emerges. In reality, fascia isn’t affected by pushpins. So, what obstructs it?

Enter adhesions….

Fascial adhesions

Fascial adhesions consist mostly of fibrous collagen fibres, which happen to be the same substance of which tendons and ligaments are made of. They are also referred to as scar tissue adhesions, fibrous adhesions, or simply adhesions. These fibres not only form in traumatised tissues as scarring but also constantly between the soft tissues of our body. In other words, they can be very, very tenacious and strong. This is a good thing because they help to develop and maintain physical stability of our body. It can also become less of a good thing when excessive buildups of these fibres connect opposing surfaces, which should normally be able to slide over each other. Because many surfaces slide within our body when we move, such buildups will eventually restrict our mobility.

An active lifestyle prevents such fibrous build ups. With movement, the adhesions that are formed constantly are broken down and their fibres are then reabsorbed by our body. Sedentary lifestyles promote the opposite, allowing adhesions to become more numerous and stronger, which makes movement eventually harder than it should be.

As a side note, and contrary to what seems popular belief, adhesions do not necessarily reduce muscle strength. Being strong doesn’t mean that we’re also supple. Weight training does not significantly reduce stiffness. In fact, some research suggests that it can actually promote the creation and strengthening of adhesions. Adhesions appear to add to the tightness of our muscles by decreasing their ability to stretch and lengthen.

Let’s look at how that works…

Agonists and antagonists

Many muscles in our body are arranged in opposing pairs. The muscles we engage to move something are referred to as agonists. To lift a bag your biceps, which are located at the front of your upper arm, may need to contract. At the same time, your triceps, which are located at the back of your upper arm, will need to lengthen to allow the lifting movement to happen. They are the antagonists. If your triceps are unable to stretch to their natural length, your biceps will also be unable to reach their full contractile potential. If a muscle cannot lengthen, then it cannot allow movements of the body performed by the agonist to that muscle.

Think of one of those mechanical balances we use to weigh things. If both scales are left empty, the balance will move freely around its spindle. Adding weight to one side only will cause that side to drop as far as possible because it isn’t hindered by a counter force on the opposite side. When we introduce a same-weight counterforce on the other side, balance will be restored but the freedom both sides have to move will be reduced. Neither will rise or drop.

For you to raise your hand to your shoulder most efficiently your biceps should be able to contract without interference from unnecessary, simultaneous contraction of your triceps. Weight should only be applied to one side of the scales so that side can extend (drop) to its full potential. If that isn’t the case, the freedom of movement your arm – or that of the scales – becomes compromised. That’s not ideal.

Ok. How about these fascial releases then?

Let’s return one last time to our table and sheath. This time let’s affix the sheet with ten pins, which we place randomly around the table. Now when we pull on the fabric all ten pins resist the force that’s placed on the cloth, which causes it to stay in place. If we want to keep things easy and simple we can just say that each of the ten pins resists one-tenth of the pulling force we are placing on the sheet. Together, they present a counter force that is strong enough to oppose the strength of our tug.

We pull but, broadly, the sheet remains in place.

If we now continue to pull and remove pins one-by-one, those that remain will have to work progressively harder to keep the sheet in place. Once the few that are left become collectively unable to withstand our pull, each will eventually succumb to the pull’s force and detach from the table’s surface, until none are left.

This is what happen during fascial release treatments. As the number of adhesions reduces under the hands of the therapist, more tension is placed on the ones that remain. As what happened with the remaining pins above, unresolved adhesions – which are now exposed to stronger and multi-directional pulling forces – may continue to unravel after the treatment.

When they do, we speak of post-treatment releases.

What do post-treatment fascia releases feel like?

Here at AHB we tell our clients that two types of releases can be expected – gradual releases, and recoil releases. As these are our own terms it is likely that other therapists use other words to describe similar effects.

Let’s dive into each –

Gradual fascial releases

Essentially, gradual releases are slow motion versions of recoil releases. As the name suggests, this type of release happens at a slow pace and are therefore least noticeable. They might feel like something is gently melting or sliding within you, although it is often hard to tell where it happens within your body. It is typical to feel gradual releases across an area rather than at a specific point. You may feel that something is happening in your shoulder for example, whereas the release actually happens in your low back region. They can be compared to something like landslides.

Some of our clients described gradual release sensations as a deep body sigh, without actually sighing. Others mentioned the word glacial. It is also said that there’s something soothing about these releases.

One interesting side effect of gradual releases is that they can make you feel tired and fatigued, even when you are actually not. They often cause clients to fall asleep during treatments. They can also make them feel disoriented, unbalanced, and drowsy for some time after the session completes.

Recoil fascial releases

Unlike gradual releases, recoil releases are usually quite noticeable. They happen quickly, giving you the idea that a spring suddenly recoils within your body which, in fact, sort of is what happens. Recoil releases are commonly associated with muscles, tendons, and narrow bands of tense fascial bands. In most cases you will be able to identify where the release occurs because they often have a distinctive epicentre. Compared to gradual releases, recoil releases are usually more intense. Some can be strong enough to jolt your entire body.

Unlike the landslides that gradual releases are, recoil releases are more like earthquakes. Some of our clients described recoil release sensations as a small lightning strike, an intense pinch, or something akin to a growth spurt. Only in very rare cases will they be painful. Severe recoil releases can for a few seconds immobilise that part of the body in which they occur.

Myofascia releases – wrapping things up…

Facial releases can be uncomfortable at times, especially when they occur after your treatments. Only very, very rarely will they be painful or disabling. On the contrary, and as I already mentioned above, they may actually bring you progressively in a deeper state of relaxation. It is very common for my clients to feel tired or even exhausted after their sessions. Some say they feel extraordinarily peaceful for some time after returning home.

It will never be possible to predict how many releases you may experience after a treatment. Nor will it be possible to predict when you may experience them, or when all that releasing will stop. Generally, most clients will be ‘release-free’ within 12 hours after their treatment. However, I also have clients who still experience them three days after leaving our practice. Others never do.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind after your treatment –

Ask your bodywork therapist

Although we are learning much more about fascia and their releases daily, medical science continues to unravel the many mysteries that our bodies are holding onto. It is certain that we still do not have a fullest-possible understanding of the nature and characteristics of our fascia. That some of my text above is therefore over-simplified is something I am well aware of.

One of the most important roles we can play as your bodywork therapists is to help you understand your body. It is here where over-simplification can help; where attempts to be technically and medically accurate seldom are. Especially if you are one of my clients I invite you to send me your questions or feedback as a comment below.