Myofascial release - similar to massage?

[Liz CA]

I am still in search for more lasting relief for my back / hip issue.

Is myofascial release similar to massage? If not, how is it different? Can you learn to do it yourself? I looked up a practitioner near me and they seem to charge a hefty sum.

[Liz CA]

Bumping for the evening crowd.

[Terabith]

Not really.  I mean, it's like massage in that it involves someone's hands on you.  But it's not long strokes and relaxing.  It's putting pressure on trigger points.  It actually hurts like hell, but when they let go, if you're luck, the area that was tight/ painful doesn't hurt anymore.  It works rather amazingly well for me, but it is definitely a painful thing to have done.  You can learn to do it yourself, but I have not really learned how to do it myself, but part of the trick is knowing where to press for a certain area being sore.  And being able to apply it past the point of pain yourself.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Terabith

[stibalfamily]

When I had a myofacial massage it hurt. She was pressing and rubbing out knots and it was much more painful then I expected. Even areas that I didn't even have problems with or even know I had knots hurt. It was not relaxing at all in fact I was wincing. I am a polite person and I was having a hard time expressing that she was really hurting me. I never went back. My muscles felt really good after the fact though, much better than after a message. It wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe if I had a medical condition of some sort I would change my mind.

[Liz CA]

Sounds a little scary. ? Do you think it's comparable to deep tissue massage on the pain level?

I am okay to be uncomfortable even some pain if I knew it had long-term positive effects. If I know I going to feel like someone send me over Niagara Falls in a barrel today but tomorrow I am feeling like a million bucks, it may be worth it??!! Contemplating this.

[Terabith]

It's more painful than deep tissue.  I certainly wouldn't do it other than for a specific thing.  When it's been done for a headache, or because my neck was knotted up from tension from TMJ?  It's amazing how powerful the release of that pain is.  But I certainly wouldn't do it to feel good later....

[dsmith]

I've gotten some relief from neck and shoulder pain as well as hip pain with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Permanent-Pain-Cure-Ming-Chew-ebook/dp/B0018TVY52/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D1VPJ240243W72350ZYC

In a nutshell, there is a 10 day preparation period of hydration, anti-inflammatory diet and supplements, followed by spinal and fascial stretches and myofascial release techniques. I followed his recommendations for water and a few of the recommended supplements that were in line with what I was already taking. I don't take the enzymes that he recommends. This book is a process and not a quick fix, but many people have found relief with his methods. There is also a strengthening program for when your pain level is down to a 1. I'm a few weeks in and happy with the results so far. A friend who used this for relief for chronic back pain told me about the book. I only wish I had purchased the paperback, not the Kindle edition, and that a video was available. 

[Liz CA]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

It's more painful than deep tissue.  I certainly wouldn't do it other than for a specific thing.  When it's been done for a headache, or because my neck was knotted up from tension from TMJ?  It's amazing how powerful the release of that pain is.  But I certainly wouldn't do it to feel good later....

 

I do have specific issues with a congenital skeletal malformation which is being helped by chiro manipulation, however, the muscles around it seem to be in a vice grip and are tightening on the sciatic nerve - and that gets nasty when it shoots down your leg like electricity.

1 hour ago, dsmith said:

I've gotten some relief from neck and shoulder pain as well as hip pain with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Permanent-Pain-Cure-Ming-Chew-ebook/dp/B0018TVY52/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D1VPJ240243W72350ZYC

In a nutshell, there is a 10 day preparation period of hydration, anti-inflammatory diet and supplements, followed by spinal and fascial stretches and myofascial release techniques. I followed his recommendations for water and a few of the recommended supplements that were in line with what I was already taking. I don't take the enzymes that he recommends. This book is a process and not a quick fix, but many people have found relief with his methods. There is also a strengthening program for when your pain level is down to a 1. I'm a few weeks in and happy with the results so far. A friend who used this for relief for chronic back pain told me about the book. I only wish I had purchased the paperback, not the Kindle edition, and that a video was available. 

 

I will check this out. I've been dealing with this for 25 years (this is how long I have known something was wrong). Prior to that, I did not know there was a congenital malformation and did not have any issues but with age all kinds of "great" things are being revealed.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Liz CA

[dsmith]

7 hours ago, Liz CA said:

 

I do have specific issues with a congenital skeletal malformation which is being helped by chiro manipulation, however, the muscles around it seem to be in a vice grip and are tightening on the sciatic nerve - and that gets nasty when it shoots down your leg like electricity.

 

I will check this out. I've been dealing with this for 25 years (this is how long I have known something was wrong). Prior to that, I did not know there was a congenital malformation and did not have any issues but with age all kinds of "great" things are being revealed.

 

One of the many joys of getting older.? I've had the neck and shoulder pain for about 30 years now and really didn't think it was going to help at all, so I was very surprised to get some relief.

My mother-in-law had a serious fall, and one of the few good things that came out of that was having an excellent physical therapist come to the house. After that ran out she started seeing him at the practice he has with his wife. They do a combination of myofascial release, trigger point therapy, standard p/t along with some stretches/moves that look very similar to what is in the book, infrared therapy and acupuncture. She is finally getting some relief after a lifetime of pain. We were lucky that she had an unused prescription for p/t that one of her follow up docs gave her, and this place is willing to work within her Medicare coverage, so she is paying just a $10 copay. This is a woman that has never made it past the first 3 visits of standard p/t and was laying on the couch most of the day. 

[KungFuPanda]

I’ve never been, but I have dance friends that swear a local rolfer is a magician. From what I can gather it’s like a chiropractor but for fascia. 

[Cindy in FL.]

I have gotten some relief from myofascial pain with The Melt Method. It uses a foam roller and balls to help release the fascia.

[Carol in Cal.]

I LOVE MFR.  It's completely different from massage.

It involves pressure for a sustained period of time, like maybe 90 seconds to several minutes, in an area that gradually relaxes into that pressure and then adjust from it.  The good thing about this for me is that there are no sudden moves like in chiro or massage, so I don't tense up.  I can deeply relax into the pressure (which is sometimes a little painful, but not bad), and then gradually feel better and better.  And I feel amazing afterwards.

For chiro I vastly prefer Directional Non-force Chiropractic.  No cracks, no sudden moves, very gentle but extremely, magically effective.

I drive to the next county for both of these--Santa Cruz County has an amazing number of alternative healers, and I have found outstanding ones there and have not been able to find any where I live.  If you could consider heading there, I would be able to recommend specific, excellent practitioners in those fields as well as acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, and the Alexander method.  

[Liz CA]

22 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I LOVE MFR.  It's completely different from massage.

It involves pressure for a sustained period of time, like maybe 90 seconds to several minutes, in an area that gradually relaxes into that pressure and then adjust from it.  The good thing about this for me is that there are no sudden moves like in chiro or massage, so I don't tense up.  I can deeply relax into the pressure (which is sometimes a little painful, but not bad), and then gradually feel better and better.  And I feel amazing afterwards.

For chiro I vastly prefer Directional Non-force Chiropractic.  No cracks, no sudden moves, very gentle but extremely, magically effective.

I drive to the next county for both of these--Santa Cruz County has an amazing number of alternative healers, and I have found outstanding ones there and have not been able to find any where I live.  If you could consider heading there, I would be able to recommend specific, excellent practitioners in those fields as well as acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, and the Alexander method.  

 

I have learned over years of chiro not to tense up but it's definitely an issue when I am in pain and my whole left side is as tight as a drum.

Masage has helped some. I lapsed from going weekly and this may be why things have deteriorated again.

If you want to PM me some names, I'd appreciate it. It will be a long drive and I may see if they can recommend someone closer to my area but some days I am close to desperate.

Getting a referral from an excellent practitioner is still better than googling and picking a name.

ETA: Just told dh about this and he immediately suggested we take a mini vacation there..he plays golf while I get MFR. We just returned from a one week vacation by the coast up north. :)

Edited September 16, 2018 by Liz CA

[Carol in Cal.]

53 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

I have learned over years of chiro not to tense up but it's definitely an issue when I am in pain and my whole left side is as tight as a drum.

Masage has helped some. I lapsed from going weekly and this may be why things have deteriorated again.

If you want to PM me some names, I'd appreciate it. It will be a long drive and I may see if they can recommend someone closer to my area but some days I am close to desperate.

Getting a referral from an excellent practitioner is still better than googling and picking a name.

ETA: Just told dh about this and he immediately suggested we take a mini vacation there..he plays golf while I get MFR. We just returned from a one week vacation by the coast up north. ?

Liz, I would love to but my mailbox is full and I can't figure out how to delete any of the conversations.

And you could totally plan a mini vacay there.  It's also the home of the best leg waxer I have ever had.  Hair cuts/color sessions are nutsy expensive there, though, and no better than anywhere else.  

Something to think about is that bodywork often requires recovery.  It's probably not a great idea to do chiro and MFR in the same day, and initial chiro visits often need a followup in 2-3 days.  If I were in your shoes with a week to plan for, I'd probably have chiro and an NP evaluation the first day, MFR the second, chiro the third, and Alexander and/or melt method the fourth.  Then sightsee a little and take stock.  (It IS a really nice area to visit.)  

[Liz CA]

I just checked if I could delete private messages and it appears if you click on the inbox and the down arrow there is only one option of "Empty" and this deletes all messages. Awkward.

[Mary in VA]

You might consider looking into trigger point dry needling.  It is done by PTs and involves inserting acupuncture needles into trigger points and moving them in a way that releases the knot.  My 23 yo was a ballet dancer for 18 years and LOVED "getting needled" when she had hard knots in her muscles.  She is starting PT school and can't wait to learn how to do this. The insertion of the needle itself doesn't hurt but sometimes as it releases it can be painful.  Some places the PT needs a prescription to do dry needling and in other jurisdictions they can do it on their own. 

https://www.moveforwardpt.com/resources/detail/dry-needling-by-physical-therapist-what-you-should

[Sallie Mae]

About 30 years ago when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia while living in the Virginia Beach area, I was fortunate enough to be sent to a physical therapist who did MFR. He explained that my muscles were "upset" and had developed knots/lumps. He applied pressure the the knots until the muscles "released". I saw the PT twice a week for 6 weeks, during which time he also taught me how to properly stretch all my muscles, but especially the muscles with the knots. He suggested I take Aleve before I came to the appointment and drink lots of water the rest of the day. Receiving the MFR and learning how stretch really did change my life and got me moving again. The PT was kind enough to let my husband be in the room when he did the therapy so my husband could learn what to do to help me. I learned to lay on a tennis ball to reach the knots on my back or shoulders and if that wouldn't have worked, I would have purchased an item called a Thera Cane to use. (Do a search on Thera Cane to see what it looks like.) I am forever grateful to that PT for teaching me and my husband about MFR and the importance of stretching.  I will say the process....HURT. Like make me cuss and want to bite the PT's hand, but even after the first visit, I had a significant improvement. By the end of the six weeks, I couldn't believe the difference it had made and the turn around in my pain levels and mobility. I was 28 years old and had felt like my life was almost over due to pain and immobility, so I was willing to put up with the temporary pain to get results. My PT encouraged me to read about MFR and to learn how muscles work so I wasn't just taking his word about MFR, but I fully understood what was happening with my muscles: how they had gotten into bad shape, during the MFR and the necessity of stretching.  So, for me, it was a life saver, though the process wasn't easy. I think one thing that helped me to have good   results was that I received therapy twice a week for six weeks, and I knew up front it was going to be uncomfortable, though the discomfort decreased with each session. Feel free to ask more questions if you would like. Best of luck.

[Liz CA]

Those of you who have said MFR hurt: Does it hurt long after the appointment or just for a bit after the knot is poked? 

[Terabith]

For me, it mostly just hurt while it was being done.  It was a little tender after the knot is poked, but there was pretty massive relief almost immediately.  Doesn't hurt long after the appointment.  

[Sallie Mae]

For me, I remember the most discomfort after the first few visits. Taking the Aleve and drinking the water, etc. did help. I would describe the process more like the knot being pressed/held until you feel the muscle "release." As the PT was pressing on the knot, my muscle would quiver until it released, and then you could see my arm lower right before your eyes. I wasn't doing anything different - the muscle was doing it. I couldn't believe the increase in range of motion I had that quickly in my shoulders/neck/arms. I would be sore the next day, but I could move. I figured, I had hurt without MFR and I couldn't move, and though I was sore with MFR, I could move, so it was worth it to me. That was just my experience. 

[Sallie Mae]

I agree with the way Arctic Mama described MFR above and why you would go through it. Well said.

[Carol in Cal.]

23 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Those of you who have said MFR hurt: Does it hurt long after the appointment or just for a bit after the knot is poked? 

I consciously relaxed into the pressure, and the pain was not as intense as others have described (and I would characterize myself as having an unusually low threshhold of pain) and did not endure after the appointment.

BTW, I may have found a way to reach you privately.  If it happens to work, LMK and I will send you those recommendations you wanted.

[Carol in Cal.]

Update:  private method was ineffective.  Drat.

[Liz CA]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Update:  private method was ineffective.  Drat.

 

If I pm you an email address, can you read your PMs?

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, Liz CA said:

 

If I pm you an email address, can you read your PMs?

Go ahead and try it.  I am not sure that my inbox isn't full though, but let's try.

[Carol in Cal.]

Success!  Thank you so much HLAL!