Fascial Stretching
Fascia stretching therapy is therapist-assisted stretching and mobility work for plantar fasciitis, neck pain, and other musculoskeletal conditions. It works on the whole connective tissue system, not just single muscles.
Service
Fascial Manipulation
Fascial manipulation is a manual therapy technique for treating pain from soft tissue injury. It targets muscles and fascia to help ease musculoskeletal pain and stiffness and improve how you move.
What is Fascial Manipulation?
Fascial Manipulation® (FM) is a manual therapy method that targets muscles and fascia to improve musculoskeletal pain and stiffness, while aiming to restore muscular balance, increase flexibility and improve coordination.
Fascial manipulation is not the same as Active Release Technique (ART) or myofascial release. It follows its own system for assessing the whole myofascial system and treating specific points in the fascia.
Benefits
Benefits of fascial manipulation
- May help reduce musculoskeletal pain and stiffness
- Can help restore gliding between layers of soft tissue
- May improve flexibility, muscular balance and coordination
- Can reduce strain on joints and nearby soft tissues as movement improves
- May support healing in soft tissue once that strain is reduced
- Aims to improve movement control across a region, not only relieve one spot
Who it is for
Who it may be right for
- People with low back, neck, hip, knee or shoulder pain
- People with foot and ankle pain
- People with jaw (TMJ) pain or tension headaches
- People with deep, aching muscle pain, a "knot" in a muscle, or pain that eases with movement or heat
Background
What is fascia?
Fascia is connective tissue found throughout the body. It was once thought of as simple "filler" around bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Today it is recognized as a network rich in nerve endings that helps sense and coordinate movement, and some researchers describe it as a sensory organ.
Normally, a fluid between the layers of fascia lets them slide over one another as you move. After trauma or ongoing tension, that fluid can thicken and the layers can stick together. These adhesions can trap small nerves and blood vessels, which may contribute to pain, stiffness and swelling.
Fascial manipulation is a system for finding and treating these adhesions. Beyond easing a specific area, it aims to change how that region and the brain communicate, to improve movement control.
The technique
How does fascial manipulation work?
Treatment starts with a comprehensive evaluation of the myofascial system to identify stiffness and restrictions in coordination and movement.
Your therapist then directs treatment to specific points in the fascia, which the method calls Centers of Coordination (CCs) and Centers of Fusion (CFs). The aim is to reduce fascial adhesions and restore normal gliding of the soft tissue.
As movement improves, nearby joints and soft tissues are relieved of strain, which may reduce pain and support healing, and normal movement control through the nervous system can be restored.
Symptoms
What are symptoms of tight fascia?
Fascia is a web of connective fibers throughout the body. Because it contains many nerve endings, it can be very sensitive, and when it is stressed or injured it can tighten.
Signs of tight fascial tissue include:
- Deep, aching pain in a muscle
- Pain that feels better with movement
- Pain that responds well to heat
- A "knot" in a muscle
During treatment
Does fascial manipulation hurt?
It depends on the severity and location of the injury. Treatment can feel very relaxing, or it can be uncomfortable or even painful when the tension is deep and needs a lot of pressure.
Some people notice less pain and better mobility after one session, and it often takes several treatments to fully address an injury.
Side effects usually last a few days, and not everyone has them.
Possible side effects include:
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Soreness
- Sensitivity
Research
What does the research show?
In a 2019 pragmatic clinical trial of 102 people with low back pain, the group treated with fascial manipulation had greater improvements in pain, disability and their own rating of change than the group that received standard physical therapy. The authors concluded that fascial manipulation may be an effective treatment for low back pain.
As with any treatment, results vary from person to person, and your physical therapist uses fascial manipulation as one part of a plan that usually includes exercise.
Related
Related services
Active Release Technique
Active Release Technique (ART) is a non-invasive, movement-based soft tissue technique designed to locate and treat soft tissue problems. Your physical therapist applies pressure to a tight area while you move it.
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a treatment option for muscle, ligament, and tendon injuries. Specially designed instruments help your physical therapist find and treat scar tissue, restrictions, and adhesions.
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