Fascia is a liquid crystal that is piezoelectric, requiring specific principles for a release. The gentle, sustained pressure of Myofascial Release stimulates the liquid crystal to release electrons which influences the thixotropic properties of the fascial ground substance to shift from a gel to a more liquid state.
This takes on profound implications when considering the many women who struggle with women’s health issues. Trauma and thwarted inflammation responses can solidify the ground substance creating crushing pressure on pain sensitive structures, producing symptoms that don’t respond to other forms of therapy.
The following contains important information for women. These excerpts are taken from a new article I have written in the upcoming October issue of Massage Magazine called, “The Fascial Pelvis”.
- My experience has shown that over 90% of our clients suffering with lumbar and pelvic pain, headaches, and fibromyalgia have myofascial restrictions and imbalances in the pelvis.
- Myofascial Release is utilized for the treatment of menstrual pain and/or dysfunction, back and pelvic pain, endometriosis, and other inflammatory disorders. It can successfully treat the unpleasant and/or painful symptoms during pregnancy and childbirth, recurrent bladder pain and infection, painful intercourse, sexual dysfunction, elimination problems, coccygeal pain, painful episiotomy scars, and the list goes on. These problems can in many cases be substantially alleviated or eliminated by myofascial release, non-traumatically and gently.
- Fascia has the tensile strength of over 2,000 pounds per square inch. In other words, fascial restrictions have the potential of exerting enormous pressure on pain-sensitive structures producing pain or malfunction of the important pelvic structures. Certainly, not all problems have fascial origin, but restrictions of the fascia are the cause of many problems in a surprisingly high percentage of the cases, especially when all the tests turn out negative and medication only helps temporarily or surgery did not change the situation.
- Scars from abdominal/pelvic surgery, trauma, or episiotomy scars can also create havoc in the pelvic area, causing menstrual dysfunction, pelvic pain, painful intercourse, constipation, diarrhea, incontinence, and/or hemorrhoids.
- Myofascial Release is a state of the art therapeutic approach for increasing your effectiveness and permanency of results in relieving pain, restoring function, and the quantity of motion and life.
6 responses so far ↓
Anne Dennis // Sep 12th 2008 at 11:39 am
John, thank you for bringing more awareness to this area so often neglected! We, as therapists, can affect such a change in our patient’s and client’s lives by just addressing the pelvis, lower abdomen and pelvic floor–men too. I currently am part of a clinic where each of us (PTs and MT) treat almost exclusively with JFB MFR and almost every patient gets either pelvic floor or pelvic work (depending on practice acts) because they need it! Once the patient understands and feels how much this can help them, they wonder why no one else has addressed this part of their body. I am so looking forward to the October issue so I can read the full article. Thanks again!
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Karen Bauman // Sep 13th 2008 at 9:28 pm
John. Recently I have received numerous hours of treatment for my pelvic floor. I wasn’t experiencing specific symptoms that are commonly associated with pelvic floor issues, but I’m amazed at how many symptoms throughout my body have been elicited before specific areas of the pelvic floor were released. My MFR therapist has such a vast understanding of the pelvic floor and has been able to make specific changes that I don’t know if a therapist of any other modality would have been able to find. I have also had the wonderful opportunity of treating an increasing number of clients (male and female!) with various pelvic pain issues …and the referrals keep coming. Some have been to the “leading” pelvic pain authorities around the country and are now receiving through MFR treatment that is actually works. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to make such a difference for so many who had given up hope.
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Liz Martorana // Sep 14th 2008 at 7:20 am
John, my daughter-in-law suffered from endometriosis for many years and went through the normal surgical procedures. Following your MFR principals, I worked on her only 4-5 times and her painful periods lessened significantly. A perimenopausal friend was clotting and cramping every month, and after working with her and showing her some self-treatment techniques, she feels like a new woman. I also treat many women with breast cancer who have had major reconstructive surgeries. Your MFR techniques are giving these women freedom of movement without pain and essentially giving them back their lives! They and I are ever so grateful!
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KathyA // Sep 16th 2008 at 9:02 pm
John, I was referred to a JFB MFR trained therapist for fibromyalgia and it has helped tremendously. All my life I’ve had urinary urgency; even had notes sent home from elementary school because I asked to go to the girls’ room so often. After giving birth to my third child I also had mild stress incontinence. I never even mentioned this to my PT. After being in treatment for a bit I realized this problem was gone! Today when I see all these ads on TV for drugs for bladder control I want to let people know there’s another way…one that corrects the cause, doesn’t just cover up the symptoms.
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Scott van Niekerk // Sep 23rd 2008 at 2:41 pm
The MFR Womens’ Health Seminar was a profound learning experience for me. I am a PT with many years experience and a large successsful Wholistic Physical Therapy practice in Brewster, NY.
I have also attended the APTA endorsed Kathe Wallace and Holly Herman Pelvic Floor courses. I found them useful for urinary incontinence, which I do not treat in my practice, but NOT at all for the musculoskeletal components of urogynecologic pain syndromes, chronic pelvic pain, levator ani syndrome, vulvodynia, and interstitial cystitis (IC). Their courses had very detailed anatomy, hmm.
Your seminar very much empowered me to effectively treat the PAIN experienced by many of my patients, both men and women, using myofascial release manual therapy interventions. Thank you for putting this information out there, for leaning into the wind and staying the course!
Warm regards,
Scott
http://www.wholisticphysicaltherapy.com
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Joni Edmunds // Oct 31st 2008 at 2:57 pm
I must agree. The information and techniques taught in John’s Myofascial Release Women’s Health Seminar are very effective. Although I had no pelvic floor symptoms when I took the seminar, I experienced great benefit in other areas of my body as a result of the work. For me, the experience clearly illustrated how important addressing the pelvic floor area can be for treating back pain, hip pain, and/or neck pain as these were symptoms that resolved for me after taking the seminar. In my opinion, these techniques can be likened to the “missing puzzle piece” that can bring it all together and propel the healing journey forward. Thank you for providing a way for therapists to be empowered with these skills not only for our own well-being but also for the sake of patients we treat.
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