Myofascial physical therapy: What to expect

You’re able to complete physical tasks like play sports, walk in the park and work out at the gym because your bones, muscles, soft tissue, ligaments and tendons all work together as your musculoskeletal system. But when a part of that system is impacted due to a medical condition, you could have pain stemming from a particular type of tissue.

Myofascial physical therapy focuses on alleviating pain in the fascia tissue. But what does a myofascial physical therapy session actually look like? That’s what we’re here to help you learn.

Read on to learn about the basics of myofascial physical therapy, the benefits it can offer and what to expect from your therapy session. You’ll also learn how it compares to other possible treatment options.

The basics of myofascial physical therapy

Myofascial physical therapy refers to myofascial release, which is a type of manual therapy that involves a physical therapist using their hands to alleviate tightness and pain in your fascia.

Your bones, muscles, organs and blood vessels are surrounded by fascia, which is a connective tissue that keeps everything in place. It also has nerves that can boost sensitivity, which is why it could be the root cause of your pain. 

During myofascial release therapy, the physical therapist will use their hands to feel around for tight spots in the fascia. Then they can manipulate the tissue to break it up and release the tension.

Myofascial release therapy is used as a way to treat muscle pain and spasms that may be linked to mobility issues and musculoskeletal disorders. It’s often used to help chronic pain disorders, such as myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia. It can also help alleviate chronic headaches.

The benefits of myofascial physical therapy

There are a variety of benefits of myofascial release therapy that could help alleviate your chronic pain and reduced mobility so that you can get back to your day-to-day tasks. By breaking up tight fascia tissue, myofascial release therapy can:

• Improve range of motion.
• Decrease pain and soreness.
• Increase flexibility.
• Boost circulation.
• Help move along the tissue recovery process.
• Increase relaxation and relieve stress.

What to expect from myofascial physical therapy

It’s important to remember that the motions completed during myofascial release aren’t the same as a massage that you would receive at a spa. Even though it can help you relax, the therapist is trying to find the deep fascia tissue that’s causing your pain. That means they have to apply pressure to trigger points where the pain may be stemming from. 

Myofascial release isn’t recommended if you:

• Have injuries or painful wounds.
• Have weak, fractured or broken bones.
• Have deep vein issues.
• Are currently on blood-thinning medication.

Comparing myofascial physical therapy to other treatments

Myofascial release is just one of many physical therapy treatments that a physical therapist can recommend for your pain. They will determine how effective it can be based on the severity of your condition, location of the pain and your medical history. If you’re trying to decide about how myofascial release will work with your needs, comparing it to other methods may help.

A popular manual therapy technique is soft tissue mobilization. It’s similar to myofascial release in the fact that they both use massagelike motions to release tension, but they target different types of tissue. Myofascial release focuses on fascia tissue affected by musculoskeletal disorders, while soft tissue mobilization breaks up painful scar tissue caused by injuries and surgery.

Another common treatment compared to myofascial release is fascial counterstrain. While both are manual therapy techniques, they have different purposes. Fascial counterstrain techniques are recommended for muscle spasms that have been caused by acute trauma such as sports injuries, car accidents and surgery. It involves moving affected muscles and joints to alleviate pain. On the other hand, myofascial release focuses on breaking up tight fascia tissue to help chronic pain that reduces your range of motion. 

Alliance PTP can help find myofascial physical therapy near you 

Caring. Effective. Convenient. These are words that you may not think about when you think of physical therapy, but Alliance Physical Therapy Partners is here to change that. 

Our partner network is staffed by caring physical therapists who are ready to provide you with effective, personalized care for your injury or condition, which can include myofascial release. And we offer both in-person and virtual PT sessions, so you’ll be able to choose the care that’s most convenient for you. 

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about our caring, effective and convenient PT.