Fascia is a 3D continuous web like structure that binds us from head to toe. The Fascia is made up of mainly collagen and elastin fibres which allows it to be strong but also have a certain amount of flexibility.
When someone experiences physical and emotional trauma or has poor posture the fascia becomes scared and hardens. This then causes the fascia to lose all of its normal properties which then pulls the internal structures off alignment. This can create a great amount of pressure on the blood and lymph vessels and the nervous system causing pain to radiate into other areas of the body in the direction that the fascia is pulling.
There are two main types of Fascial release: one is the traditional approach and the other is the modern approach.
The traditional approach uses very little or no lubricant, with moderate to firm pressure. The practitioner will apply thumbs, fingers, hand or elbow to different areas of the body to release the tissues. The practitioner will move very slowly along the tissues following the fascial lines to either release and lengthen or shorten the tissues.
The modern approach uses no lubricant with gentle to moderate pressure. The practitioner uses hands to feel the tissues release by a yielding or softening of the tissues, and follows release deep into the fascial layers. The patient may experience a physical or emotional release as fascial network unwinds, this is a positive response. With the modern approach the practitioner follows no lines, they follow what the patients body wants to do and listens to any feedback from the patient. The body is treated as a whole as pain could be coming from somewhere where the patient isn’t experiencing any problems.
At the Loxwood Clinic I use both approaches.
