Mind
& Body - Therapeutic Pain
PT/OT
Today
Vol. 5, No. 40
by John F. Barnes, PT
Traditional
therapy has viewed pain from two different perspectives. One school of thought
was to avoid pain, "mask" the symptoms and teach the patient to cope
with his or her problem. This approach did not cause direct trauma, but forced
people to be satisfied with limited results. There was the possibility of
cumulative trauma since untreated restrictions caused micro trauma to the
patient's system over time. This micro trauma was like a ticking time bomb left
in the system, forcing a return of symptoms or a shift to another area. This is
rarely a satisfactory solution.
The other school of thought was "no pain, no gain." Too many times
patients were instructed to exercise and force their way through the pain. The
result: a lot of strong patients in agony. Or manipulation and other aggressive
manual techniques produced force into osseous structures while paying no
attention to the tight surrounding myofascial environment. The aggressive force
used created the possibility of increased pain, injury or a return of symptoms
because the environment of every osseous structure, the myofascial system, had
not been released first.
Myofascial Release can safely and effectively frees the osseous structures
and/or create a more open environment to enhance the effectiveness of
manipulation, mobilization procedures, muscle energy techniques and exercise and
flexibility programs.
Is there a possibility of another option for the relief of pain and the
restoration of motion? I strongly believe the possibility exists, based on my
years of experience and the experience of over 20,000 physical therapists
(one-third of the profession) that I have had the opportunity to train in this
approach.
I would like you to consider the possibility of a third treatment option of
relieving pain and restoring motion: therapeutic pain.
One aspect of the Myofascial Release Approach is where the therapist applies
gentle, sustained pressure into the fascial system, creating what the patient
reports as a feeling of good pain or a good stretch. Release of the pressure of
the fascial system around the muscles, nerves, blood vessels and the osseous
structures creates a free mobile environment of these pain-sensitive structures,
producing consistent results in relieving pain and restoring functional
mobility.
Another aspect of myofascial release is the sophisticated facilitation
techniques called Myofascial Unwinding. The fascial system is a piezoelectric
tissue, so when the therapist applies gentle sustained pressure into the fascial
system through compression, traction or twisting the fascial system or moving a
particular body part (taking gravity out of the system), it creates a flow of
the body's bioenergy. This flow triggers the mind/body complex into spontaneous
motion. This spontaneous therapeutic motion allows the body to assume positions
in space that represent positions of past traumas. These positions of trauma
represent one's subconscious fear, negative memories and/or pain that have
created holding or bracing patterns which have impeded progress of the
traditional therapeutic approach. It is these positions in space and the
re-experiencing of this pain memory which is never injurious, that takes the
threat out of the system and allows the mind/body complex to let go of these
holding or bracing patterns so that healing can commence.
Working in reverse, Myofascial Release, and Myofascial Unwinding, release the
fascial tissue restrictions, thereby altering the habitual muscular response and
allowing the positional, reversible amnesia to surface, producing emotions and
belief systems that are the cause of holding patterns and ultimately symptoms.
Thus it is important for the therapist to quiet his or her mind and feel the
inherent motions. Quietly following the tissue or body part three-dimensionally
along the direction of ease takes the patient into the significant restrictions
or positions. With Myofascial Unwinding, the therapist eliminates gravity from
the system. This unloading of the structure allows the body's righting reflexes
and protective responses to temporarily suspend their influence. The body can
then move into positions that allow these state or position dependent
physiologic or flashback phenomena to reoccur. As this happens within the safe
environment of a treatment session, the patient can facilitate the body's
inherent self-correcting mechanism to obtain improvement.
The Myofascial Release Approach is more than just an assemblage of techniques.
Instead, it creates a whole-body awareness allowing the health professional to
facilitate change, growth and the possibility for total resolution of
restrictions, emotions and belief systems that impede patient progress
No References
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