Myofascial release is a massage technique: slow, steady pressure on the fascia, the thin wrapping around every muscle, held for longer than a normal massage stroke while the tissue softens. At Vital Edge it is part of a deep tissue session, £125 for 60 minutes, used when an area feels stuck and fast, deep work makes it guard. It changes how the area feels and moves; it does not stretch or break down fascia.
Some people find it strange the first time. I’m pressing, but slowly, and it doesn’t feel like much is happening.
That’s the point of it.
What is myofascial release?
Fascia is the thin wrapping around every muscle. It’s what you see as the white, shiny layer on a cut of meat.
Myofascial release is slow, steady pressure on that layer. I hold it for longer than a normal massage stroke, while the tissue under my hands softens.
It isn’t a separate treatment you book. It’s one of the ways I work inside a deep tissue session.
When do I use it?
I don’t use it for everything. I use it when an area feels stuck, and fast, deep work makes it guard more instead of letting go.
It’s slower and it’s quieter. That’s why it can feel like nothing is happening, even when the area under my hands is changing.
It’s not the same as trigger point work, though people often mix the two up. Trigger point work is pressure held still on one spot until the muscle lets go. Myofascial release works across the wrapping of an area, slowly.
What it can’t do
What I won’t tell you is that I’m stretching your fascia or breaking anything down. Nobody can do that with their hands. What changes is how the area feels and moves for you.
The research says much the same. A 2015 review of the trials on myofascial release found the evidence mixed, both in how well the studies were done and in what they found.
What helps, before and after
You don’t need to know what’s wrong before you come. Working that out is what the first ten minutes are for.
Deep doesn’t mean it has to hurt. Tell me if the pressure is too much, and I’ll change it.
Give yourself a lighter day either side. Don’t train hard the day before, or plan a hard session the day after.
Afterwards, drink plenty of water that day. You might be sore for about 24 hours, which is normal. You’ll feel the work properly at around 48 hours.
When it’s not for me
If you’ve had a fall or a knock and it’s swollen, or you can’t put weight on it, see a GP or A&E first. The same goes if the pain wakes you at night, if you’ve got pins and needles or numbness running down an arm or a leg, or if you just feel unwell with it. Those need a diagnosis, and I don’t diagnose.
If I start working and it isn’t behaving like a muscle problem, I’ll stop and tell you. I’d rather send you to a physio or your GP than take your money for something I can’t help with.
So if it feels like nothing much is happening, that’s usually the slow part working. A deep tissue session is £125 for 60 minutes, or £180 for 90.
If this is your situation, the page that goes into it properly:
Deep tissue