Self Myo-Fascial Release

      What’s up all?  Eric Isselin here.  I’m a sports massage therapist and personal training intern over at Fitness Quest 10.  As part of our internship we will be writing weekly blog posts about topics we are both knowledgeable and passionate about.  Don’t miss out on a great opportunity  to get valuable information outside of the gym.  Also, show some love with comments and feedback!

       Lets get right to it, todays topic is self myo-fascial release and how it can help you in your performance, pain management, and everyday life. Fascia can very loosely be defined as a dense form of connective tissue that covers every muscle, bone, organ, and other structures of the body from head to toe.  Due to trauma, stress, poor posture, and many other factors, this fascial network becomes painful and out of place. 

      Stretching is not enough to fix these problems.  Trigger points in the muscles have to be deactivated to lengthen the muscle and let it perform the way it is supposed to perform.   Here’s a good analogy for those of you who don’t speak science.  Tie a knot in a thick rubber band and stretch it, what happens?  The knot gets tighter and harder to untie.  Trigger points are painful, difficult to deal with, and need to be released by direct pressure. A good therapeutic massage is the absolute best way to do this, but it can be expensive and you may not always have access to a therapist. There is an easier and quicker way to provide short term relief.

       Everybody has seen foam rollers laying around the gym, or maybe seen people with tennis balls in their calfs and glutes.  Some of you may have seen “The Stick” at some point.  Check out this Youtube video of a great example.  

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU]

        These examples are simple, yet extremely effective in less that 8 min.  This can be done in the comfort of your own home and before/after your workout.  

        I found a great free document online that I want to share with all of you.  This is an extremely detailed guide that shows individual muscles’ anatomy and functions, methods, reasons to treat, and other useful info that will help you way more than I can…  click the link below, grab a tennis ball and foam roller and ENJOY…  and don’t forget to leave comments and feedback at the bottom.

http://www.robertsontrainingsystems.com/downloads/SMR-manual.pdf

By, Eric Isselin

Intern Fitness Quest 10
www.FitnessQuest10.com