Many pain conditions are caused by restrictions in the fascia or connective tissue of the body. Trigger points in the fascia can cause pain elsewhere in the body. See Trigger Point Therapy page for more information. Joanna releases restrictions in the fascia using a combination of Trigger Point Therapy, Myofascial Release (MRF) and CranioSacral techniques (CST).
Chronic undiagnosed, generalised pain
Restrictions in the myofascia, or fascia (myo=muscle), can cause this kind of pain which baffles many medics and therapists. See Myofascial Release page for more information. Myofascial Release is very relaxing, though in some instances releases can occur in an emotional way as well as physically.
Back, neck or shoulder pain and/or stiffness including:
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Lumbago (low back pain)
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Trigger points in the lower back and buttocks are often the cause.
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Whiplash
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Whiplash can present in the acute phase, or in a recurring or chronic phase. All the muscles of the neck and shoulder can have restrictions and trigger points after a whiplash injury. Whiplash can occur during many types of accident or injury including car crashes, head or face impact injury, sitting hard on the coccyx (tail bone) and other falls. Whiplash symptoms can present days, weeks, months or even years after the event.
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Frozen Shoulder
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Trigger points and/or fascial restrictions in some or all of the rotator cuff muscles can cause this painful condition. Fascial restrictions and trigger points need to be released in order to rebalance all the muscles surrounding the joint. This should eventually allow ease of movement without pain and improve the range of motion.
Hip, knee, ankle or foot pain including:
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Knee pain
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Most pain in the knee is caused by trigger points higher in the leg in the quad muscles. Under normal conditions, these muscles allow the knee to track correctly, with little or no tension in the joint. If just one of these muscles is compromised the joint can become painful.
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Plantar Fascitis and Heel Spurs
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Exactly as it sounds, painful Plantar Fascitis is caused by tight and/or inflamed fascia in the plantar (underside) surface of the foot. Heel spurs can grow as a result of tight plantar fascia. Similar pain can result from trigger points in muscles of the lower leg.
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Shin Splints
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This extremely painful condition, often suffered by joggers, requires massage and MFR to the tibialis anterior muscle which runs down just outside the shin bone (tibia). Chronic tension and trigger points in this muscle are the usual culprits.
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Tennis Elbow, Golfers Elbow.
Myofascial release and trigger point therapy are used for problems where overuse or repetitive strain has resulted in painful fascial adhesions in the muscles and joints. For all these conditions restrictions in some of the neck, shoulder and chest muscles are often the main cause (resulting in impingement of the nerves and blood vessels leading to the arm). Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has been successfully avoided for a number of clients, and symptoms recurring post-surgery have also been reduced.
Arthritis
Joanna believes that if you can keep all the muscles that activate a joint flexible and restriction free, then the articulated surfaces of the bone should not be under any tension. If one or more muscles are tight or restricted in any way, they will pull the joint slightly out of true, or compress the surfaces of the joint together, and potentially start problems. If untreated, a misaligned or compressed joint will eventually start to become osteoarthritic as the cartilage wears down. One example of pain being caused by a muscle some distance away is a common ‘arthritic’ pain in the base of the thumb joint, often due to fascial restrictions and trigger points in the brachialis (a forearm muscle) and/or radiobrachialis (an upper arm muscle). Knee pain is often due to fascial restrictions and trigger points in one or more of the quads (thigh muscles). Joanna has some regular clients who come from between once a week to once every 6 weeks to keep their joints pain free. Preventing surgery is often an incentive for making regular appointments. Clients whose joints have already deteriorated, and who are booked in for hip or knee replacement surgery, make appointments for a few weeks before and after the operation for more speedy recovery.
ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Fibromyalgia
David Puttnam (British Film Producer) has previously said in an interview on Radio 4 that he has ME and that massage is the therapy that helps the most. Myofascial Release is the technique Joanna uses on these clients. Very gently to start with. She keeps the room lovely and warm with soft low music (if they like) and low lighting. She concentrates on any aches and pains that they have and most importantly, she gives them time to discuss their issues. With Fibromyalgia clients the fascia is generally very tight and there are often multiple restrictions. This seems to be what causes their pain, and the nature of fascia is what makes this pain so difficult to pin down and causes it to move from one part of the body to another in a seemingly random way. Big changes can upset clients, so we work on a little-by-little basis. They can sometimes feel worse for a few days afterwards, but then feel much better, and sometimes there is no improvement but they feel that it is doing them some good. This can give them a positive outlook in an otherwise depressing situation.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Myofascial release again for this. Joanna would never go near a joint when it is in flare-up mode, but gentle attention around and to other parts of the body is soothing and helpful. Regular massage keeps Polymyalgia pain at bay and she has several clients with this condition. CranioSacral therapy is good for RA as it can enhance fluid flow into joints without stressing them.
Headaches and Migraines
Trigger point therapy to all the neck muscles. The pain pattern sometimes indicates trigger points in the face or skull. Joanna has REALLY good results with clients with migraines. Myofascial release and CST are also helpful.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Period Pain
Myofascial release in the abdominal area releases restrictions in the fascia surrounding the intestines and uterus. Again, really good results with both conditions.
Temporomandibular Joint pain (TMJ)
Trigger points in many muscles of the shoulder, neck and head can cause horrendous pain in the jaw. Myofascial release and CST to the areas of the head, face, mouth and neck are great for this condition and can often prevent surgery.
Sciatic Pain and Piriformis Syndrome
Trigger points in a muscle deep in the buttock (piriformis) can refer pain to buttocks, sacrum and hips. This muscle, if shortened by trigger points, can also compress the sciatic nerve sending pain right down the leg into the foot as well as giving strange sensations such as numbness, tingling, or burning in those areas. It can also impinge upon the pudendal nerve as well as other nerves and blood vessels coming out of the pelvis, causing impotence, pain in genital, rectal and groin areas, or a sense of swelling in buttocks, leg, calf and foot.
Obviously sciatic and other pains can be caused by intervertabral disk protrusion (slipped disk), but surgery may not be necessary if you rule out trigger points in the piriformis and other vertabral muscles first. Always consult your doctor first and get x-rays or MRI scans as suggested by the doctor or consultant, but please note that fascial restrictions do not show up on any scans, not even MRI.
Scar Tissue Adhesions
Scars can have far-reaching effects on fascial tension. Superficial and deep adhesions (scar tissue) can extend from the visible scar to deeper structures in the body preventing soft tissue movement. Sensory nerve entrapment in the adhesions around a scar can produce local and radiating pain patterns. Scars of any age can be released, especially if pain is experienced in nearby parts of the body, however unlikely the connection may seem to be.
Sports Injury
A combination of massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release and stretching techniques is used for most sports injuries, which are often due to tight fascia. Recurring injury could be due to the fascia tightening around a muscle tear, to protect it initially, but needing to be released once the tear is healed to prevent the tightness compromising other areas of the body. All-important recovery time can be improved.
Poor circulation
Myofascial Release is wonderful for poor circulation, encouraging blood flow and bringing fluid and nutrients to areas where toxins may have built up. Facial MRF (a Fascial Facial, if you like!) is good for skin problems.
Many other muscular and soft tissue pain conditions such as neck, shoulder, back pain; ankle, knee, hip pain; hand, wrist, elbow pain.
Imbalances in the craniosacral system can cause a variety of symptoms. Click on my CranioSacral page for more information.
If having waded through all this stuff, you are still not sure if you need MFR or CST, take a look at this video by Gil Hedley called The Fuzz Speech. Be warned if you are of a delicate disposition as there are short clips of close-ups of cadaver dissection.
