WHY WE DON’T ELONGATE FASCIA
My colleague Whitney Lowe has written what appears to be the first article in a series that unpackages the rather antiquated beliefs that many manual therapists were taught and I believe that this article deserves sharing. Many in my old MFR camp may see this as just more of my naysaying, with regards to what I was originally taught about myofascial release and who taught it, but it represents so much more than this. Science advances and makes certain concepts obsolete; concepts that were viewed as facts in the past now are simply theories that were never proven to be fact. Those clinging to old beliefs have a tendency to present new factoids that, when viewed at a distance, validate those older beliefs. But when deconstructed, these factoids say little to validate old views. Myofascial release (MFR) falls into that camp. While the work we do with our hands that we describe as MFR has efficacy, but is it due to the reasons we were taught? Does fascia get restricted in the manner described to us in our training and can we singularly and selectively target these fascia problems (under the skin) to the exclusion of all else? The work we do works, as shown by published research, but what has yet to be proven is the so-called fascial facts that most therapists were taught.
It is time to shine a light on the historical stories taught to us as fact and update our understandings of how the body works (and doesn’t). Don’t resist it; change is freeing.
You can read Part One of Whitney’s article here.
And Part Two of his article here.
Subscribe to his blog for great information.
Cheers,
Walt Fritz, PT
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