Self-Myofascial Release
2014-12-01
Jogging becomes very popular this few tears. It
arouses people’s concern about the importance of exercise. The public is more
willing to try doing exercise as it trendy and zealously encouraging each other
to maintain this habit. Public knowledge nowadays on running safety not only
limited to overweight, lack of training and lower limb problems. They also
understand gentle progress and sound training won’t increase the risk of injuries.
Supplementary muscle training is no longer limited to lower limb but also upper
limbs and the core. In the aspect of soft and connective tissues, one should
warn up not only before stretching but also cool down after exercise. Recently,
myofascial is under the spotlight and the most concerned one is IT Band Syndrome.
The iliotibial (IT) band is a kind of fascia. Fasciae
surround over the whole body around internal organs forming a 3-dimensioinal structure.
It likes a Glad Wrap protect the body by primarily dispersed the force from
impact through its viscoelasticity. The fascia is under a pre-tension oven when
we’re resting which was the resting myofascial tone. It helps provides a
low-level stabilizing component to maintain proper postures and perform daily
movement unconsciously.
In fact, there are myofibroasts on the fascia which
like fiber cells facilitating the contrition of smooth muscle. So it makes
fascia a dynamic structure. In addition, there are mechanoreceptors, believed
to react in response to extremal pull. Then communicate with the nervous system
to initiate fascial contraction. As a result, it could remodel itself along the
direction of movement so that it becomes stronger to deal with the stress. At
the same time, it will become stiffer and harder upon repetitive stress likes
other soft tissues, resulting in limited range of mothing of the surrounding
joints and even pain. Poor tissue condition eventually makes it hard to perform
simple daily activities.
Applying pressure at some trigger or acupressure
points will stimulate these receptors to relax the fascia and it is one way to
alleviate joint problems. This technique is self-myofascial release (SMR) which
has been using by many Chinese doctors and therapists. Effective SMR combines
pressure and movement. A very popular trading area is the plantar fascia. The
previous method is often done with a tennis, golf or lacrosse ball which placed
under the feet and roll on different directions. It stimulates the pain points
to relax the fascia. Recently, more people use should cheek rollers at
different parts of the body. But before SMR, one should check whether there are
wounds, skin problems, swelling, or experiencing inflammatory phase of and
bruise on the target tissues. One should also be aware if taking any
blood-thinning medications. Roller with appropriate firmness should be
carefully selected. It is never better with more pain. The key is applying just
enough pressure at a required depth, so the muscle remains pliable, especially
at bones of the rib cage and spine. Movements are slow and controlled. Otherwise
the myofascial would not relax but be further tightened due to the irritating
feeling. Pre-stretching and massaging the surrounding muscle help loosened up
the target area.
Nevertheless, many SMR techniques demonstrated
in the media involve resting a section of the body, mostly trunk and lower
body, on the roller and very often using the upper body to pull those parts
across it. The works fine for people with strong upper bodies, good core strength,
adequate wrist flexibility and good shoulder stability but it is not a viable
option for many inactive adults. So one should try a more comfortable
technique. For example, using handheld roller to work on the target area,
placing roller or ball between the body and wall whine standing and pressing
the body against the wall. Last but not least, these techniques require one to push
or pull and exert force on the target area which is actually
strengthening-liked and will increase blood pressure. So it’s very important to
keep breathing throughout the movement. Besides, general warm up and
flexibility should be done beforehand and it’s common sense to do stretching
afterwards.
**This works fine for people with strong upper bodies, good core strength, adequate wrist flexibility and good shoulder stability
330 Tips provided by: Dr. Forrest Yau (Health/ Fitness Specialist, Centre for Nutritional Studies, School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK)
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