5 Conditions That Respond Well to Myofascial Release

The human musculoskeletal system is incredibly complex and connected in ways you never thought possible — until pain strikes. This is certainly true of muscle tension, which can create a wide range of problems from chronic back pain to headaches.

Dr. James Jernigan and our team of integrative care specialists here at Valiant Life Medical understand better than most how problems in one area of your body can lead to pain that’s both local and radiating. Rather than managing your symptoms with stop-gap measures or invasive therapies, we believe in locating and treating the underlying source of the problem through therapies like myofascial release.

Here’s a look at how myofascial release therapy works and a few of the conditions we can treat with this noninvasive and effective therapy.

Myofascial pain at a glance

The muscles in your body are surrounded by tough myofascial tissues that provide support and stability. If these tissues are tight or short, you may feel pain in the immediate muscles, as well as in the connective tissues in surrounding areas.

Your myofascial tissues can develop trigger points, which are areas of extreme tension and/or sensitivity. Through our myofascial release therapy, we target these often-painful trigger points, causing them to release their tension so that you can find relief.

Now that we better understand how myofascial release works, let’s take a look at five conditions that we commonly treat with this approach.

1. Tension headaches

There are many different types of headaches, but tension headaches are among the most common. As the name implies, these headaches occur because of contracting muscles in your scalp and neck, which creates tension over your head. Through myofascial release, we target and release the appropriate trigger points to release the vice-like grip on your skull.

2. Fibromyalgia

The hallmark of fibromyalgia is widespread musculoskeletal pain. Through myofascial release, we identify the tissues throughout your body that may be holding too much tension and release them.

3. Chronic back and neck pain

There are many causes of chronic back and neck pain, including problems along (or inside) your spine or in the supporting connective tissues. No matter the location of the problem, myofascial tension often results, which can be a byproduct of your medical issue or the primary cause of your discomfort. Through myofascial release, we relieve the tension and your pain.

4. Carpal tunnel syndrome

If you’ve developed carpal tunnel syndrome, you experience symptoms in your wrist and hand thanks to compression of your median nerve. In many cases, this inflammation develops because of an impingement along the length of your nerve, which can be in your wrist or in your elbow or shoulders. Through myofascial release, we release the tension to allow your nerve to glide more freely through your carpal tunnel.

5. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder

Your TMJs are small joints that join your lower jaw to your skull. If myofascial tension develops in the area, it can leave you with very painful joints on either side of your head, facial pain, and headaches. Through myofascial release, we locate the exact areas around your TMJs that are tight and release them, allowing these small joints to function freely.

If you’d like to learn more about myofascial release as a possible therapy to relieve your discomfort, contact our office in Fort Worth, Texas, to set up an appointment.