The effects of receiving MFR, and what it feels like during treatment, can be quite varied; this is another reason MFR isn’t protocol or recipe orientated. The responses of the client either during or after treatment, or both, can be both physical and emotional, evoke memories from the past or play out a story of a symbolic nature.
Asking the client to describe what he is feeling or noticing during an MFR treatment is quite important. To be able to describe his experience, the client has to concentrate on his body and not on the external environment. This concentration, or feeling into one’s own body, is part of the client–therapist connection and builds a sense of inner awareness in the client. The client can only describe what he is aware of. If he is not aware of his body, his ability to take part in the client–therapist connection will be limited, and you will have less to work with.
Like most remedial therapies, MFR can elicit what we call therapeutic pain. Some students tell me that they have been trained to stop working as soon as the client reports any pain or discomfort. I believe that it’s important to distinguish therapeutic pain from work that is painful to receive and that may cause further damage. MFR will not injure the client, although it can be painful for two reasons. First, MFR breaks up the cross-linkages between the collagen and elastin fibres and then reorganises their length back to normal. The sensation that normally comes from this process can feel like a burning under the skin. Some clients think this sensation comes from their skin being overstretched, but it is actually from the release of thousands of restricted fibres, allowing for a huge circulation increase. You need to describe what is happening so your clients understand that nothing is wrong, that the technique is working, so they won’t be fearful of what they are feeling. Second, MFR may feel painful when body memory, thoughts and emotions are released from the tissue and bubble to the surface. Although the client may experience this as pain, it is body memory that an experienced therapist can help guide them through. This is discussed in more detail in chapter 10, Myofascial Unwinding.
If you are performing a technique and the response the client is experiencing becomes painful not because you are doing anything wrong, but more so because the sharpness of the fascial release, always guide the client to ask you to lighten up your pressure, as treating the tissue with the client bracing against the discomfort is counterproductive.
Another common occurrence during an MFR treatment is red flare. This is a creeping, stretching, tingling and twitching sensation under the skin or the skin becoming pink
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Preparation and Communication
(sometimes called hyperaemia or a vasomotor response). This is a result of the restricted collagen and elastin fibres separating and the ground substance yielding and returning to a more fluid state, resulting in an increase in circulation.
Red flare (figure 3.1) can occur in the area you are treating and also distant to where the thera- pist’s hands are. This is because when one area releases, subse- quent areas along the same line of pull or bracing pattern release also. Red flare indicates areas that should be subsequently
treated to maximise the results of the therapy.
The following are some normal responses that can occur from a physical or emotional release, or both, during an MFR treatment session:
■ Breathing changes
■ Skin colour changes (pallor to flushed) ■ Sweating
■ Shivering, trembling, vibrating or shaking
■ Local or full-body movement (myofascial unwinding) ■ Emotional release such as laughter, crying, anger, joy or fear
An important effect of MFR treatment is myofascial unwinding, which is essentially an unwinding of the restricted fascia. This can present as a physical movement and shivering or shaking of the body and is the body’s way of fascially stretching to optimise the release of the tissue. Myofascial unwinding is discussed in more detail in chapter 10.
The client may be aware of feelings that occur distant to where your hands are. When this happens, you have the opportunity to re-emphasise the three-dimensional, Figure 3.1 Red flare visible on a client’s upper back in response to MFR.
ClienT TAlk
Having students at workshops feel this three-dimensional release for the first time is such a rewarding experience. Their eyes light up in an ‘aha’ moment as they rec- ognise that they are actually facilitating a system-wide change in the client’s tissue. Clients who feel the release for the first time, especially when it is distant to where the therapist’s hands are, are more interested and intrigued than anything else. Some clients have felt pain and discomfort for such a long time that feeling
56 Myofascial Release
completely continuous nature of the fascial matrix and the importance of the MFR approach to the client. Explain that as you work and release one part of the restricted matrix with the heat, weight and pressure from your hands, other restricted areas follow suit and begin to yield under your touch.
Some clients express themselves physically and emotionally during treatment, whereas others start to become emotional but stay very still. Encourage your clients to feel and express what is happening as much as they can because this allows for a release of every aspect of the body. As clients gain a deeper understanding and trust in you and the MFR approach, they will be more willing to express what they are feeling. This is discussed in more detail in chapter 10, Myofascial Unwinding.
The following are some effects that clients may experience post-treatment:
■ Therapeutic pain. This is what we call body stiffness or tenderness post-treatment.
It is similar to the stiffness you feel after you have done more than normal physi- cal work.
■ Better sleep due to less pain and tension.
■ Lethargy. Clients can feel ‘washed out’ after treatment. Holding on to huge
amounts of tension can be exhausting. As the tension releases, the body is able to show how exhausted it has been from having to hold on.
■ Women may have less painful menstruation cycles.
■ Old aches and pains. As layers of restriction and tension are released, old injuries
that were not adequately treated become uncovered. This process of peeling back the layers reveals both the physical and emotional aspects of all injuries.
■ Energised. The client feels an increase in energy due to the release of tensional
loads on their body.
In reality, any experience can be a response to treatment, and responses differ greatly from client to client. I can give you some of the more common responses, but a com- prehensive list would be impossible. Remember never to judge your clients; rather, let them know that what they are experiencing is right for, and unique to, them. Any response is a good response, and all should be accepted and respected.