I heard this question a LOT at a recent professional event I attended. It was the kind of event where I was asked frequently about my licensure as a massage therapist and what it is I do.

Massage is not what I do.

So What Is It I Do?

I help people feel better. I help restore movement and function to the body where there currently is none. At this particular event, I demonstrated and shared some of the ways I help the neck, shoulder, and back move and feel better.

It was fascinating to meet people, hear their stories, and witness how beneficial even a 10-15 minute demo of focused myofascial release treatment could be for many of them.

People rarely really want to know what my licensure is or what seminars I have attended as I have trained in the John Barnes Myofascial Release Approach®.

Some don’t even really care what myofascial release is.

They care about how a treatment session, or even a short demo, makes them feel. They care about whether or not they will be able to get back to enjoying life again.

They want to know if what I do can help them feel better.

This is where I am learning to refine my message.

Can Pain In The Body Really Be Helped?

I met people who would sit in my chair and claim there wasn’t really anything bothering them. That they just wanted to relax.

But I could see and feel the tension in their neck and back and shoulders. When I would draw their attention to that, I would frequently hear, “Oh, yeah. I carry my stress there. There isn’t anything I can do about it. I just live with it.”

Others would tell me about long ago surgeries or auto accidents with much the same ending. “Oh, yeah. That happened a long time ago, and I have had trouble with it ever since. I try to ignore it and not aggravate my back (neck, shoulder, arm. . . ) with too much activity.

I talked with people who manage their pain with medication. Or who see a chiropractor for an adjustment when it becomes unmanageable. I heard how some of those adjustments seemed to hold and how some of them didn’t.

I heard how most people are just doing the best they know how.

It is a familiar story for many of us.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The body’s ability to heal is greater than many of us have been permitted to believe.

There are a lot of options out there for feeling better when things hurt. Or when things don’t function like they should or used to. Ibuprofen. Rest. Heat. Prescription medication. Chiropractic. Physical therapy. Surgery. Yoga. Meditation. Ignore it. . .

The list could go on.

For some, these methods of “fixing”, masking, or numbing out symptoms is enough to get through the day. We cope and we manage.

But what if there was another way?

How Can Myofascial Release Help?

In my years of experience working with the myofascial system of the body, first as a client struggling with debilitating pain and now as a therapist, I have found that to really enjoy life to the fullest, my body needs to be able to move.

Movement is essential to feeling good. Movement is essential to life.

Put simply, pain is often the body’s signal that something isn’t moving, that something is somehow “stuck” in the body. This almost always shows up as trouble in the myofascial system, presenting as restrictions, adhesions, knots, trigger points, and scar tissue.

We can pay attention to this signal, find the areas that aren’t moving, the areas of restriction and adhesion – and address them. Or we can numb out.

I much prefer to address things.

Myofascial release therapy is about creating space in the body. Space for tissues to move and heal. Space for the body to start to self correct.

When there is space and movement, you start to feel better.

It is pretty simple.

One of the best things I heard at this event came from someone who didn’t feel like they really had much going on in their body. I got home later in the day to this message:

This is what I do. This is why I do it. I help people move and feel better. So they can best enjoy the one life and body we get.

Myofascial release therapy isn’t for everyone. It isn’t a quick fix. It takes some time, some consistent effort, and a learning to care for the body a bit differently for a lifetime of good myofascial health.

For those who are willing to invest the time and effort, the benefits can be amazing!

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