A study from National Taiwan University attempted to quantify the immediate effects of myofascial release on the mechanical properties of posterior thoracolumbar fascia in healthy men using ultrasound. They found a decrease in thoracolumbar fascia stiffness after application of myofascial release. Before jumping to any conclusion about “deformation” of fascia, we need to understand terminologies
Stretching is commonly prescribed for increasing flexibility and range of motion, enhancing muscular coordination, and preventing prolonged immobilization. However, emerging evidence suggests that short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic) stretching exercise may have beneficial cardiovascular responses as well. Researchers from University of Iowa conducted a review to highlight potential relationships between skeletal muscle stretching and cardiovascular
A new study study from Germany investigated whether watching one’s back during massage increases the analgesic effect of this treatment in chronic lower back pain patients. The research, published European Journal of Pain, was inspired by previous research findings that suggest visual feedback on treating chronic pain can exert an analgesic effect. Twenty patients with
Bodily feelings are commonly thought to reflect the biological state of our body tissues. A new research from the University of South Australia now stated that feelings of back stiffness are a protective perceptual construct, rather than reflecting biomechanical properties of the back. This idea has implications for treatment of pain/stiffness but also for our
It is well recognized that stretching is an effective method to increase long-term joint range of motion. However, the effects of stretch training on the muscle-tendon structural properties remain unclear. Published in the August 2017 edition of Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, a group of researchers from Portugal, France, and Serbia conducted
Real-world massage is effective for treating Lower Back Pain A common research design evaluating the effectiveness of massage involved treatment with standardized massage sessions, rarely found in the real-world. A new study from Indiana University-Purdue University published in the journal Pain Medicine tackled this deficiency, therapists were free to design massage programs according to the
A new study by Albert Moraska and colleagues from the University of Colorado assessed the effects of single and multiple massage treatments on the pressure-pain threshold (PPT) at myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in people with myofascial pain syndrome experienced as a tension-type headache. The study was published in the February 2017 issue of American Journal of
There seems to be a myth propagated through the Social Media which states that fascia cannot be altered via manual therapy. So, what does research really say? Two studies, published in the January 2017 issue of Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, evaluated the effect of self-myofascial release via foam rollers on the thickness and mobility
