About myofascial release

Myofascial release is a gentle, non-invasive bodywork technique based on an understanding of how muscles and fascia work together deep within the body to produce movement and communicate pain. Fascia is believed by many complementary therapists to be an alternative communication system connecting body with mind.

Understanding the body in a myofascial way offers exciting possibilities for self-help techniques to aid physical movement and enhance well-being. These can be particularly beneficial for people living with chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and RSI.

The Pain Care Clinic Workshops

Pain Care Clinic is running two relaxing and informative workshops including myofascial anatomy, myofascial stretching and self-help bodywork techniques. Workshops take place in Brighton and Hove and London.

Full workshop timetable and booking.

2. the training and approach of massage therapists, osteopaths and physiotherapists

They arise from a recent panel discussion with an osteopath and a physiotherapist, in which degree level massage therapy students asked questions about our respective training and approaches to treating clients. What struck me were the similarities although there are certain differences. Here are some of them:

Similarities between osteopath, physio and massage training

• all are trained in anatomy, physiology and biomechanics
• all are trained in the workings of the nervous system, muscular and skeletal systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems
• all can accept referrals from medical doctors or self-referrals from patients and clients.

Differences between osteopath, physio and massage training

• only osteopaths can diagnose medical conditions
• osteopaths have compulsory training in pharmacology (the use and effect of drugs)
• only physios have compulsory training in the use of electro-magnetic equipment
• only advanced massage therapists are trained in the treatment of certain medical conditions.

Approaches in osteopathy, physiotherapy and massage therapy

• osteo means bone, so public perception is that osteopaths deal only with bone structure. While only osteopaths are trained in certain (sometimes controversial) techniques such as high velocity thrusts, they do also work on the soft tissues of the body
• physiotherapists are often associated with NHS rehabilitation and care of the elderly, but they do also work in a variety of settings including private practice, hospital intensive care and mental health services
• massage therapists are often associated with relaxation and health spas but, while massage is known for its relaxing effect, like physios and osteopaths, clinical massage therapists usually work with clients with injuries or chronic pain.

While we may differ on the importance we give to the psychological, cultural and social factors which
influence our clients, all three professions agree that pain-free human movement is central to the health of an individual.

Regulation of osteopaths and physiotherapists

Osteopathy and physiotherapy are both protected occupations in the UK. This means they are regulated by a professional body which sets standards for training and behaviour, and the law says no one can call themselves an osteopath or a physiotherapist unless they are registered with those professional bodies. Osteopaths are regulated by the General Osteopathic Council GOsC. Physios are regulated by the General Health Council, along with art therapists and speech and language therapists.

Regulation of massage therapists

Massage therapy, however, remains an unregulated profession. This means that in theory anyone, whether they are trained or not, can call themselves a massage therapist. Hence the professional differences between so-called ‘massage parlours’, massage by beauty therapists (known in the business as ‘fluff and buff’), and sports massage and other advanced clinical massage therapies.

In practice, although they are not regulated by law, massage therapists can choose to register voluntarily with a number of different professional bodies, which will check their standard of education and training before allowing a massage therapist to join. Membership will then enable the massage therapist to obtain professional indemnity insurance. For these reasons in 2011 the government confirmed it was abandoning plans for statutory regulation of massage therapists, as the costs of administering a scheme would outweigh the benefits to the public. In effect they were saying that voluntary regulation works well enough, partly because massage therapy has less potential to do harm than more invasive medical treatments.

However, the government’s decision is unfortunate for clinical massage therapists because it implies that clinical massage therapy is a less serious profession than other healthcare professions, and it undermines NHS recognition of massage therapy.

The reality is that the training of osteopaths, physiotherapists, and clinical massage therapists is similar, as is the way they approach treatment and therapy for medical conditions. These differences and similarities in education and treatment are the subject of my next blog: Massage therapy, osteopathy & physiotherapy 2.

Many people can make light of festive aches and pains as they will be short-term and soon forgotten about. But spare a thought this Christmas for RSI – repetitive strain injury – sufferers for whom chronic pain is part of their daily lives all year round.

RSI is one of the most persistent and least understood chronic pain conditions and annually prevents an estimated 500,000 people in the UK from performing everyday tasks, ranging from brushing their hair to working at their computer, without pain and discomfort. To my mind RSI is also one of the more preventable chronic pain conditions.

Read the Pain Care Clinic PDF RSI_NotJustForChristmas.

1. Improved educational standards (18%)
2. Published research validating the effectiveness of massage (26%)
3. Acceptance by the medical community (38%)
4. Other (18%)

This is a fairly good summary of the issues that are likely to be important to massage therapy professionals in the UK in 2012. Leaving ‘other’ aside for the moment, the first three are interrelated.

Great work on educational standards is being done at an individual level. For example, the Jing Institute in Brighton now runs the first accredited degree-level advanced massage training diploma in the UK. But work to improve educational standards at a more general level appears to have been hampered by poor coordination between the various self-appointed representative bodies to which massage therapists may choose to belong. Some progress has been made by the General Council for Massage Therapies to set a basic core curriculum for bodywork training, but what continues to disappoint is the lack of recognition for advanced massage therapists with a demonstrable record of high-level knowledge and training well above minimum standards.

Without improved educational standards, and better links with academic and research organisations facilitated by our representative bodies, it seems unlikely that individual massage therapists will themselves be able to fund the type of research necessary to ‘validate’ the effectiveness of massage therapy, however willing they may be to cooperate with that research. In my role as an educator, I spend a lot of time talking to massage therapists who are more than willing to participate in research. This willingness is only partly motivated by the expectation that properly framed research will ‘prove’ what massage therapists and their clients have known for years about the effectiveness of their methods. There is also a genuine desire among massage therapy professionals to participate in any research that improves standards and outcomes for clients – and to be part of a wider and expanding debate about healthcare and wellbeing.

Greater acceptance by the medical community would almost inevitably follow from improved educational standards and proper research. The medical community is trained to respond to scientific ‘results’. But there is also a question of attitude here. And attitudes are already changing. More and more GP practices, NHS clinics and private healthcare providers are offering some form of complementary therapy to their patients as they have seen the improvement to patient health in those patients who have independently sought out complementary therapies.

So, now the ‘other’ issues for 2012? Private health insurance schemes that allow customers to choose complementary therapies? More massage therapists holding their representative bodies to account by asking them hard questions about what they are actually doing to raise the standing of the massage therapy profession? Your comment here?

Due to increasing client demand, Pain Care Clinic is expanding its clinic hours in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex to now include Wednesday appointments at the Hove clinic, with new consultant therapist, and myofascial release specialist, Melanie Smith.

Melanie is an ITEC qualified massage therapist with additional advanced training in deep tissue work, myofascial release and pregnancy massage. Before joining Pain Care Clinic Melanie worked as a therapist in a sports centre, dealing with a range of sports injuries, and at RSI clinics, specialising in massage therapy for work-related pain conditions. Melanie has been teaching advanced massage to other therapists since 2006, and has a special interest in massage therapy for digestive disorders.

Pain Care Clinic lead therapist Amanda Oswald says:

‘I’m very excited to have Melanie on board at Pain Care Clinic. I have trained and worked alongside her now for several years and consider Melanie to be one of the most competent and intuitive massage therapists I know.’

Melanie in her own words:

I find massage practice creative and freeing, and I love the way massage is so beneficial to different body systems.’

See Melanie Smith’s full profile.
See Hove clinic location and appointment times.

RSI Action is national charity working to facilitate the prevention of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) conditions and for the relief of sickness, hardship and distress among those suffering with RSI conditions.

Click here to download the article as a PDF 11_10_Article_RSI_Action

Please click here to for more information, or to join RSI Action

Pain Care Clinic has teamed up with The Massage School to deliver an exciting series of new self-help workshops for people wishing to learn more about fascia, and the self-help potential of myofascial release.

The workshops, which are to be held in Hove in November 2011, are likely to be of particular interest to people living with chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and RSI, who wish to learn simple bodywork techniques for use between therapy sessions. They are also open to friends and family.

For more details and dates, please see the attached flyer, which includes a booking form.

11_11_MFR_WorkshopFlyer_Hove

John F Barnes is a physiotherapist with 50 years experience and is internationally recognised as a leading trainer and authority on myofascial release (MFR). His approach to MFR teaches structural techniques but goes beyond the purely physical to recognise the unconscious mind-body connection and emphasise the effectiveness of myofascial release in treating traumatic injuries and easing the emotional issues connected with physical pain.

John Barnes explains his myofascial release training system saying: ‘Therapists have been trained to treat a wide variety of clients with myofascial problems in a comprehensive, effective and caring manner. Each therapist is rated as novice, intermediate or advanced. The level of proficiency is based on completed training.’

In achieving the status of Advanced Myofascial Release Practitioner Amanda Oswald joins just a handful of elite therapists whose training includes 180+ hours of myofascial release instruction, including a one week internship at Therapy on the Rocks in Arizona working alongside John Barnes and his team of highly skilled myofascial release therapists.

Speaking about her experience Amanda Oswald said ‘the depth of knowledge and experience I have gained over my 18 months of training with John Barnes has taken my hands-on practice to new levels and given me the skills to deal confidently with trauma, complex injuries and chronic pain conditions.’

The Pain Care Clinic has launched a new website. The new site remains based at the domain www.paincareclinic.co.uk and builds on the successful look and feel of the previous site. However the new site is designed to be more easily updateable.

In addition to news about forthcoming Pain Care Clinic developments, we now look forward to bringing you a growing library of case studies and articles about pain conditions, myofascial release, advanced massage techniques, and developments in research.