Comparison between Myofascial release and connective tissue

I would like to know about the comparison between myofascial release and connective tissue massage. What are the similarities, differences regarding that?

Hi,

Since all technique involves a brain, thus none.

Thanks for the interesting reply. I agree that all techniques of physiotherapy involve the use of brain. 8) Any way what is your view? Do u agree that there is no difference between them. And it seems to be only the change of names?

Hey sdkashif

You just had to ask eh? <RANT ALERT> Alright, picture this. I have dreams of being rich and famous and went into this business to make lots of money. Lo and behold I get into the field and I am feeling disgruntled and wishing I went to med school or became a lawyer because I am not making the money I thought I was going to make. Then I realize that this profession is an artform. I have a technique I learned in school that I use all the time because it appears effective but tweaked it in a way that someone never thought of (but mankind being a creative species, someone is already doing it or has something better) and will create a new name for it and patent that name. Next I will aggressively market it at sports venues (because that is where people will do and try ANYTHING to get a second off their time) or professional associations to be considered as a CEU or CEH and viola, I am rolling in the money.

ART is one of those things that drives me INSANE! Picture a chiropractor who had a massage therapist working in their clinic realizing that some patients experience relief longer or their symptoms resolved with soft tissue fascial techniques and not the standard 7 cracks that he administers. Viola ART is born! And now a generation of chiropractors (with no muscle theory or understanding of kinesiology) are ripping into muscle without any regard to the state of the muscle or where the pain is coming from. I had just treated a triathlete with knee pain who saw a chiropractor for ART and was diagnosed with ITBand friction and had the techniques applied to the insetion and she could not understand why she was getting worse. After seeing her and realizing that she was hyperflexible and was suffering from a muscle imbalance and not itband friction, she recovered in time to finish her race in a longer time than her personal best. Something that could be resolved with strengthening became an inflammatory mess because someone used a recepie book instead of objective thinking.

WHAT is with NISA and ROLFing????? They are both the same thing!!!! Both are painful fascial techniques. Both treat patients the same with almost the same recepies....

Trigger point therapy, Accupressure and Needling.... I am confused.... (and slightly biased because I am a trigger point specialist). Why do I have to be certified by all three in order to do the same thing. And what is with this needling???? A noxious invasive stimulus to relieve pain and remove trigger points? Is that fighting fire with fire? Is it because doctors can do it so we should... but notice they inject novacaine or lanicane into the trigger point to prevent splinting, post treatment soreness and kickback pain... When you get trained to use needles for use against trigger points do you learn the different kinds of trigger points and that they are all feeding on eachother and that you need to hit the primary triggerpoint first and that NO ONE has a good idea which one started it all... SO does that mean you needle as many areas as the patient can handle? And the hushed up incidents of those deflated baloons from needling that no one seems to think about.... oh yeah... those things are called lungs. <sigh>

And Now the question that was orginally asked by you....

Myofascial techniques and a GOOD massage therapist. Myofascial techniques were designed to do the same thing as a medical massage therapist. Stretch muscle, lengthen fascia, and treat trigger points. Same thing, different name, different schools teaching same thing.... SAME OLD STORY. All in the name of snatching that all too important healthcare dollar.

Are we always trying to find the perfect recipe or have we lost the ability to think objectively?

Adamo

As I said it, there is no real diffrence in the two techniques. They adress nerves.

Methods aren't so important when you can find a way to speak and an understanding within the patient.

I submit that regardless of the name of the technique, if practitioners would slow it down, I think much more can be accomplished. I shared an office with a myofascial therapiost who does the lecture ciurcuit. I gave her a letter suggesting ethical and moral violation of a patient who was moaning in obvious distress be it physical or emnotional I could not tell. It was more than I could take. The high drama was normative. Force was excessive as the standard modus operandi. I believe that less force and more time on the order of minutes - not seconds, will be much more effective, much better tolerated. We are seeing literature that reports much better gains in stretches performed constantly, gently at 10 minutes onstead of lesser times even if they accumulate to 10 minutes total (dexter J, combined sessions APTA 2004). What a great revolution we could have here.
Jerry Hesch, MHS, PT

"Bindegewebsmassage", as connective tissue massage is called in German, originated in 1929, when a German physiotherapist, Mrs. Elisabeth Dicke (1884 - 1952) suffered from severe circulatory problems in her right leg, severe enough that amputation was being considered. While she was in bed, she noticed pain and puffiness and tightness in the sacral area. To relieve these problems, she started to work on the area, trying to loosen the tight area by "pulling", she applied strong pulling motions, in effect pulling the subcutaneous tissues. While she was doing this, she noted a sensation of warmth in her right leg. As she continued to treat herself, the tightness over the sacral area improved, as did the puffiness at the perimeter of the tightened area, but at the same time her leg improved. She not only avoided amputation, but, over time, recovered from the circulatory problem completely.
Mrs. Dicke discovered entirely by chance a form of "vicero-peripheral reflexes". Theoretically, diseases of the inner organs create disbalances in the metabolism of certain subcutaneous tissues, related to the effected organ. These areas are specific to certain organs, eg. dysmenorrhea: an area of tightness, about 5cm to 10cm across, with puffy borders, over the lower sacral region, etc (there are specific areas for liver problems, stomach ailments, etc., but i am sorry I can't really remember them accurately.)
"Working" these areas directly influences the corresponding organ.
Mrs. Dicke developed a "regime", specific techniques to "irritate" the areas through stroking and pulling of the subcutaneous tissue. In 1938 she showed the techniques to Prof. Dr. Kohlrausch in Freiburg, who then continued to work on the scientific reasoning and confirmation of this theory, and was assisted in this work by Dr. Teirich-Leube.

As you can see, the primary aim of this treatment was to positively influence inner organs.

However, the tightness in the subcutaneous tissue also creates problems with the musculoskeletal system, the "zones", as the effected areas are called, are usually hypersensitive and often very painful, thus negatively effecting movement patterns etc.....thus working on the "zones" also reduces related musculoskeletal problems.

The technique is very specific, difficult to perform as it is very hard on ones hands, and unpleasant for the patient, it is painful and some patients actually feel nauseated or faint. (no kidding) In my "young" days, working in Vienna, I had to use BGM, and was always surprised when it actually worked, which it usually did. Because it is so hard on the hands, we were only allowed to do 3 per day. I hated doing it, and have not used it since. It is also not the kind of thing you want to "try", you really need to know what you are doing. I did, however, find the "zones" very helpful for diagnostic purposes, and managed to surprise many patients by "knowing" they had liver, stomach, circulation problems, suffered from headaches, etc., just by looking at them!

Still think it's the same as myofascial release?
neving

Hi,

try to read this long thread about MFR.

Myofascial Release; The Great Conversation

Thanks every body for putting your valuable comments and source of information & bring the topic to clarification.

Here a bit source of information about myofascial Release and connective Tissue massage that I wanted to share with all of you. Have a look over that.

Connective Tissue Massage

Connective Tissue Massage- A Revolution of Fascial Freedom

Key Elements of Connective Tissue Massage

Connective Tissue Massage from Active Massage.com

Discovering the Mastery in the Art of Connective Tissue Massage, Part One

A wisdom Archive on Connective Tissue

Connective Tissue Massage - A Review

Myofascial Realse.Com

Myofascial Release

Myofascial Release Centre

Myofascial Release UK presents Integrated Myofascial Therapy- A whole body hands-on approach to healthcare

Myofascial release clinic uk

Hi,

Unfortunately the links are quite only commercial ones.