Myofascial Release and Parkinson's Disease
I really enjoy researching avenues that are interesting to me, so for my last neuro-note I decided I would investigate the effects of myofascial release with treating pain and tightness with people who are living with Parkinson’s disease. In June of 2018, I was fortunate enough to go through the level 1 John F. Barns Myofascial Release approach (MFR), here in Memphis. It was super interesting, I have always felt that fascia plays a large role in our health and wellbeing. I have not really been able to put my training to as much use as I like, so I felt it was time in get back to studying its importance and how it can be beneficial to those who are experiencing pain.
Fascia is all over our body and often people do not even think much of it or even know what it is. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds your entire body and wraps around your muscles, organs, lymph, blood vessels, nerves, and yes, your brain and spinal cord too. It runs from the top of your head all the way down to the tips of your toes. It can aid in the smooth movements of your muscles but if too tight it can hinder movement and even cause severe pain and pressure.
When someone has a neurological disorder for example Parkinson’s disease, changes in the body occur due to abnormal tone and improper movement patterns. Myofascial release can help relieve the tightness and bound up feelings that come with Parkinson’s disease by loosening the tight intertwined grip of the fascia. Myofascial release is different from massage in that the technique is not a rubbing, sliding, or pounding of any sorts. The MFR practitioner starts with the area that the client is having the most pain by placing their hands usually in a crossed position with gentle applied static pressure that is held until they feel the deeper layers of the connective tissue give. Once that is felt the hands are moved farther apart to aid in the release and stretch of the connective tissue. It takes patients and a learned feel that cannot be rushed. From there the practitioner continues to work in the area of the release and or where heat is felt which is usually and indicator of tightness and can sometimes present itself on the opposite side of the body from where the practitioner first started. Fascia runs in distinct lines and patterns that help to guide the practitioner on where to go next during treatment.
I honestly was hoping and eager to find more in my research that supported the positive impacts of myofascial release for people living with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders as well, too. Yes, I did find some stories and positive accounts of people who found relief form MFR but it was not in the numbers I was expecting. I do realize sometimes people might get a little intimidated or turned off by MFR because it addresses the body as a whole holistic unit and believes past traumas, physical and emotional are stored in the fascia. This line of thinking is not what a lot of people know since for so long there has been put a separation between brain, body, and the felt heart. Not of course in occupational therapy, yet another reason I love OT so much! I will list some of the websites that I found information that supports the helpful benefits of MFR but as with most things it takes a good amount of time to get momentum. I will continue my search and see where my investigation takes me.
https://www.blog.parkinsonsrecovery.com/myofascial-release-and-parkinsons-disease/
https://www.blogtalkradio.com/parkinsons-recovery/2010/04/15/pioneers-of-recovery
https://www.gleneagles.com.sg/healthplus/article/myofascial-release
https://www.intentmultimedia.com/learn/blog/164-parkinson-s-and-the-often-missing-focus-of-treatment
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