You’ve probably heard the phrase “Yin yoga gets into the fascia more”. The question is, is it true? And if it is, how does that happen?
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Fascial stretch – what is it?
It’s a really commonly used term these days, but what does fascial stretch even mean?
You might think it’s an easy situation of the fascia getting pulled on in order to make it longer. But that’s not really it, or at least it’s more complex than that. All stretching technically includes the fascia – so what makes “fascial” stretch more fascial than regular stretching? We’ll discuss below.
The fibers that make up the fascia, which are primarily types of collagen, aren’t really stretchy individually – so in the sense of the fascial fibers stretching, that’s not really what’s happening.
What is happening, is the structure and organization of the fascial fibers is being stretched. This is possible because of the way all these little inflexible structures are arranged into a larger vacuolar network.
Some of the bonds that make up the web are really strong and stable, and can only be broken by really generous forces that we don’t generate with legitimate massage. There’s also a reasonably well supported hypothesis now too that there are also a bunch of other weaker bonds that are part of the linking force of the entire web.
These weaker bonds can be broken with lower forces, making the web something that is dynamic – as in, its arrangement can be changed by normal forces (like moving and stretching) by the weaker bonds breaking and reforming between different fibers.
It’s that re-arrangement of bonds within the web that we refer to as “fascial stretch”.
And we specifically target the fascia (or even more specifically, the myofascia) by introducing sheer forces into the tissues to specifically try and drive layers of tissue past one another. That is what makes the techniques we talk about below, more fascial than regular stretching.
To be clear, this does mean that all stretching and all movement and all manual therapy can probably be classed as some kind of fascial stretching (even when the practitioner doesn’t call it that). But in terms of how people are using the name, we can zoom in on techniques (especially in something like manual therapy) that are focused on driving force directionally through the tissue with a little more intention or reasoning behind why they’re moving the tissue in a particular way.
So in terms of the application of fascial stretch technique, we talk about 2 general possibilities:
- • Pin and stretch – this involves the careful positioning of a limb for a target muscle, the application of “pinning” pressure to the tissue and a gradual passive movement of the limb to achieve a gliding of muscle through a stationary tissue.
- • Sink and draw – essentially the opposite to the pin & stretch, this method involves the “gripping” of the superficial tissue when you sink and then a directional force applied in order to take the tissue over stationary musculature.
Within this style of manual therapy application, you may encounter significant increases in intensity – not that should necessarily always be a part of fascial stretch. Our mantra “slow it down” really helps to mitigate this intensity increase, AND it’s also a bit rare for people who practice “fascial stretch” tools to move so slowly as to take that intensity out of it.
With a concentrated breaking of weaker bonds and the encouragement to rearrange themselves, we often see a short term (and generous) increase in flexibility. Of course, this is not only about the fascial changes but about the nervous system changes that occur in a massage too, but at least some portion of the changes in flexibility right after a fascial stretch session are likely to be due to the reorganization of those weaker bonds.
If we want to keep those changes, we have to keep using that extra space with our movement.
The next time you hear people talking about fascial stretch, you’ll have a bit more of an understanding of what they’re talking about.
If you’re obsessed with learning about fascia, you might want to check out this online module I made on it.
Low Back Massage to Help with Low Back Pain
There are of course lot’s of things that might contribute to low back pain – but in almost all situations, the following technique can help at least a little. Try it out and let me know how you feel at the end:
5 Signs that the Massage Pressure is Too Much
Whether you give massage or receive massage, these things are good cues from the body to pay attention to. Massage has an ideal pressure – and that’s different for each of us. If we use the following 5 signals from the body as cues to avoid, then we’re giving ourselves a better chance at finding that perfect pressure.
You know the pressure is a little too much when:
- 1?? Holding breath – When the breath is being held, it signals you’ve gone past the threshold of what’s the most beneficial.
- 2?? Breathing rapidly – Sometimes people will breathe shallowly and quickly instead of holding their breath. It means the same thing – it’s beyond the comfortable intensity of good massage pressure.
- 3?? Eyes squeeze further shut – Sometimes people are really good at controlling their breath even when it’s too intense. The eyes often give them away.
- 4?? Jaw clenches – And if not the eyes, the jaw often clenches a bit to signal the effort of remaining still and keeping the breath moving.
- 5?? Fingertips and toes straighten – If all else is being controlled, usually the extremities will be outside of their awareness and will respond to too much intensity with extension.
Whether it’s you giving the massage or getting the massage, paying attention to these cues (and backing off a bit when they show up) is going to lead to a better massage experience.
It’s important to remember that more pressure is not necessarily better – and that especially holds true once you start getting these signs from the body.
Make your work firstly about soothing the nervous system and do your best to avoid getting these responses.
The Best Way to Practice Thai Massage
Is there a best way to practice Thai massage? This might be something you’re thinking about if you’re searching for courses or you’ve been exposed to different styles.
Obviously, it’s a loaded question and you could make the answer a simple “no” or you could also explore the intricacies of that conversation. Which is what I’ll attempt to do here. I’ll also take you in a bit of a different direction, so that instead of thinking about one “style” of practice being better than another, it’s more about the methods you use for your people. [Read more…]
What does “release” in massage even mean?
In the massage world there’s this term that gets used a lot: “release”. And I use it a lot too. Even though I use it, it’s kind of frustratingly vague – like, who even really knows what it can mean?
I think the thing is, it’s pretty non-specific when it comes to describing something – and because of that it’s hard for people to conceptualize the release. What do you look for? Or more appropriately, what do you feel for? [Read more…]
Can massage break up adhesions? Here’s the nuance.
Image source: learnmuscles.com
We’re tackling this because manual therapies all over the globe have made the claim that they can break up adhesions, as one of the ways in which they help people. So we’re here to see if there’s truth to the claim or not. [Read more…]
“Traditional” Thai Massage
There’s a lot of talk about traditional Thai massage in the community. As in, a lot of people use that word “traditional” to market themselves – using it in a way that attempts to differentiate themselves from people who don’t practice in a traditional way. [Read more…]
Massage protocols and impending disappointment
There are still a lot of schools of Thai massage and Thai-inspired manual therapies who teach massage protocols. One posture, followed by another posture, followed by another – in the same order, every time. Both in the classroom and out in the wild when working on clients.
Many will suggest a degree of benefit to that. Most commonly, the reason given is that it takes you “out of your head and into the flow of the practice”.
On the surface, that might seem like a logical reason, but here’s my counter-proposal to it:
We do our best work for people when we’re IN our heads. Thinking about what we’re doing. Paying attention to the cues of the body to determine: the best pace, the best pressure, how long to apply pressure, when it’s best for us to finish a technique, and also where it’s best to move to with your next one (among other things).
At least, that’s what I want out of my practitioner when I’m getting a treatment. I want you thinking about as many details of your work as possible. Don’t you want that? I mean, do you want the Uber driver taking you around the city to be thinking about what they’re doing? Or do you want them to be less thinking, more flowy?
I promise you that thinking about what you’re doing also does not have to come at the cost of flow. I don’t know who put the idea out there that the two are even connected. I’m also not sure why we should be valuing flow over doing our most detailed work we can. But to clear that up, the two are NOT in an inverse relationship, where one goes up causing the other to go down by default (or any relationship at all, really).
You can be spending a lot of time/energy thinking about and focusing on your technique application, AND maintain a sound flow that feels like a seamless experience from one moment to the next.
It’s even more likely that clients will feel more fluidity when you DO think about the next steps because more often than not, when you consider your next steps before taking them, they’re better steps. As in, they’re usually more likely to be exactly what your client asked for and needs – than simply the next posture in the protocol.
If you give a lot of time to a part of the body that doesn’t need as much attention, simply because it’s what’s in the flow, then your client is likely going to be thinking “yeah that feels fine, but my shoulders really needed more time”, or something along those lines. That feels like impending disappointment and an overall experience that’s less seamless/fluid.
Protocols also miss the ability to really help your clients the most you can within a limited window of time. Time passes wildly fast in the Thai-massage time vortex [it’s a thing we talk about in class], so you have to make every second count.
All of those reasons are why we don’t use protocols out in the wild, at Navina. So no two treatments are EVER the same.
The name of the game is customization and responsiveness to the needs of the person in front of you.
Having said that, we do employ protocol-style work in one setting – and that’s the classroom. For one reason alone – to have everyone in the room doing the same thing at the same time, so that the coaching, cues, nuance and advice we’re offering are instantly relevant.
That’s the only time we use a sequence that’s the same.
Rest assured though, we then teach you how to step away from that sequence, because once you’ve built proficiency in each technique, then your focus switches to taking the best care of your clients possible. To set you up for that, we take you through our 5 P’s of customization.
The thinking and focus thing is also why we suggest Navina practitioners do as little talking as possible in treatments. Obviously we don’t miss opportunities to connect, but we also try to keep conversation to a comfortable minimum – because talking is distracting and takes away thinking power. Leading to a treatment that’s just a bit less detailed, a bit less exactly what you needed.
Think about that the next time you get a repeat treatment with your massage practitioner. Might be time to ask for a little something different – “skip the ____ for me today – I really need that time allocated to ____ instead please”. And if you’re a practitioner who’s only learned in protocols, do your best to take chunks out so that you can meet their request.
If you liked this one, you’ll also probably like “Just Because It Hurts Doesn’t Make It A “Deep Tissue Massage”.“
Considerations for Massage with Arthritis
Images source: news-medical.net.
The first thing is extra prop use – more blankets and more cushioned surfaces, specifically for affected joints. There tends to be more focused sensitivity around the arthritic joints and so adding in extra soft surfaces helps to increase comfort.
The second suggestion I have is related to the applications of our “slow it down” mantra. The way that we approach Thai-inspired manual therapy, we have various ways in which we can use that mantra (for example, the slow application of pressure, more repetition before approaching the end-point, pausing with pressure applied, slow joint articulations, and so on).
For folks with arthritic joints, I would recommend reducing the length of our pauses or holds. Where normally I recommend long, long holds to really access the golgi-tendon organ response, for cases where arthritis is involved I would suggest only brief holds (less than 3 breaths).
That’s because when we do really leverage the golgi-tendon organ response, we’re relaxing the muscles around the joint in order to drive more force into the passive elements of the joint – whilst this does allow for us to have a greater impact on things like the collagen arrangement in the interstitium, we end up placing greater force through things like the ligaments, joint capsules and other passive joint components too.
For joints that aren’t arthritic, this is comfortable and likely beneficial to a degree, however for arthritic joints, this is frequently uncomfortable – especially on the release of the long hold.
To be clear, I’m not saying that it’s bad for the joint – I don’t know that there’s any data on that one way or the other – instead what I’m saying is that it often hurts (remember hurt doesn’t necessarily mean damage). So for the sake of enhancing the comfort of the experience for our clients, it’s best to reduce the duration of the hold – especially in the “deeper” joint positions in postures like knee to elbow.
Oh – and speaking of comfort and good sensation – many people with arthritis will absolutely love a gentle joint decompression. It’ll just be a temporary moment of relief, but for some that’s a big moment.
If you liked this piece, you’ll probably also like to check out “Why “listening to your body” is much more complicated than you think.” or “Can you feel fascial release?“.
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