What Is Myofascial?

The term 'myofascial' is derived from myo meaning muscle and fascial referring to fascia.  Fascia is connective tissue (composed of collagen, elastin and ground substance) which ensheaths all of the other tissues within the body (the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, organs, nerves and glands).

 

Fascia is a colloid.  Colloids have specific thermodynamic characteristics when subjected to mechanical and thermal forces.  When fascia is deformed (by pressure, twisting or pulling), heat is created thereby changing its physical composition from a solid state ["gel"] into a liquid state ["sol" for solution].  In the liquid state (which is the consistency of honey), the collagen fibers of the fascia can be reorganized from a criss-crossed pattern into a more parallel fashion creating more space and movement. Then, after the myofascial manipulation (the mechanical tissue deformation) is over, the heat is disbursed and the fascia returns to its solid state but retains the plastic change of the reorganized collagen fibers.  This whole process is known as the gel-sol relationship or thixotrophy.

 

In deep tissue massage, thixotrophy occurs, the fascia is manipulated and retains its plastic change.  In deep Swedish massage, thixotrophy does not occur, the fascia is only elastically manipulated - it will snap back into its original position and not retain a plastic change.  This is known as the plastic-elastic distinction.

 

This is why the effects of deep tissue massage last considerably longer than that of Swedish or deep Swedish massage, other things being equal.

 

Fascia also has certain chemical and electrodynamic properties:  it is piezoelectric (conducts electricity) and hydrophilic (likes water).  During myofascial soft tissue manipulation, the aqueous (water) portion of the ground substance of the fascia becomes absorbed into and hydrates the collagenous portion of the fascia.  The absorbed water also serves as the conductive medium for the movement of electrons (piezoelectricity) during mechanical tissue deformation.

 

Fascia is also viscoelastic:  it will resist a suddenly applied force (deep pressure which is applied too quickly, (e.g., a deep Swedish stroke) and will elongate with a constantly applied force over time (constant pressure applied slowly, e.g., a myofascial stroke).  Fascia will shorten over time due to the constantly applied force of gravity unless it is otherwise lengthened by an intervening force.  This shortening characteristic is known as fascial creep.

 

Two factors affecting a massage stroke are:  (1) the amount of pressure or load used [which creates the depth] and (2) the glide speed.  In order for thixotrophy to take place and have the stroke be deep tissue instead of deep Swedish, the deeper the pressure, the slower must be the glide speed.  Conversely, the lighter the pressure, the faster may be the glide speed, but only up to a medium speed.  If the glide speed is too fast relative to the pressure, the time element needed for thixotrophy to take place will not occur and a deep Swedish elastic change will result.