Fascial Manipulation Course

In this blog my aim is to;

• Engage
• Educate
• Empower

I love to learn new practical skills so I can bring them back into clinic and help my patients!!

I’m always reading and refreshing so I can practice up to date treatments.

Attending courses is one of my favourite things to do. It keeps me motivated and ensures that I am delivering the best care I can.

Back in late April I attended an intensive 4 day course entitled Fascial manipulation…

The fascia is just as important as muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves in enabling us to move. However it is largely misunderstood and ignored in the vital role it plays. In fact 40% muscle attaches into fascia and not bone!

When we injure the body the fascia will become involved and can be the underlying cause of the ongoing problems with pain, dysfunction and loss of mobility. In cases where there is persistent pain and failed rehabs fascial manipulation is usually the missing link.

• What is fascia..? Connective tissue that covers everything and literally holds us all together.
• Why is fascia important…? If fascia becomes thickened it prevents gliding of tissue causing tightness and restriction of movement and pain can develop.
• Why treat fascia…? By releasing the restricted fascia within the tissues of the lower limb, the muscles will move more freely restoring healthy movement to the musculoskeletal system by reducing the compensations that cause pain & dysfunction.
• How do you know what & where to treat…? Careful assessment is carried out before any treatment is conducted. Establishing the injury history, presenting sites of pain & the locations, and verifying with movement and palpation testing.
• How do we treat fascia..? By locating painful thickened areas within the tissue and manipulating the points to allow better gliding and a better range of movement.
• Can you treat/release the fascia yourself…? Not specifically or accurately. Foam rolling and self-massage can help provide short term relief, but will not fully restore gliding movement of the fascia or fully resolve the problem.
• Is it uncomfortable to treat fascia…? Most often yes because direct pressure with movement needs to be applied to create a significant change within the tissue. The longer the duration of the problem the more painful it can be treat. On average 5 minutes to manipulate a fascia point.

Below is an excerpt from the course:

Day 3: developing important palpation & fascial treatment skills to reduce fascial restrictions and improve gliding of tissue to reduce musculoskeletal pain and improve movement and performance.

We are the first MSK podiatrist’s in the UK to train in facial manipulation.

The Stecco family are leading researchers in this area of musculoskeletal pain and are making ground-breaking changes in chronic pain management.

There are 5 segments of the lower limb that move in 6 directions in 3 planes. All tissue within the chain requires careful assessment to establish active pain sites.

I’m working on the horizontal plane restrictions found at specific points of the external aspect of the pelvis, hip, thigh, ankle and foot.

If you have pain in any one aspect of the chain; all planes at the front, back and sides need assessing for restrictions within the fascia that cause pain & biomechanical compensations that create further sites of pain. This is often the explanation behind chronic pain & dysfunction!!