Utilizing John Barnes Myofascial Release for Optimal Health and Wellness

Presentation by Rachele DeCrescenzo

Rachele is a Physical Therapist and is the owner and founder of The Healing Journey, Myofascial Release and Physical Therapy.

New Location Alert: Downtown Clinton at 11 Lower Center Street

“We did some renovations and last June I started seeing patients there and it's been amazing. It's right on the Raritan River. It's really beautiful. You can see the red mill in the background and it's just a really serene spot” 

Watch the video as Rachele shared pictures of the office, the consultation area, and the treatment space and treatment table where all the magic happens.

John Barnes Myofascial Release for Optimal Health and Wellness

Oftentimes, people come to Rachele because they are in pain. The pictures below are just some of the things they can’t do or have difficulty doing. And sometimes, their situation is so bad that they are not able to do their day-to-day activities.

Rachele hopes that one day, people will come to her not because they are broken but because they want to be able to do things better and for a longer amount of time.

Importance of Taking Care of Your Body Through the Fascial System 

We all want the top two pictures to happen and we never want those two bottom pictures. We do that by doing regular maintenance, scheduled oil changes, changing tires, changing brakes, and whatever it may be. One of the things that you may not realize is not only do you do those scheduled things, but when your car's running well, you are in resonance with your car.

When there are only background noises happening, it's accelerating, it's decelerating, or it's turning the way it’s supposed to, you don't even realize that because you were kind of at one with your car.

But as soon as something starts to go wrong like you hear a noise that you don't normally hear or you realize your car is not accelerating the way it's supposed to, you immediately take the car to the mechanic before you wind up in those pictures at the bottom where you're broken down and really frustrated in the situation.

However, what often happens is we are not in resonance with our own bodies. We hear things that are unfamiliar and maybe we get a little pain here and there, but we just tend to ignore it and we keep moving and moving and moving.

One of the ways that you can become in better sync or resonance with your body is through the fascial system. Being very aware of your fascial system will help you to have resonance within yourself, and you are able to take time to tune out the noise and tune into yourself.

The fascia is the largest system in the body and it touches all other systems. That is why one of the reasons you're able to utilize that system is to be in better tune with your body.

A Few Facts About Fascia

• Fascia is a three-dimensional connective tissue web that runs continuously throughout your body.
• Fascia holds together and intra-penetrates all your muscles, your organs, your bones, and all the tissues of your body. It gives your body.
• Fascia gives your body structure. 
• Fascia touches everything in the body down to each individual cell.
• Without the structure it provides, your body would have no form.
• Besides giving your body form, it is the information and communication superhighway of your body.

Some people think the bones give you structure or your skin gives you structure, but it's the fascial web that folds all these things together that gives your body the structure.

You can now see how getting to know your fascial system and getting to know your body through the fascial system can help you to maintain your most optimal health and wellness.

Fascia in its healthy state:

• It glides, moves freely, and allows for communication between the muscles, the bones at tendons, and the cells so they're all able to do their job properly.
• The fluid of the fascial system or the fluid of our bodies. The fluid is also known as the extracellular matrix or the ground substance which should be thin like water to allow for this “flow” of the fascial system and allow for muscles to expand and contract, and nerves to conduct, their impulses.

Fascia in an unhealthy state due to injury or surgery, stress, repetitive body positions, and physical or emotional traumas:

• It can get very sticky and bind down to the structures in the body.
• The ground substance instead of being like water becomes thicker and more viscous like mud.

Information Gathering

When somebody comes in and they don't really have any problems Rachele can help maintain their current state and do the things they want to do.

This is the list of information Rachele needs:

When you become really clear on your WHY, then you are able to stick to programs better. Saying things like “I want to be able to hike” is very different from “My daughter loves to hike and I want to participate in that activity as long as I possibly can with my daughter so I’m going to keep my body in really good shape.”.

Postural Assessment

Rachele will look at your posture in standing in all different positions.

She will get you on the table and do some assessment on the table. She will look at your posture and start to feel around your body looking for those sticky areas.

Is there anywhere that feels hard or sticky or maybe isn't moving the way it should? 

You may be completely unaware of it because the body can compensate really well. Our bodies are pretty amazing so even when we have restrictions in that fascia web and the fascia gets sticky and the ground substance starts to get thicker, everything around it allows us to still move and do the things we want.

When Rachele gets someone on the table and she starts palpating and looking around, she will be able to find where are those tight areas. She will then start to loosen it up so that it can continue performing optimally.

John F. Barnes Myofascial Release

Once she is able to do all those things and gets her assessment, then she can actually do some Myofascial Release.

What is Myofascial Release or MFR?

MFR is a holistic and very effective hands-on treatment that involves applying sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain, restore motion, and keep the body in an optimal state.

When Rachele is working on you, she helps to release the restrictions allowing the fascia to glide and move more freely. There are a lot of things that are happening under the skin that allows that viscous fluid to become more waterlike.

Rachele will work together with you in the office. Those in-office MFR sessions will teach you how to tune into your body. You can start to listen to your body and become more resonance with your body and understand your unique “fascial voice”. Everybody's fascial voice or fascial web system is different and getting to know yours is the most important. Moreover, at-home self-stretches and exercises are also vital pieces of the puzzle. 

“What I hope I can convey to you today is that waiting until your body has broken down may not be too late (because I help a lot of people that are in pain), but just like a broken car, it’s harder, it takes more time, and it takes more money to get back to where you want to go. If you come in sooner and learn how to be in resonance with your body, tune into your body and get to know your fascial system and what that means, you'll be able to perform at an optimal level on a regular basis and continually have better optimal health and wellness.”

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