Soft Tissue Release Techniques: The Powerful Effect
Blue Chip Massage, Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd February 2015
Soft Tissue Release (STR), a remedial massage technique to powerfully release muscular congestion & long-held fascial adhesions, was the subject of a two-day course with impressive results that I took part in at Blue Chip School of Massage – which provides professional development training in remedial & sports massage techniques. It is a type of clinical massage, predominantly employed by massage therapists as well as osteopaths, physiotherapists & chiropractors in order to treat specific muscular problems.
In STR the massage therapist uses their hands to help stretch tight fascia & relax dysfunctional & hypertonic (chronically tense) muscles. Accidents, trauma, injury, immobilisation, inflammation & emotionally or stress-held tension can all lead to local irritation, inflammation & muscle tension, which in turn leads to restricted movement, contracted muscles, fascial shortening, restricted tendons & ligaments: all of which results in a functional disability for the client.
STR involves the massage therapist assisting the client to shorten the affected muscle, before performing a specific holding technique & either assisting the client to, or more usually, allowing the client to lengthen the muscle themselves. This then allows the muscle & fascia to stretch & release down effectively. The huge advantage of STR is that it partly allows the client to direct the treatment themselves, & thus control how far they release painful areas which can make a big difference to their treatment. It can also be applied to any tight muscles within the body, including deep muscles such as the Psoas & Quadratus lumborum (QL) muscles which can be hard to reach with standard massage techniques. The technique is a remedial form of massage, used to address specific muscular complaints & gain improved muscular movement, rather than as a more relaxing form of holistic massage. If the muscles are hypertonic or tight it may be occasionally intense for short periods of time but equally the effects can be incredibly powerful: I have seen clients absolutely astonished at how it has changed their posture & movements.