Clients often come in with pain predominantly in one or two areas of their body and say they only want to be massaged there. I tell them that it’s important to massage as much of the body as possible. Why? Because: Fascia! What the heck is that? It’s a web-like connective tissue that consists of water, collagen, and something called ground substance. It connects muscle fibers to muscle fibers, muscle to bone, and it even suspends our organs in their cavities.
Fascia can bind up and become dry and stiff. Lack of movement of a muscle, psychological stress, traumatic injury, and dehydration can all contribute to tight fascia and myofascial pain. Bound-up fascia in one area can pull on other areas, thus an injury to your left big toe can actually affect your right shoulder! In non-focus areas of the massage, I often use Myofascial Release (MFR) techniques such as traction and compression. This gives you a sense of completeness and unwinds fascia affected by tension in near and far parts of the body. As a result, you may experience pain relief. Come see me to unwind your fascia with a full body massage!