THE FASCIA CANNOT BE MANUALLY STRETCHED
The most common mistake made in virtually all manual bodywork modalities is the use of force to “reshape” the body. While human touch alone is inherently very healing, modifications to the methods in which it is applied can either enhance or diminish its effectiveness. When it is applied in a manner that the body likes, i.e. gentle but firm sustained pressure, the body activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest and digest” response, and the mechanics of healing can occur without resistance. When it is applied in a manner that the body perceives as a threat, i.e. extreme, dynamic pressure and stretching, the sympathetic nervous system, the “fight or flight” response is activated, and healing is not possible.
The importance of the neural response created by manual bodywork is illustrated in studies by Robert Schleip, Ph.D., in his two part article, “Fascial Plasticity: a new neurobiological explanation,” published in The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies in 2003. Schleip conducted studies that contradict the belief that we can change the shape of fascia with our hands.
One study showed that the collagen fibers in the fascia would only begin to stretch shortly before they reached the breaking point, something that would not be desirable in a living human being.
In another study, Rolfing was applied to patients under anesthesia and found that it produced no results. If the application of manual pressure had the ability to stretch fascia, there should have been change in spite of anesthesia blocking any neural response. Why, then, was there no change when anesthesia took the nervous system out of the picture?
So, therefore, the evidence suggests that myofascial release is not produced by manually changing the shape of the fascia, but rather by creating a neurological response within the tissue allowing it to release naturally, by itself.
Does it matter whether we believe we are stretchi
