By guest contributor: Jessica McElroy, PT, DPT
Have you had the opportunity to experience myofascial release? It is a mind boggling, incredible treatment that can change the way you see physical therapy and assist you in living your life to the fullest. I highly recommend it and let me tell you why!
I have been a runner for 13 years. Too many to count 5k and 10k races, 10 mile races, relay races, 8 half marathons, and one full marathon. Running is incredibly therapeutic to me, it is my stress relief and also my joy. It gives me goals, personal accomplishment, failure and sometimes life lessons.
I am also a physical therapist in outpatient orthopedics specializing in dry needling, manual therapy, and exercise prescription. So when I aim for a new running goal, be it a longer distance race or a faster pace for a PR, and I feel more than just sore or tight, what do I do? Of course, I assess what I can of myself and stretch, strengthen, foam roll, and rest, using my knowledge and tools as a physical therapist. But there are some aches and pains that I know I cannot correct myself – and I turn to Solstice Physical Therapy.
For the last couple of years, I have been seeing Dr. Lisa Wilcox whenever these aches and pains seem to get beyond my self-treatment abilities. I would like to share with you the specific skills that Lisa has that have changed everything for me, both as a patient and as a physical therapist. Lisa performs myofascial release, along with other manual therapy skills, dry needling, and individualized exercise prescription. Specifically, her knowledge of and skills in myofascial release are life changing!
When I was training for a marathon and had pain in my IT bands, posterior tibialis, and Achilles tendon, I saw Lisa for a few sessions in which she utilized dry needling and MFR to reduce the muscle tightness, improve range of motion, and reduce joint pain. I was able to run the Chicago Marathon absolutely pain free! What an incredible experience that was. I also saw Lisa for dry needling and MFR when I was pushing speed work trying to PR in shorter distances and again, in just a few sessions, my pain was gone and my running felt unstoppable. She treated my leg pain with dry needling, but she used MFR at my pelvis to correct asymmetry and allow me to run with a normal gait pattern, truly correcting the root of the problem.
My other experience with MFR was not running related, but followed the birth of my second child. Around 3 months postpartum, I began to have left hip pain that seemed to be getting progressively worse. I tried to evaluate and treat myself for one month, but finally decided it was time to reach out to Lisa. Not only is she a fantastic physical therapist, but she also just had a baby and was personally familiar with the changes a woman’s body goes through with pregnancy, labor, and delivery. I described my pain to her, she evaluated my anatomy, and in just 3 appointments, I was completely pain free! She used MFR to treat my pelvic asymmetry, and to describe the sensations I felt during these treatments leaves me lost for words – relaxing, weird, cooling effect, release, flushing, movement but also stillness, letting go in different parts of my body. I realize these words may not make sense to you, but once you have just one MFR session, you will understand! There is truly nothing like it. This hands on approach is something that can treat a problem the way nothing else can. It is so gentle that it feels like nothing is happening, but you also feel movement within and strange sensations. You will leave the session feeling incredibly relaxed and your body will move so much more smoothly, as if everything is released back into place.
The body is a beautiful complex puzzle and fascia is a bigger piece of the complexity than I ever imagined. From my personal experiences as a patient with Lisa and my knowledge as a physical therapist, I can confidently say myofascial release will change your life. Because of myofascial release, I continue running races and chasing my kids around without pain. I am also more aware of the role fascia plays, improving my own patient care.
What do you do to relieve stress and to connect with others in your community? Where do you turn to when you need assistance with an injury? What aches and pains are holding you back? Have you tried MFR???
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Thank you Jessica for the wonderful blog post! If you would like to experience the amazing results of Myofascial Release (John F. Barnes method) please contact us at Solstice Physical Therapy.
(720) 369-7738
DrLisa@SolsticePhysicalTherapy.com
www.SolsticePhysicalTherapy.com
**This is not to be considered medical advice, please contact a physical therapist or other healthcare professional for more information. All content on lisawilcoxpt.com is created for informational purposes only and is not to be taken as medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.
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