Myofascial dysfunctional pain is often the reason we hurt. Watch this video to see why and how you can get relief now.

Years ago, when I was in Anatomy lab, we would cut through the fascia to get the muscles, nerves, and organs.  The fascia was seen as the junk that was covering organs and tissues. It was thought to serve little purpose but to get in the way of our dissections.

We now know that the myofascia not only is responsible for movement patterns of muscles and functions as an exoskeleton, but it also contains its own vascular and neurological systems as well. There is even some evidence that the nerve junctions in the fascia may be related to acupuncture points.

Patients are often surprised to find out their shoulder problems and leg problems are related to the movement of their entire body.   Yet, our healthcare system wants us to believe that these parts just break or wear down. A shoulder problem may be due to a core issue for example which is also affecting their opposite knee and yes, the two problems are related. Your orthopedist may only want to look at your shoulder and send you for rehab on the shoulder, while never considering the rest of your body as the reason you hurt.

We all adapt to our surroundings throughout our lives, to our body style, to injuries and we can adapt poorly developing altered movement patterns that make us prone to developing lower back, neck, shoulder, hip, knee, and even wrist pain. Have you ever wondered why your chronic problems continue to return? Why are you so inflexible or why are you so easily injured? Are there better and safer methods for pain relief other than pain management clinics?

When we ignore problems for years, it results in degenerated joints, damaged knees, arthritic spines, and chronic pain. The myofascial restrictions we develop are intertwined with these chronic problems, yet they are not found on an x-ray or an MRI, or any other test.   On the other hand, they are found during an evaluation and proper history when you visit someone who is trained to evaluate the musculoskeletal system. By acting on these problems appropriately while we are young, our joints will stay healthier as we age.

The medications we relied on for years makes these problems more chronic but help us endure the pain, while the problems of movement caused by tight fascia continue to damage our bodies.  Tests such as x rays or MRIs merely show us the history of movement and what poor movement and adaptation does to us many years later.

There is a better way as I discussed in the book Cheating Mother Nature, what you need to know to beat chronic pain.  The enlightened practitioner will use active modes of care, exercises, myofascial release treatment, and manipulation to improve the way you move and then teach new movement patterns to resolve and improve how your body deals with gravity and the daily activities we partake in.

Is arthritis a normal part of aging as many doctors have told their patients over the years, or are they missing the necessary training to understand why you became arthritic?   Is there a better way forward for most of us as we age?

Chronic pain and impaired patterns of movement are closely linked.  For those who suffer from back pain, The Annals of Internal Medicine reported in February of 2017 that many movement-based treatments such as exercise, manipulation. Thai Chi, myofascial work all helped relieve or improve lower back pain while many surgeries, medications, or invasive procedures were recommended to be tried last.   The common element of all the treatments that they recommended was movement. The one type of healthcare practitioner who uses many of their recommendations are chiropractors who are primary care for the musculoskeletal system.  Since movement is holistic, a holistic approach to evaluation and treatment is most sensible and chiropractors are the only group who uses this type of approach. Compare this to the common medical approach of seeing different people do your evaluation, your treatment, a medication, etc.  A holistic approach of connecting the dots always is a better approach to the diagnosis and treatment of myofascial pain.

The Fascial system is like an elastic sock that covers the body and it has different layers.  The following video which is from a myofascial therapy group in Arizona offers an excellent way to understand myofascia and how it affects movement in other parts of the body. Restrictions in one part of the body can cause problems functionally in other parts of the body, well demonstrated by the speaker in this video. Watch the video from 3:50 through 11:56.

While myofascial release, foam rolling, and other myofascial work can make a huge difference, manipulations of the joints in the spine and extremity is also very important since it further improves movement which allows better adaptation.   The benefit of seeing a chiropractor who performs moyfascial release treatment is that you get all of the benefits from manipulation to exercises to diagnosis in one place. If your anatomy is asymmetrical, we would also recommend orthotics for the feet as well without having to go elsewhere. One provider, a simpler and a more cost-effective approach to care. Of course, if there is an underlying medical condition you need to have addressed, we will refer you to the appropriate provider.

The example she uses in this video and the images apply well also to people who have post surgical active scars in the abdomen, with the most common being from a c section.   These types of scars can markedly impair movement within the fascial system and cause chronic pain throughout the body.  Hernia repairs can also cause these types of problems.

The practice of medicine has realized this and added many less invasive approaches to surgeries on areas such as gall bladder and other abdominal surgeries to avoid active scars or at least minimize them.

Poor body adaptation and the movement patterns that can result is why many of us hurt.   The solution is a comprehensive approach to improve movement.

Chiropractic sports physicians who perform a myofascial release, exercises, manipulation as well as other treatment methods are the one-stop-shop for those of us that hurt.

For myofascial pain; see a chiropractor first.  Feel better in as little as one visit. Request your appointment using this link.