The term Myofascial release has been around for over a century, its consolidation as a treatment method for musculoskeletal pain though has been slow.

It’s taken science some time to develop to the point where we can study in depth the complex and fascinating living system that fascia is. Still to this day there is ongoing research on the myofascial system and more to be understood.

What we’ve come to learn so far though, has revolutionised not only the way we understand pain and how the musculoskeletal system operates but also our general understanding of the human body.

This new knowledge puts in evidence an outdated current medical system. The great amount of regulation surrounding the medical system as well as individuals’ personal investment and attachment to the old ideas means that our system is currently left behind science, pending to catch up.

Right now, myofascial release in offered by the NHS in selected Multiple sclerosis and cancer therapy centres as a treatment method aiming to relieve pain associated with these clinical presentations.

The applications of Myofascial release though are far beyond providing pain relief and it’s a proven effective treatment method (if not the most effective one) in dealing with all sort of musculoskeletal clinical presentations (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet s., migraines, sciatica, lower back pain, etc.).

With Myofascial release being mainly practiced under the umbrella term “soft tissue therapy” or “massage” which are unregulated professions there’s no clear way for Myofascial release to be included in our rigidly regulated medical system as a treatment option for these presentations, at least not just yet.

Currently without a hands-on medical profession the NHS doesn’t have a system in place able to provide effective treatment for these musculoskeletal presentations.

This leaves patients experiencing these left in limbo, or taken through a lengthy and ineffective chain of specialists referrals that still don’t provide effective treatment.

It’s mainstream knowledge that historically we used our hands therapeutically to relief ailments of the body. These role fell on the hands fo the shaman. These healing practices were though linked with spirituality and religion. This is were it all got mixed up.

Society evolved and the current medical system was born and developed, we started looking at the body as cause and effect; healing was no longer linked to religious/spiritual practices. We developed a mechanical or Newtonian perception of the human body, where anything that couldn’t be seen or measured had no place within the medical system. We thought we couldn’t go wrong, if we see it, it’s real right? what we missed though is that the body doesn’t function under those simplistic mechanical principles. In that search for the truth, somewhere and progressively between the shamans and now, we lost ourselves and we lost hands on healing.

Science has now evolved to the point where we can understand the body as a quantum system (versus a Newtonian system) and our now outdated medical system (still deeply engirded in the old Newtonian model) is being challenged and it’s rigid to adapt.

With current research on the musculoskeletal system and the growing understanding of pain and the myofascial system, a new specialised version of hands-on treatment that it’s now based on science is slowly raising and gaining reputation within society as a reliably effective and needed profession, specialised in the musculoskeletal system.

There is still no clear place for us specialised hands-on therapists though, as in most people’s minds we float somewhere between a “masseuse”, with none or very little scientific understanding of the human body, and a medical professional.

This is due to the lack of regulation within our profession, as mentioned above, which could be seen as a blessing or a course, probably a bit of both.

On one hand our profession is free to develop, adapt and organically grow to new scientific findings (unlike the highly regulated medical professions specialised in the musculoskeletal system) and on the other hand that luck of regulation leaves us without a clear spot within the medical system and it also means that therapists with extremely different knowledge fall under the same umbrella term, “massage therapist” (which I don’t like using anymore for that particular reason) making it hard for people to differentiate the highly trained science based therapist specialised in the treatment of clinical conditions from those with lesser training or focused on the beauty sector.

Throughout history the term “massage” has always existed, but its reputation and applications through modern history have been far from the medical system.

The term has little reputation as anything serious, it has been sexualised through history and its reputation has been affected in other instances by self claimed gurus with self proclaimed ridiculous healing powers and no real understanding of the human body.

With the advances in science, there is hope for soft tissue therapy;  it’s now in the hands of serious professionals to take hands on therapy back to where it belongs, which is at the top of effective treatment methods to address the  musculoskeletal system.