If you’re considering Myofascial Release Therapy for any type of chronic pain condition or to treat the physical manifestations of trauma and emotional stress, you may be wondering whether you’ll have “homework” to do in between your sessions.
How much homework is there?
How often do I need to do it?
What does it entail?
All valid questions. Plus, it’s good to prepare for what’s ahead, right? – especially when you’re investing time and money into something that is unknown to you.
But perhaps more important than preparing – having the commitment to “doing the work” in mind and body is what really makes a difference to your results. True healing and change is far better accomplished with small, consistent changes than it is by sudden, intense, but brief, effort.
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Myofascial Release Therapy is a non-invasive, hands-on therapy that is safe and extraordinarily effective as a treatment for chronic pain and loss of mobility.
It can also be helpful for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and many other so-called syndromes .
When it is done correctly by a trained practitioner, Myofascial Release Therapy works to identify and treat restrictions and rigidity in your myofascia – the connective tissue that wraps in and around your body.
These fascial restrictions form as part of your body’s response to accidents, injuries, illness and trauma, emotional stress, and a chronically lousy posture.
They can lead to all kinds of problems in your body. They’re often the root cause of pain that appears with no apparent reason that stubbornly remains in the face of all the other therapies you’ve tried before.
When we treat patients with Myofascial Release Therapy, we don’t just focus on the site of your pain. Instead, we look at your entire body and how everything links and works together.
For example, you might come in with ankle pain. When we feel and follow what’s going on, we’re almost certainly going to find issues and problems in your pelvis and hips that are adding to the problems in your ankle.
Then, we dissolve the restrictions using gentle and sustained pressure to “release” and restore blood and oxygen flow to the tissues, reducing inflammation, restoring mobility and alleviating pain. This leads to a much better resolution than the typical stretching and rubbing most people are told to do.
Now, getting back to the central question: whether you need to do homework to reduce your pain levels, heal, and achieve optimal health as quickly as possible, the answer is a resounding yes! We find that people who embrace the need for effective self treatment do much better overall. They feel better sooner and they gain confidence in their ability to handle problems and flare-ups on their own.
Some people come to us thinking that we are effectively mechanics. They think we will simply “fix” them. That approach doesn’t work very well. True, authentic healing is a process that is holistic (whole-body) and transformative. It’s a whole life event. The people who do best are those who realize we are helping them reconnect with their own healing wisdom. The homework we are talking about is not a list of exercises to dutifully follow, it’s practice in effectively helping your body recover from the difficulties it’s had.
People should be largely self-corrective when it comes to their health. Unfortunately, much of that wisdom has been derailed in our society. It’s always our goal to restore that self-corrective ability.
If you’ve been in pain for months, or maybe even years, resolution of your symptoms won’t just happen overnight following a quick, one-hour appointment at the clinic. It also includes changing your approach and response to the signals your body is giving you, with our help and support.
Good self treatment not only reduces your immediate pain but also prevents future problems. The beauty of this approach is the powerful combination of in-clinic therapy and education aimed at helping you to be your own effective healer. People who embrace this approach:
- Identify the root cause
- Improve mobility and speed up recovery
- Prevent re-occurrence of old injuries
- Reduce stiffness and muscle rigidity
- Interrupt and alter chronic pain patterns
- Lower stress levels
- Boost mood and overall sense of well-being
Does Myofascial Release Therapy still work when you don’t do the homework?
If your Myofascial Release Therapist recommends homework as part of your treatment, such as specific stretching movements or strengthening exercises, you should do them as regularly as possible because they serve an essential purpose. Truthfully, everyone should spend some time every day doing effective self-treatment.
We’ll help you find specific, helpful practices for you to do at home. Our goal is to help you feel effective at helping yourself, not berate you into following a prescribed routine. We find that when people don’t follow the suggestions, it’s because they don’t find it to be helpful. We aren’t going to leave you there.
If you stick with us and yourself then your at home self treatment will help expedite your recovery process. Specifically, it improves the results you would get from the sessions alone.
Here are the most compelling reasons why it’s beneficial to do the homework practice that we assign for you after Myofascial Release Therapy:
Improves recovery time:
Our experience has shown those who embrace learning, and doing, effective self-treatment feel better much sooner.
Reduce further damage:
Good self-treatment also removes much of the stress and trouble in your body that can often lead to re-injury. The awareness you gain is also greatly helpful in preventing “overdoing” it.
Home exercises improve therapy results:
Myofascial Release Therapy sessions often take place once or twice per week. This leaves a good deal of time in between to continue to run into problems. Practicing effective self-treatment homework spans that gap and prevents the frustrations that can come up as your body is changing but still not good enough. In addition, your own efforts will help progress your improvement.
Benefits in pain management:
Good self-care will help relieve discomfort and pain. So you can avoid taking painkillers and other types of medication. If you are already on medications, they may end up improving in effectiveness. In conjunction with your Myofascial Release Therapy sessions, the homework we set you leads to better pain management and often complete resolution of pain symptoms. In tandem, homework also helps restore your flexibility, function, and range of motion.
Better control over recovery:
The purpose of assigning exercises and lifestyle changes also helps you feel like you have more autonomy and control of your recovery process. We understand that you are eager to recover and restore your daily life as soon as possible. That is precisely the purpose of giving you additional homework after our sessions – to facilitate a swifter recovery.
Myofascial Release Therapy: Important Points To Consider
So, we’ve shared the significance of doing homework after your Myofascial Release Therapy session, but what else do you need to know?
Well, “homework” can sometimes feel like a chore, especially as the tasks can seem a bit monotonous.
Still, it’s worth sticking with it and staying motivated to ensure you recover more quickly. So, here are a few tips on how to make sure homework happens:
Stay motivated:
Motivation is the key to success in many areas of our lives. The same principle applies to doing your Myofascial Release Therapy homework. There must be so many things you’re looking forward to doing again when you solve your current health issues, right? Make these things the motivating factor to exercise regularly and do your homework.Try this: First, think about what motivates you the most out of everything you want to do. Then, visualize yourself enjoying this activity after your recovery. Hopefully, when you imagine your post-recovery self, the feeling you get will keep you on track.
Build a routine:
Developing a practice is the most effective way to ensure that you complete your Myofascial Release Therapy homework. Choose a specific time of the day. Whatever is most convenient for you, and self-treating daily at the same time will help it become a habit that you don’t even have to think about. For example, the morning can be an excellent time. You get it out of the way early and tick off your list before any other distractions. This can also set you up for a much better day. But this may not work best for you. If it’s “too difficult” and doesn’t fit into your regular daily schedule, you won’t do it. It’s that simple. Do what works for you.
No issue if you skip a session:
Although this may sound counter-productive, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a session. There could be times when you cannot help but miss a session.That should not be a reason to lose motivation. It would not be a big issue if you skipped one or two sessions. Just get right back on track and don’t make it a big deal – continue the rest of the days of the week and remain consistent.
It’s Time To Act Now
Does this sound familiar?
Don’t worry we’re here to help!
Whether it’s about advice regarding myofascial release, or a more general question about therapy there’s no question too small.
Why not get in touch now and see how we can help you on your path to better health.
If you’re struggling to maintain a routine or you just want some advice on it all, don’t hesitate to call us.
Michael Sudbury LMT
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