Pattiwhackers

Don’t just treat symptoms;
fix the problem.

So… the big question: what is causing your pain and
discomfort? What’s the root of the problem? If working
the muscular system or the skeletal system is not
getting a lasting result the fascial system maybe be the
origin of the problem. Especially if you have experienced
temporary relief with massage or chiropractic therapy.

Fascia, otherwise known as connective tissue, runs
throughout your entire body. It connects your muscle
system with the skeletal structures and surrounds both
the nervous and vascular systems. This fascial tissue
can become restricted with injury, surgery, trauma or
inflammation. Fascial adhesions can limit muscle
flexibility and joint movement. The nerves and blood
vessels can also be negatively affected if they are stuck
in fascial scars in the tissue layers. Your body needs to
be able to move freely in all tissue layers to perform
activities of daily living as well as maintain neutral spinal
alignment for optimal health.

Unfortunately, fascia problems often go undiagnosed.
For one, the area where symptoms develop is often not
the area of primary restriction. For example, the fascia
stuck under the lower ribs may be pulling the entire
chest and shoulder blade down causing a poor position
for the shoulder joint to move normally and hence cause
pain with movement. Treating the shoulder offers
temporary relief, but won’t fix your problem.

Conventional diagnostic techniques such as CT scans and MRI’s are not always sensitive enough to show these
fascial restrictions that may be causing the problem. Rather than resorting to medications for pain
management or possible surgery (with the hope) of improved function, I strongly recommend this type of
manual therapy be tried.

if your dysfunction is in the fascial system there is hope for lasting results.

Why you may be in pain today

Deep trunk adhesions can take a long time before they cause pain and disability. Over time, the fascia will
limit other tissue layers and when the bone or muscle become restrcited the condition becomes more
symptomatic. Trauma, surgeries, injuries,and infections cause inflammation. The natural response of the body
is to heal with scar tissue. A part of the intestine may become adhered to the lower rib cage. This will create a
downward pull through the torso and limit mobility in the thoracic spine. When one part of the spine is limited it
will transfer up the chain of joints, causing overuse and symptoms in other segments. Today, there is a
constant 'pull' in the neck; sharp, painful twinges in the back.

Most people would not relate an inflammatory process in childhood to be a contributing factor to the
musculoskeletal pain they are experiencing 20 or 30 years later? In fact, this scenario is more common than
one would think with chronic musculoskeletal conditions.

There are so many things that can happen to the structures on the inner layers of your body. When a strong
force contacts the body it is not only the outer shell (muscle layer) that becomes injured. The force will travel
through the entire sytem and may cause distortion of tissue right through the trunk. Having the muscular layer
worked, or the skeletal layer manipulated, may provide temporary relief. If the deeper connective tissue has
been torn and now adhesed, the syptoms will not resolve until this layer of scar has been mobilized.

How our bodies can heal

You're in control. Our brain is the control centre for all functions in our bodies. It works through messages sent
from movement in different body parts and gives the command for the adjustment to be made.

When a restriction in the connective tissue is located quite deep in the body there is virtually no movement in
and around that scar. Therefore, there is no signal or feedback sent to the brain and it is unaware that there is
a problem originating there. (i.e. little or no mind/body connection)

Because our bodies are closed continuous systems, the loss of movement of one part affects other parts of
the kinetic chain, and it is the overworked parts that become symptomatic. When there is pain from overuse at
an area, the brain is bombarded with signals from that site and the real SOURCE of the problem remains
undetected. This can go on for months, even years, and sometimes decades.

Once the stuck area has been identified and then mobilized, the communication between the tissue and the
brain has been restored and the brain can now start rebooting the correct motion for that body part and the
pain from over use will lessen and resolve. (i.e. there is a better mind body connection)

There is no reason you should have to live in pain. The techniques of manual connective tissue release offer an
alternative to finding the cause for those chronic conditions that never seem to go totally away, or always
return with an increase in activity level.

I hope you have become encouraged after reading about this type of therapy. (Links are on the FAQ page.) I
look forward to assisting you with your quest for better health and resolution of your pain. Together we can
stop treating the symptom and correct what is really causing the pain............more effectively.