My Approach to Myofascial Release

What I love most about practicing (John Barnes, PT) Myofascial Release is that it’s not about me. It’s not about me following a linear thinking protocol on how to eliminate someone’s pain or assist in their healing process. It’s actually the complete opposite. Pain seeks and sometimes demands our attention in various ways. In can show itself in the textbook case of “my shoulder hurts because I fell on it yesterday” as well as in the more abstract case of diffuse, unspecified pain, unknown in its origin but none the less negatively affecting our daily activities and lifestyle.

My approach, first and foremost, is truly listening to what my clients tell me. Past diagnoses are helpful in a general sense, but they only tell a minute portion of the story and most often, I’ve found, not the most important portion. Our bodies are deeply aware of how to heal. I, therefore, don’t pretend to know more. I do, however, assist my clients in facilitating this process, perform manual techniques I sense are needed, and educate and empower my client to carry through with self-treatment.

It is in this manner that I find my clients able to actively participate in their lives again, and to me that’s a benefit to us all.

“The body never forgets anything that ever happened to it.” - John F. Barnes