What is Fascial Stretch Therapy?
Fascial Stretch Therapy™
Fascial Stretch Therapy™ focuses on the body’s most abundant tissue, the fascia.
When anatomy books were first written, they contained drawings of the muscular, nervous and skeletal systems. But the early anatomists largely ignored the connective tissue, fascia, that held everything in place.
Fascia is one of the most essential components of structure, function and movement and was largely neglected for centuries.
Over the last 15 years, fascia has been popularised and researched. Although not everything is known about fascia in functional terms within a living organism, its importance has become recognised by the broader medical community.
Fascial stretch therapy (FST) integrates muscle energy techniques (MET) and joint tractions to deliver an effective stretch-based treatment. Underpinning the methods and perhaps what makes them stand out in their effectiveness is the work of Thomas Myers, as published in his book Anatomy Trains.
FST treatments are performed on a therapy couch using fabric straps to stabilise the limbs and other parts of the body that are not being treated. The therapist can better apply traction to a joint before a limb is stretched by stabilising the patient on the therapy couch.
This systematic use of traction, alongside MET’s, assisted stretching and underpinning knowledge of Anatomy Trains, make this a highly effective treatment.
Below are a few minutes of a Fascial Stretch Therapy demonstration borrowed from Rebalance Sports Medicine, based in Toronto.
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