Myofascial release

[Étienne Lajeunesse]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing more and more myofascial release, learning about it a lot during the last months.  

I was wondering why there's no protocol in GB Curriculum for this kind of mobility?  Is it because coach Sommer never really used this?  Or is it just about the fact that weighted mobility does the exact same job?

Thanks for your answers!

[Pauline Taube]

Hi Étienne,

Thanks for reaching out and great question! Weighted mobility is more efficient in the way that it stretches and strengthening your joints and connective tissues at the same time and therefore more bang for the bucks in terms of what we want for GST. It's also a very safe method as you always start light and gradually increase the load as you get stronger and more flexible. 

Myofascial release can be used in addition to your GST if done carefully and properly. This is a method that requires knowledge and also good body awareness! 

[Étienne Lajeunesse]

 

4 hours ago, Pauline Taube said:

Hi Étienne,

Thanks for reaching out and great question! Weighted mobility is more efficient in the way that it stretches and strengthening your joints and connective tissues at the same time and therefore more bang for the bucks in terms of what we want for GST. It's also a very safe method as you always start light and gradually increase the load as you get stronger and more flexible. 

Myofascial release can be used in addition to your GST if done carefully and properly. This is a method that requires knowledge and also good body awareness! 

Thanks Pauline!

I use myofascial release before my workouts and stretching, but can weighted mobility be used for the same purpose?  And, being there, can it replace passive stretching since I'm really stiff in some places?

I have another question: At some point in the training, will we use PNF stretching?  I find it very helpful to go deeper into stretch.

[Pauline Taube]

Weighted mobility is most definitely safer as you already know the progressions. I don't know how much research or knowledge you have about myofascial release but it's usually recommended to get this done by a physio/other therapist in order to be effective. Working wit a foam roller, lacrosse ball etc can be useful but if you don't know the specific are of the knot of the muscle where there are veins and nerves, you may risk to pinch one of them which will cause more damage. 

You can add some PNF stretching while holding the static stretches to get deeper in to the stretches  

[Étienne Lajeunesse]

It's curious that some people (professionals for some) told me that self-massage is risk free and that you and even Alessandro are saying to be careful.  I sure try to find what works for me and myofascial release is not my favorite method though.  But I am still curious why this difference in opinions is so spread out like this?

[Scott Malin]

57 minutes ago, Étienne Lajeunesse said:

It's curious that some people (professionals for some) told me that self-massage is risk free and that you and even Alessandro are saying to be careful.  I sure try to find what works for me and myofascial release is not my favorite method though.  But I am still curious why this difference in opinions is so spread out like this?

In most cases, it's difficult to hurt yourself (or someone else) with massage. Two major exceptions are myofascial release and trigger point therapy. With the former, technique is often applied incorrectly and with too much brute force. I was the fortunate recipient of an injury during massage school near my serratus that was three months to fully heal. It only took 30 seconds to cause that injury. :/

With Trigger Point Therapy, there are a number of methods in popular circulation that aren't based in the actual science and physiology of what trigger points are. Here again, brute force is not the way to apply effective therapy. 

The most bang for your buck in self massage will come from kneading the muscle belly and lightly frictioning the tendons. 

[Étienne Lajeunesse]

18 minutes ago, Cory Fair said:

The most bang for your buck in self massage will come from kneading the muscle belly and lightly frictioning the tendons. 

Yeah, so, as long it's done carefully, there's no problem at all.  I understand your point about brute force and totally agree on that...in the end, we want to relax the muscle and not tense it.

But, if I prefer to use weighed mobility and I do, can I apply it the same way as I would do with self-massage?  By that, I mean staying for a longer period into stretch, before static/PNF stretch, expecting about the same results (as I understood from Pauline)?