Health Benefits of Myofascial Release (Skin Rolling)

If you feel somewhat brittle and easily predisposed to suffering from strains and sprains, I encourage you to visit a health practitioner who provides myofascial release treatment.

Myofascial release, also called "skin rolling," is often provided along with other treatments like massage, stretching, and joint mobilisation and manipulation. The vast majority of registered massage therapists, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, and osteopathic physicians have training with myofascial release.

The goal with myofascial release is to promote healthy superficial fascia, which is a layer of connective tissue that lies between your skin and your muscles.

Over time, sub-optimal food choices, lack of optimal rest and activity, and emotional stress can contribute to a buildup of metabolic waste throughout your body's superficial fascia. When this happens, your superficial fascia can develop restrictions that impede proper flow of nutrients and waste products between your skin, fascia, and muscles. This state can predispose your muscles and even underlying ligaments to strains and sprains.

Myofascial release is quite simple to perform. The best way to get the hang of it is to have the person receiving treatment lie face down (back uncovered), to use the soft pads of your thumbs and fingers to gently pick up and hold a roll of skin near the base of the spine, then to slowly roll up the spine, lifting the skin up and away from the underlying tissue at every level of the spine.

If you do this right, your thumbs and fingers will never be without a good roll of skin. And when doing it over the spine, it's best to have your right and left hands on corresponding sides of the bony protuberances of the spine.

You can use this skin rolling technique to ensure healthy superficial fascia throughout the body, though my experience has been that most people tend to have the most significant restrictions around the spine and rib cage, particularly up around the top of the spine near the shoulder shawl muscles.

As you roll the skin and the superficial fascia below, the person receiving treatment should be able to tell you whenever pain arises. Sometimes, pain will correspond with an obvious physical restriction. Whether you feel a restriction or not, gentle kneading of the skin and fascia in the area of pain can help release the area. Depending on the severity of restrictions in the superficial fascia, several treatments over a period of a few weeks may be required to restore healthy flow between skin, superficial fascia, and muscles and ligaments.

If myofascial release is of interest to you, I encourage you to visit a health practitioner who provides it so that you can experience it firsthand. It's ideal to receive this type of treatment along with other manual therapies that promote optimal blood supply to your muscles, ligaments, and joints.

If you have any questions about myofascial release or you have experiences with this type of treatment that you'd like to share with others, please use the comments section below. Thank you.

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