There's a over abundance of information on the web, much of it good and much of it questionable. Here are a few articles relating to the body and especially the fascia, and how bodywork and massage cupping can benefit this vital system.
Vacuum Therapies for Breast Care and Surgical Applications
The last two years revealed some amazing experiences as we delved deeper into breast care and surgical applications using vacuum therapies. In 2015 I organized two practicum programs, where graduates came to work on clients who have had issues around breast health such as fibrocystic and dense breast tissue, and surgeries such as lumpectomies, mastectomies, breast augmentations and reductions. (read more...)
Fascial Health with Vacuum Therapies
Starting out as a tadpole of a therapist quite some time ago, during a typical massage session my main focus was (of course) the muscle, period. Pressing the time capsule fast forward button, we now know that to achieve a more positive therapeutic effect, we must look at the body both structurally and functionally. (read more...)
Cupping Therapy: Relief for the Face, Head and Neck
Cupping therapy, or vacuum therapy, can be used for a variety of applications, from head to toe. One special focus is the head, neck and face, as these are often areas of pain and dysfunction. Headaches, sinusitis, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, lymphatic issues, chronic inflammation, and surgical preparation and recovery are common concerns for many people who come to see massage therapists. (read more...)
Fascial Fitness: Training in the Neuromyofascial Web
Consciously or unconsciously, you have been working with fascia for your whole movement career—it is unavoidable. Now, however, new research is reinforcing the importance of fascia and other connective tissue in functional training (Fascia Congress 2009). Fascia is much more than “plastic wrap around the muscles.” Fascia is the organ system of stability and mechano-regulation (Varela & Frenk 1987). Understanding this may revolutionize our ideas of “fitness.” (read more...)
Fascia as a proprioceptive organ and it's relationship to chronic pain
Fascia contains mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors. In other words, every time we use a muscle, we stretch fascia that is connected to spindle cells, Ruffini and Paccini corpuscles and Golgi organs. The normal stretching of fascia thus communicates the force of the muscle contraction and the status of the muscle regarding its tone, movement, rate of change in muscle length, and position of the associated body part to the central nervous system. (read more...)
Emotions in Motion: Myofascial Interoception
There are numerous articles in the literature dealing with the myofascial system, on the physiological, pathological, macroscopic and microscopic level; yet, we still do not have a thorough knowledge of its functions, just as there is still no shared vision of how to classify it. Many professional manual practitioners are involved in its treatment and there are many emerging therapeutic approaches. What is still missing is the awareness that the body is also emotion. The myofascial continuum is able to stimulate the areas of the brain that deal with the emotional state, and manual treatment activates the interoceptive system. To optimize myofascial treatment, a psychologist should work alongside the manual practitioner, creating a multidisciplinary team that takes into account both the physical and emotional aspects. (read more...)