Myofascial Release & Trauma

The art of myofasical release is working in harmony with the body. This is quiet, subtle work. It can take time. Like most things that take time, it requires some patience, but the outcome is worth the wait.

Working in this way, using a 'listening touch' can result in not just a physical release in the body. Tight areas of fascia will be softened, this will have positive effect across the whole body. Tight fascia can be painful and limit the range of movement one has. But along with this tangible response there may well also be an emotional response. The body holds onto your past and manifests your emotional journey as well as your physical one. Whilst working on the fascia you may begin to feel a shifting of these stored emotions. In this way, fascial work can assist in relieving trauma and other stored negative emotions from the body.

Defining ‘Trauma’

It is likely that you already have a clear idea of what ‘trauma’ means to you. It can be a very personal thing. Many people assume that to experience trauma you must have experienced an horrific, possibly violent or abusive, life changing event in your past. This can of course be true, however I’d like to suggest that there are many times when people can be experiencing trauma caused by what we may see as more ‘everyday’ situations.

Trauma can be caused by moving job, or moving to a new area. Raising children with little or no practical help. Constant worries about your financial or health situation. These are all situations that can cause very real trauma. We tend to see these types of situations as too common place to ‘complain’ about so we don’t like to classify them as trauma. We feel we should be able to cope and just ‘get on with it’.

How we experience trauma

The human mind is very good at covering up and ‘getting on with it’. We can spend many years kidding ourselves that everything is fine and therefore not seeking any help. Our bodies, however, are a different story. The human body is not a very good liar. It holds onto our emotions, even when the mind is doing a fine job at suppressing them, and when it all gets too much the body sends subtle clues to alert us that all is not well. These clues can be things like

Headaches

Poor sleep

Lack of energy

Digestive problems

Weight loss or weight gain

Chronic fatigue

Brain fog

Joint aches

Skin problems (such as eczema or new allergies)

Low back pain

The list can go on but you get the idea…

These clues are there to be interpreted by the mind as a problem. Sadly this often doesn’t happen. The mind/body disconnect is strong in many people these days. We can literally spend days without giving our physical body any thought. When this is the case it is a big leap to understand that the new bout of eczema on your arms is caused by your fears of losing your job.

Trauma & Fascia

So, if trauma lives in the body how best to manage this? Can working directly on the body help to relieve the trauma that is stored in the body? This is where the fascial work comes in!

To get an idea of how fascial release bodywork (sometimes referred to here as fascial release or fascial work) can help with stuck, residual trauma you have to understand that the fascia is everywhere. It is so fundamental to the body that without it we would just be a gross pile of organs, bones and bits. Our fascia is a bodywide interconnected network that rebuilds and changes itself as needed. It is also key in bodywide communication. Nothing can happen in the body without the fascia being aware, and as the fascia is everywhere in the body, whatever happens in one part of the body has repercussions throughout the whole body.

I am of course simplifying the concept here (this is just meant as an intro) but by working to release the fascia and beginning to let that work naturally ripple out to the rest of the body we are able to start the process of letting go.

As with massage, the fascial release work is really just a catalyst. It is after your treatment that the body continues with the real work. Fascia work is slow. If you try to hurry it, the fascia will simply harden and push back. It won’t allow you to work with it unless you agree to work at the pace set by the body.

This is to say that fascial release can kick start a process that (slowly) changes how the body holds onto trauma and other negative emotions. Eventually, with enough care, work and understanding, the body will be allowed to completely let go. The result should be a body that feels free. 

Can bodywork ‘cure’ trauma?

So, that’s a big question and to be honest it’s out of my remit. Everyone is different so the answer will be different for everyone. I would suggest that by listening to your body you can begin to hear if there is something wrong. You can also use the body to begin to set that wrong right.

I am not suggesting that bodywork could or should replace other forms of therapy. Myofascial release and massage are complimentary therapies. That word is important, bodywork should be used to compliment a range of tools that work best for each individual.

Further reading

If this is a subject that interests you I would strongly recommend these two books.

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van de Kolk

"Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence.

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity.

The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives."

When The Body Says No by Gabor Maté

"Dr Gabor Maté draws on deep scientific research and his own clinical work to provide the answers to critical questions about the mind-body link - and illuminates the role that stress and our emotional makeup play in an array of common diseases.

When the Body Says No explores the role of the mind-body link in conditions and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome and multiple sclerosis.

Maté shares dozens of enlightening case studies and personal and moving stories, including those of people such as Lou Gehrig (ALS), Betty Ford (breast cancer), Ronald Reagan (Alzheimer's), Gilda Radner (ovarian cancer) and Lance Armstrong (testicular cancer)."