I might as well massage myself! Who else knows me best!

Self Myofascial Release

What is any athlete’s worst nightmare? Not being able to perform to the best of their ability regardless of countless hours of well structured training and preparation. This is something that more and more athletes are being faced with on a regular basis. The problem with most coaching systems that are used in the sporting world, specifically at the younger levels, is that the coach is either not qualified, or has a qualification but has neglected to keep up to date with the ever changing wave of sports science. This wave sees changes in old theories of training every day and continues to expand and develop with every event, tournament and match, where new discoveries are constantly being uprooted.

One such theory is the role of myofascial release in sports recovery and performance enhancement. Muscle fascia is a protective layer of connective tissue that surrounds the muscles and allows for the development of a healthy vasculature as well as innervations by the central nervous system. Your muscle develops tight spots, or trigger points, this indicates that there are portions of the muscle fascia that have become thick, tough and knotted. These trigger points restrict muscle movement and if they are not removed, can form inflexible scar tissue. The role of myofascial release in trigger point removal has been understood for some time now, but infrequently used by coaches who are either not aware of it, or don’t fully understand its importance.

What myofascial release allows you to do is target specific points in the muscle (fascia) and work out the trigger points by applying deep tissue massage. Using special instruments such as The Stick will ensure that you place enough attention on the more tender points and hence remove those tedious limiting trigger points.

Coach Luke Zacharias
Junior High Performance Coach
Advanced Sports Performance

Updating...