Treatment FAQs

Bring a bathing suit or a pair of shorts and a sports bra to your session, as your therapist will need to work directly on your skin for effective treatment.  Do not put lotions on your skin, as this will impede treatment if your therapist is sliding on your skin.  

Drink plenty of water!   This will help to flush out toxins that have been built up and are released from the body.  It will also aid to maintain the new openness and realignment of the tissues.  

Go slow and respect your body's needs as the tissues reorganize and realign. Fascia continues to reorganize for up to 24 hours or more after treatment, and this can affect different people in different ways.  

MFR can affect different people in a variety of different ways - it is very subjective.  Some people feel energized after treatment, and some people feel very relaxed and sleepy.  Sometimes the pain feels better immediately, sometimes the pain takes a day or two to feel better, and sometimes people actually feel worse after treatment.  It's important to note that a change in the site and  severity of pain is a normal response to treatment, as the tissues in your body realign, and is not something to worry about.  

Call your therapist if you have any specific concerns about how you are feeling after treatment.

Again, this is also a very subjective question, which your therapist will address with your during your first few treatments.  If your pain is very acute, it may be helped in just a few treatments. However, if your pain is more chronic in nature, or is due to a chronic illness, getting treatment twice a week for a few weeks in the beginning is usually recommended to feel the most gains.  

Everyone will respond to treatment in different ways, and no two bodies are the same.  Talk to your therapist if you have concerns regarding your personalized treatment program.  

As stated above, the 3-dimensional web of fascia is continuous, and surrounds absolutely everything in the body, down to the cellular level.  Therefore, a fascial restriction in one area of the body can pull on the entire system, causing pain and tightness in an area far removed from the original site of restriction (refer to "fascia-man," at left).  

As the tissue begins to reorganize and realign, it will release pressure throughout the entire system.  This may then cause the pain to shift to another area that has been restricted, and now needs to be released.  Talk to your therapist regarding personal concerns about your healing process.  

During your first treatment your therapist will give you a small ball for self-treatment, along with personalized instructions on where and how to use the ball.  

The most important things to remember when using the ball are:

• BREATHE - focus on your breathing, and bringing your breath / awareness into your ball, and your body / pain.  Thoughts may come up as you self treat; notice the thoughts, and then gently bring awareness and focus back to the breath.  
• Keep the ball in one area of your body for at least 3-5 minutes - as the tissues release, and the spot becomes less tender, you may shift a little; however, the longer you continue to allow the tissues to release in one area, anti-inflammatory chemicals are released into the body.  
• The same principles apply for stretching - hold any stretch for up to 3-5 minutes, without pushing into pain; rather, hold the stretch at the point you start to feel a minor stretch, and allow the tissue to open up naturally over 3-5 minutes.  In this way you will naturally ease into the stretch more gently.  
• If you feel pain will using your ball - imagine feeling into the pain fully, without resisting it. This will allow the tissue to release more.  If you are not able to breathe into the pain, then move the ball to an area that is less sensitive, and release there first.