Muscles and fascia play a significant role in our emotional states, and tension in these tissues can perpetuate feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. However, there are several ways to release this tension, including stretching, massage, yoga, mindfulness, and paying attention to our daily habits.
The body can hold information below the conscious level as a protective mechanism, so these memories tend to become dissociated. During these times of trauma or injury, our fascia system stores a “holographic” image of our body's position, complete with all the fear, anger, sadness, etc. that was present at that time.
As fascia is lengthened, it stores mechanical energy, which is released as it shortens and returns to the original resting position. As much as 40% of muscle force is generated by the mechanical efforts of fascia.
The techniques known as myofascial release or myofascial unwinding are hands-on methods for initiating traumatic memory release. Myofascial work locates and physically frees the restrictions in muscle and surrounding fascial tissue that house traumatic memories.
Fascia plays a critical role in the transmission of neurotransmitters, namely serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and acetylcholine (17, 20).
Clients also report feeling more emotionally balanced and centered. As you let go of physical tension, you release emotional tension as well, which profoundly impacts your sense of well-being.
Muscles and fascia play a significant role in our emotional states, and tension in these tissues can perpetuate feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.
The resulting body maps suggest that people often feel: anger in the head or chest. disgust in the mouth and stomach. sadness in the throat and chest.
For some people, adhesions can worsen over time, causing the fascia to compress and contort the muscles it surrounds. This can result in hard, tender knots in the muscles, called trigger points. Myofascial pain syndrome is a condition in which those trigger points cause pain to occur: During movement.
Memories in the body may be also encoded into the structure of fascia itself. Collagen is deposited along the lines of tension imposed or expressed in connective tissues at both molecular (Gautieri et al., 2011) and macroscopic level (Sasaki and Odajima, 1996).
Signs your body is releasing trauma can sometimes be subtle or surprising, but recognizing them is key for moving forward in your healing journey. Here are some signs to look for: Sudden emotional outbursts such as crying or laughter. Changes in physical health, like reduced muscle tension or headaches.
Fascia holds our life stories, including emotional traumas that become imprinted, physicalized memories within our tissues—imprints that literally hold us back from living and moving optimally. Thoughts that have become too rigid, critical, or extreme also become imprinted on the fascia.
Deep fascia surrounds your musculoskeletal system. It covers your muscles, bones, tendons, cartilage, nerves and blood vessels.
Heat therapy: Applying heat to sore muscles can help relax the fascia, improving your range of motion and reducing muscle pain. 5. Foam rolling: Foam rolling, or massaging your muscles with the help of a foam roller, helps stretch and loosen your fascial tissue.
Depression and anxiety were highly significantly linked with increasing levels of neck pain. In addition, deficits in social support were associated with neck pain.
Like other forms of massage, there are few risks to myofascial release therapy. Just like all forms of massage, you may feel some detox symptoms after myofascial release. This may include soreness, light bruising, headaches, dizziness, or fatigue.
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a common muscle condition characterized by painful trigger points. Vitamin D deficiency has been recognized as a precipitating factor of MPS.
Myofascial release therapy is a type of gentle, constant massage that releases tightness and pain throughout your myofascial tissues. First, your healthcare provider will locate trigger points, or knots, in your fascial tissues. Then, they'll gently apply pressure until they feel the tension release.
When fascia releases, it can feel like taffy softening. Sometimes people may feel cold or heat, tingling or buzzing, burning, or a sense of water or air moving through the area. They may also notice a sensation in an area other than that being treated.
Trauma is not physically held in the muscles or bones — instead, the need to protect oneself from perceived threats is stored in the memory and emotional centers of the brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala. This activates the body whenever a situation reminds the person of the traumatic event(s).
Where do we hold grief in our body? Grief affects the entire body, including the organs, skin, brain, and tissues. It can create issues with muscle tenion, sleeping difficulties, and affect how the brain and body process information and emotions.
Stress and anxiety can make you feel like you have knots in your belly. Some people feel nauseated and even vomit. If this happens all the time, you can develop digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or sores in your stomach lining called ulcers.
The fascia around the psoas is one of the most common areas I have seen patients store trauma. It makes sense with trauma that when our brain is not able to process what is happening it stores it away in the fascia.
Body-based methods like yoga and massage help release muscle tension stored from trauma. Yoga incorporates mindful movement and breathing, which calms the nervous system, while massage therapy targets deeper muscle layers, alleviating physical stress and promoting relaxation.