Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Starting at the top of the head, take a mental scan of how your body is feeling. Do you notice areas of tightness? Are you experiencing discomfort?
Awareness of my muscular imbalances came out of time in meditation doing body scans like the one above. This awareness helped to get in touch with myself and interpret my surroundings. I increased this awareness through yoga.
I am a big fan of yin yoga. It was in my first yin class that I experienced a deeper connection with my body. It was an awareness, a tenderness, an appreciation that I’d never experienced before. And it was my yin instructors that taught me about connective tissue, specifically fascia, and how it could be cared for through these long-held poses.
What is fascia?
“Fascia is known as a connector, but I think it’s also even more a communicator. So, It is communicating to you, and it gives you little signals to begin with and then they become louder. And Those signals are “hey, the way you are moving, sitting, standing, or not moving, sitting and standing, are affecting you, and are affecting you in this area and I’m going to start talking about it really loudly.” (9:21)
Movement By Lara Podcast:
http://redefiningyoga.libsyn.com/016-manual-therapy
I listened to this podcast episode last week and the host, Lara Heimann, discusses how fascia indicates where we have imbalanced movement. The second half of this episode mentions how scoliosis causes one side of the spine to have more mobility while the other side is restricted. Lara goes on to say the side that is restricted tends to be stronger in addition to the tightness and we can restore balance through stretching and mobilization.
This podcast got me into total geek-out mode. I proceeded to research myofascial release for scoliosis and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. I came across a small (very small) study that suggests myofascial release (MFR) may be a potential manual therapy treatment for idiopathic scoliosis and states that more research needs to be conducted to draw further conclusions. (source)
Closing Thoughts
At this point, I personally can’t speak to what all is involved in myofascial release for scoliosis. What I can say is that last year I found a massage therapist through Massage Envy that may have helped me in this area. While I’d received massages in the past, this therapist had an ability to work out all my muscle tension without any discomfort during the session. I took a look at Massage Envy’s website and they talk about myofascial massage and its benefits. If you are interested in giving it a try and have a Massage Envy near you, this might be a nice addition to your scoliosis wellness routine.
Have you tried manual therapies to restore muscle balance? Please share your story with us in a comment below :)
