Because you need to stretch.
Chances are you’ve been told this at least once in your life, probably more so as you get older. From a teacher or coach (high school or college) to help your athletic performance or even in your adult life by someone trying to help you with chronic pain or an injury (Physical Therapist, Massage Therapist, Chiropractor). Chances are, if you’re anything like the rest of us juggling an over-busy life, you’ve managed to stretch once or twice and it might have helped…kinda.
What if I told you there was a better way, which provides all the personalized attention you needed for your body, helps you maintain your mobility, flexibility, even gain strength, and is complimentary to the other therapies you potentially use to keep yourself in top condition? You’d perk up right? How great would it to get all the benefits of stretching- the flexibility gains, pain relief, relaxation, better sleep, stress management, without having to tack more time on in the gym or get down on the floor (only to discover you need to sweep under the couch) multiple times a week .
There is, and it’s called Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST). It is the leading edge of the stretch therapy world. FST addresses one of the major causes of generalized chronic pain and dysfunction, your connective tissue known as fascia.
FST Specialists focus on the fascial lines and the tissue which run in several nets throughout the body, literally, connecting everything. During a session your bodyworker will help your body’s nervous system down-regulate any stress or guarding around where there is pain, and from there a change is asked for up and down the line of the connective tissue. There are ten layers of connective tissue that advanced FST specialists learn to work with.
With the release of restriction in the connective tissue, often times lengthening space can be created in muscle and when needed the joint, helping to create decompression. Many times coming off the table clients feel “lighter” and “more fluid”. Chronic pain patterns in the neck, hips, and back (most common) nearly always feel amazing relief after just one session, and sustained relief as the sessions progress. On average, after 3 to 5 FST sessions clients start to keep their pain free gains and corrected patterns as the body begins to retain the work and re-establish healthy patterns. The best part, it’s all pain free. It’s just a relaxing, gentle stretch on the table.
I get it, right now you may be thinking, “Well, that’s nice, but what does that have to do with me?”
Everything.
We live in Montana, where we play hard all year around. Adding assisted stretch will help your body recover from an injury you may already be addressing, and prevent other injuries from happening because dysfunction will be stopped early. By creating space in soft tissue fibers and joints–session effects build on each other–clients find they have more kinesthesia (ability to move with ease) and proprioception (sense of one’s posture both when still and in movement) in life and activities.
In short, addressing the fascial nets of the body helps create longer lasting results, correct dysfunctions, provide pain resolution in many cases where clients have lost hope about getting out of pain. FST practitioners are unique in their training as they use proprietary methods to adjust and tune the entire network of fascia weaving in and through the body, connecting all the systems and organs as opposed to just addressing a single point of pain–which could be caused by a problem up or down the fascial net.
Just as you see a specialist for your spinal adjustments (a chiropractor) or a physical therapist for specific injury rehab, it makes sense to address stretching with a specialist trained in stretching.
Adding in assisted stretch can be thought of as the literal bridge between the structure/function of the fascial nets and the healthy state of tension between tissues needed for healthy movement. If you have an excess of tension in the tissue (tightness) or a deficient–either can cause pain–then only by adding an experienced practitioner, trained and educated in the complexity of fascia, will your pain or problems in the (Fascia) nets be resolved. FST practitioners are trained to properly identify and address fascial dysfunctions, allowing clients to regain quality of life and performance for any task.
If you’re struggling with unresolved pain, mobility, or just want to see improved results with your other therapies. Contact Experience Movement MT and Jenna Anderson. Jenna is the only FST Level 3 Fitness and Level 3 Medical Sports Specific Specialist in the state of Montana. She has been helping people manage pain and regain control of their lives and movement patterns for 6 years now.
