John F. Barnes’ BLOG & Therapeutic Insight Article
Massage Magazine, a national and well respected publication recently performed a survey to discover who their readers most wanted to learn from and the topics they wanted. John F. Barnes, PT and Myofascial Release were at the top of their list.
MFR BLOG
View additional postings by John F. Barnes, PT on his MFR BLOG at Massage Magazine. Have a specific question for John? Visit www.massagemag.com
The New Year! A time for resolutions!
If you’ve had trouble keeping your New Year’s Resolution in the past, there may be a good reason why! To find out why keeping a resolution can be so difficult, look out for my new article in the techniques section on the Massage Magazine website titled, “What makes a New Year’s Resolution fail?” This new article should be available in early January and it may to help answers some of your questions about why adhering to those New Year’s Resolutions can be so challenging.
Scars
Hello Richard,
Your question about scars is a very good one. Often times scars get overlooked, even though they can be the source of many problems.
Scar tissue can put an enormous amount of strain on the fascial system, especially in cases where the person has had multiple surgeries in the same area. If you imagine the sweater example that I have often used to illustrate the continuity of the fascial system, a restriction would be equivalent to a “pull” in the sweater. Not only is the area that is being pulled affected, but the whole sweater is affected at some degree or another. Now, if you were to then sew a few stitches (i.e. a scar) in the sweater in one of the areas of pull (restriction), you just created additional “drag” within the system. The other important thing to remember about scars is that most scars look fairly neat and uniform on the surface. However, underneath the scar you have tissue that is laid down in an irregular fashion, which helps to strengthen that vulnerable/”injured” area. In some people, there is an excessive amount of scar tissue laid down (adhesions- A fibrous band of scar tissue that binds together normally separate anatomical structures). So in other words, the scar is just the “tip of the iceberg”.
So Richard, to answer your question, I agree with you, there does seem to be a relationship between headache pain and old post-operative scars (e.g. C-section, hysterectomy, etc.) Scar tissue can create extensive dysfunction within the fascial system, thus affecting the craniosacral system. These additional restrictions can have long-reaching effects throughout the body, causing seemingly unrelated symptoms and dysfunction (e.g, headaches, migraines, depression, mood swings, etc). No scar should go unevaluated, as even the smallest one could cause significant fascial dysfunction.
Thanks for your inquiry.
John
Therapeutic Insight: The Myofascial Perspective
A monthly column written by John F. Barnes, PT on Massage Magazine’s website. Read about how the Myofascial Release Approach perspective is changing healthcare, current trends and John F. Barnes' perspective and viewpoint.
We will examine various topics and
learn about new scientific discoveries about the fascial system. Some of the topics and theories we will
discuss are “cutting edge” and, therefore, may spark some controversy. I would encourage readers of these
articles to ask any questions or add any thoughts or comments.To view the therapeutic insight column go to http://www.massagemag.com/Resources/massage-techniques/.
You and I were taught logical theories that explained how various techniques accomplished their goals.
Theories are stories we make up in an attempt to explain phenomena. I graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania as a physical therapist in 1960
(click here for John F. Barnes' full bio). I am a very logical
person and accepted the theories taught in school and in scientific texts as factual. My entire belief
system was then violently ripped apart in an instant when I experienced a life-changing injury. I had been a
good athlete; sprinted the 100-yard dash in track events, threw the shot put, played football, skied, drove
motorcycles, swam and excelled at competitive karate and weightlifting. But after being injured, my strength
was tested both mentally and physically.
Let me go back to the trauma that changed my life, my belief systems and radically expanded my mind and view
of healing. I was training for an upcoming weight-lifting competition and went to the gym to work out. There
was no one else there to help “spot” me. I was doing high repetition squats with more than 300 pounds, and
I got to the point where I couldn’t get up from my last repetition. I had been a gymnast when I was younger,
so, I decided to do a “back roll” to get out from under the weight, forgetting that when your hands are
grasping a bar with more than 300 pounds on it, your hands can’t let go. I crashed on the ground with
tremendous force, herniating the disc at L5 and ripping my lumbar ligaments. I laid on the ground stunned
and unable to move.
I felt numb from the waist down. After the numbness and shock subsided, the pain began to run through my
body, and my body shook violently. In that horrible instant, the things I loved most---motion and
competition---were taken from me!
Life became a struggle. I tried every form of therapy available only to be disappointed with temporary
results. No one wanted to get better more than me, but I felt trapped by the pain. I was in worse shape
than most of my patients. An orthopedist recommended spinal surgery and fused my L5 area. The surgery helped
decrease the intensity of the pain, but I still had constant pain, fatigue and limited motion.
There was a point when I realized nobody was going to help me but me. I started to lie on my living room
floor and treat myself. I found if I put pressure into the areas that hurt or felt hard, it helped to
relieve the pain. However, I was still very strong and was trying to “force” my way through the
restrictions. Over time, I learned to be gentler and more patient when I treated my tight and painful
areas. I learned the problems were not at the “end range” as we were taught. The real problems were in the
fascial restrictions that lie before the “end range,” which created symptoms, limitation of “end range”
and the resultant pain.
As I continued to treat myself, I made such a dramatic recovery that I realized I had stumbled onto
something very important. I had to share this knowledge with my patients and fellow therapists. I found as
I put sustained pressure into the tightness, I started to have strange sensations that went far beyond the
origin and insertion of a particular muscle. I eventually realized that the principles I was developing must
be releasing the connective tissue, the fascia. It was during this time I also fully realized how vital the
mind-body connection is in the healing process.
As any athlete knows, the mind-body connection is fascinating and important. I went to physical therapy
school to further my knowledge in this area, only to be stunned to discover physical therapy school did not
teach anything about the mind-body connection. Now here we are: Close to 50 years have passed and there is
still very little appreciation of the mind-body connection.
In the late 1930s, Max Planck, the discoverer of Quantum Physics, said, “Science progresses one death at a
time.” Science gives a lot of “lip service” to growth, but actually seems to have built into it an attitude
that actually retards growth. Unfortunately, traditional science tends to reject any new theory or paradigm
that does not match the prevailing belief system.
I will go into more depth about the model of reality we are taught and the new emerging paradigm I believe
will be the fundamental basis of therapy and authentic health care in the future. While I certainly would
not have chosen all the pain, I realize it was nature’s way of helping me look deeper into myself. That
trauma, so long ago, initiated a journey. This fascinating “inner journey” continues at this moment, into
a deep level of consciousness.
This deeper consciousness, I believe, is the root of authentic healing and living life fully. My goal in
these articles and in my myofascial release seminars is to help you achieve these deeper levels of awareness
to enhance your abilities as a therapist and the quality of your life. I have traveled around the world to
experience a multitude of healing approaches, so I can speak from experience, not just empty theorizing.
I have learned many excellent techniques from many cultures. I also saw that many techniques were “blind
alleys,” overburdened with ritual or just plain fluff.
I hope to share with you the principles I have developed from my own personal experience and gleaned from
clients from around the world over decades. We will explore an exciting new paradigm that is emerging and
the important concepts of piezoelectricity, fiber optics, mechanotransduction, fluid dynamics, quantum
physics, fractal geometry, complexity and chaos theory, and cellular consciousness.
You are welcome to ask any questions or share your thoughts and insights on my blog, "Myofascial Release".
You can click on the title, or go to www.MASSAGEmag.com and locate the “Expert Insights” tab to see my
latest blog.
Health care is undergoing a massive shift, and you and I are the pioneers of an exciting change that will
lead to a higher quality of care.
Sincerely,
John
For more information about my myofascial release seminars or myofascial release treatment centers,
call (800) 327-2425 or visit www.myofascialrelease.com.
Therapeutic Insight: The Myofascial Release Perspective
Inner Wisdom
Is there really such a thing as inner wisdom? If so, how can it be accessed? Our society has emphasized the “narrowly focused” intellectual side and ridiculed the “open focus” of our instinctual and intuitive nature.
Recent studies have demonstrated that using a cell phone while driving increases one chances of having an accident by over four-fold. Why? This is because when dialing, talking, and/or thinking our consciousness is reduced to a very small, narrow focus. This is dangerous because it eliminates our expanded awareness of our surrounding environment.
In the therapeutic setting it behooves us also to be in an open, centered focus, which I teach is the healing “zone” to access the clients and our inner wisdom.
As therapists it is our responsibility to discipline ourselves, to be centered and to educate our clients in the value of silence so that they can access their healing wisdom. Only when the therapist and patient are deeply centered in mutual silence do the depths of their wisdom become accessible for authentic healing to occur.
For years I have recognized that great therapists have an intangible quality that differentiates them from the average therapist. I have become aware that our educational training focused on the conceptual aspect of our consciousness, ignoring our deeper consciousness where our wisdom lies. In my Myofascial Release seminars I have been labeling our intellectual side as Channel 5. Our educational system taught us what to think, not how to think! Unfortunately, this was not true education, but instead was mass hypnosis, forcing us to memorize “facts” while ignoring and ridiculing our intuition, instincts, and wisdom, which I label as Channel 3.
Traditional therapy and medicine imposes its will trying to force logic on an illogical body via the Channel 5 mentality vainly focusing on “fixing” symptoms. As one moves deeper into Myofascial Release we realize that our past traditional training crippled us by forcing us to memorize a paradigm of reality that is terribly flawed and is erroneously based on principles that ignore an entire physiological system; the fascial system.
One of the greatest barriers we as therapists have to hurdle is unshackling our mind from the intellectual prison enforced upon us. Rational thought, logic, and intelligence are important, but we must have the courage to expand into the very important type of intelligence and wisdom which is based on feelings (Channel 3). Neuroscientists at the University of California have been analyzing decades of research on the multitude of characteristics associated with wisdom. They discovered that wisdom is more than just cold calculation, as instincts and emotions are also critical!
Interestingly, in an article titled, “The Secret Skills of Leaders”, in the magazine US News and World Report, these points were describing what traits great leaders possessed. German sociologist Max Weber called it, “the firm taming of the soul: Today’s psychologists call it “emotional intelligence” (EQ).”
Psychologist Samuel Goldman says that emotional intelligence is the overlooked yet essential ingredient of leadership. In “Primal Leadership”, Goldman states, “that instinctual intelligence is the primary factor that distinguishes great leaders from average ones.”
A balance of both IQ (Channel 5) and EQ (Channel 3) is essential for great leaders and therapists alike. Myofascial Release performed at the highest level allows the patient to expand beyond Channel 5 into Channel 3 where authentic healing can occur.
The traditional model of reality thrust upon us gave us the false impression that we were small, inconsequential, helpless, and so we identified with the limited “false ego” (Channel 5). In fact, neuroscientists have discovered that the database available to our subconscious (Channel 3) EQ is in excess of 10 million to one to that of our intellect (Channel 5). So we mistakenly identified with this miniscule aspect of consciousness and we now need to correct this error by identifying with the vastness of our loving essence and the incredible, authentic power of our feeling intelligence (Channel 3).
Our goal is to continually develop the prodigious power of our feeling intelligence (EQ), as therapists to help our clients tap into the healing power of channel 3 where our intuition, instinct, and wisdom expresses itself in the most loving way.
Myofascial Release therapists listen to their patients, but more than hearing their words we are also reading their body language, repeated phrases (patterns), and the emotional tone of their words or phrases. This tells us much more than the words, for this is the patient’s EQ or emotional intelligence speaking from their bodily wisdom.
After the first few treatments, too much talk, anything over 10% of a treatment session can be the patient’s way of denying or camouflaging their deeper inner fears. It takes courage for the client to feel these deeply held emotions. It is our role as the therapist to gently guide them into their inner silence so that the hidden information and deeply held emotional patterns stuck in the subconscious can emerge for true healing to occur.
If the client insists on talking incessantly that is their choice, however, they came to their therapists for their experience, guidance, and wisdom. And if the patient insists on controlling the session and ignoring their advice, they may be denying themselves of the most meaningful healing experience of their life.
As the saying goes, “silence is golden”.
Sincerely,
John F. Barnes, P.T., L.M.T., N.C.T.M.B.
P.S. Your questions and insights are welcome on my blog at the following link:
http://massagemag.com/massage-blog/myofascial-release/2009/05/18/blocked-nutrition/
John F. Barnes, P.T., L.M.T., N.C.T.M.B., is an international lecturer, author, and acknowledged expert in the area of Myofascial Release. He has instructed over 50,000 therapists worldwide in his Myofascial Release approach, and he is the author of Myofascial Release: the Search for Excellence (Rehabilitation Services, Inc., 1990) and Healing Ancient Wounds: the Renegade’s Wisdom (Myofascial Release Treatment Centers & Seminars, 2000).
He is on the counsel of Advisors of the American Back Society; he is also on Massage Magazine's Editorial Advisory Board; and is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association. For more information, visit www.myofascialrelease.com.
