When I treat patients with Myofascial Release, the first visit takes about 1 ‡ hours, and I start by asking a number of detailed questions:

• Why have you come to see me - what is the problem?

• If this is due to an accident, how were you injured?

• How long have you had this pain / problem / diagnosis?

• Who have you seen for this? What treatment(s) have you had from each?

• What medications do you take for any reason? How much? How often?

• Do you take vitamins or herbal preparations? What do you take? How much? How often?

• Have you had any broken bones or fractures? Which bones? When?

• Have you had any surgery? For what? When?

• What makes you feel better?

• What makes you feel worse?

• What activities can you no longer do?

• Have you been prevented from working because of this problem? For how long?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst your pain from this problem has ever been, what is your pain level right now?

• What else would you like me to know about you and / or this problem?

Once we finish talking, I'll do a physical evaluation. I'll look at your posture, the amount of movement you have in your joints and whether that movement causes increased pain or discomfort.

Next I'll place my hands on the back of your neck to feel your tissue tension. This tells me what muscles and soft tissues need to be treated and which ones should be treated first. Myofascial Release is a very gentle stretching technique, guided entirely by feedback. If you have a tender point or a trigger point, I'll find it just by feel.

Your part of the treatment is very simple. You must drink an additional gallon of fluid -- that's right, a gallon! -- above and beyond your normal intake both on the day of treatment and for one to two days afterwards to prevent excessive soreness. If you feel like you're coming down with the flu or if you feel nauseated, you haven't had enough to drink.

While you're being treated with Myofascial Release, your improvement won't progress in a straight line. Rather, your progress will zigzag; for some, it's more like riding a roller coaster. Although you may feel like you're taking two steps forward and one step back, you will be making progress. Donít get discouraged -- you will improve! This zigzag progress happens because your brain takes time to accept changes in the posture and muscle tension that it recognizes as "normal" for you. As your muscle tension and posture are changed by treatment, your brain will gradually accept these changes as your "new normal."