Equine Education Connection: Equine Myofascial Release
Equine Myofascial Release
Equine Myofascial Release along with Equine Massage Therapy is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to improve your horse's comfort and performance.
Equine myofascial release techniques will release fascial tissue to allow your horse's body to work at it's highest potential. Myofascial release (as well as direct pressure techniques) is, in my opinion, the best way to correct structural problems in your horse.
Many people will use an equine chiropractor to help structural problems in their horse. What they don't know is that chiropractic can only affect the bone structure by moving the bone.
Equine myofascial release will help move the bone by addressing the actual problem which is the soft tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament). The bone is a slave to the muscle. It can only move if the muscle tells it to move. And, it can only be where the muscle allows it to be.
If you move the bone, but the horse's muscle is still tight, the muscle will pull the bone back "out of place". Did you ever wonder why chiropractors want you to come so often in the beginning stages of therapy? It is because the muscle (which still has a problem) will continue to pull on the bone. Or if it is caused by tension (tight back), the muscles will continue to be tight and cause problems. By moving the bone often enough, you will hopefully change the muscle - eventually. Why not just go to the source of the problem - the soft tissue?
I want you to know that I do think there are times when equine chiropractic is definitely necessary. I am by no means trashing equine chiropractors (at least not the good ones). I have used one on my own horse before becoming an equine therapist. And I have been to a chiropractor myself. What I am saying though is that I think a lot of people are using chiropractic to "solve" what is really a soft tissue problem.
I have clients who have had little to no luck with equine chiropractors and I am able to make a huge difference in just a few sessions. Now, this is not necessarily because the equine chiropractor was bad, it could be because the problem was not really a chiropractic problem to begin with.
I find most problems with horses are not chiropractic problems at all. And, I find that most people do not understand the difference between equine chiropractic and equine myofascial release.
Due to the fact that myofascial release is a little more complicated for the average person than equine massage, I feel I really need to take some time to do this topic justice. So, I will be continuing to add to this section at a later date.
In the meantime, I have found the following articles about myofascial release from the John Barnes Institute - John Barnes is the expert on myofascial release.
Equine Myofascial Release Articles
These articles are very informative about the fascial system, myofascial release techniques and how they work. And another article that discusses equine myofascial release and how it helps athletic horses.
This article explains what fascia is and discusses how a myofascial technique works. It also has case studies. This is not directed towards equine myofascial release, but the information can be applied to the horse.
This article discusses the fascial system and how
myofascial release helps to correct soft tissue problems.
This article was written by Mark Barnes who is John Barnes' son. He discusses "The anatomy and physiology of fascia", "The response of the fascial system to trauma", and "Equine myofascial release treatment".
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