Being in the martial arts for about 22 years now, I have done all sorts of stretching routines and massage therapies with good success. However, it takes a good amount of time and consistency to get results, which is true for most things in life.
Having recently hurt me knee, my girlfriend suggested that I try her new physical therapist. I was a bit reluctant, so I waited a few days for my knee to not be so tender so I could give it a shot.
Fast forward 30 minutes into the session, and I experienced the most dramatic body change I have ever felt in my life. That sensation has persisted for over 4 days now.
I feel as a public service I should give a shout out and make you aware of this therapy. It is called Fascial Stretch Therapy. Here is the skinny on what this means:
Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and invests all structures of the body – such as your muscles. The problem is that fascia will thicken & shorten when any of your tissues are under stress from poor posture, lack of exercise, injury, surgery, disease or over-training. While many therapies can help these conditions, only Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) can completely treat inflexible fascia at the deepest level – your joint capsule. After we help make all of your layers of fascia become more pliable and hydrated – then joint range of motion, muscle strength and flexibility immediately improves making it easier for you to train and maintain.
This was an eye opener for me. I have heard of fascia before, but I never really understood the role it played or the significance it can have on your movement. Before the session, I had difficulty going up and down the stairs, and couldn’t shoot on my injured leg. Immediately afterwards, I was able to do both activities with no problems – and still continue to improve.
Dirk, my therapist, had spent 30 minutes working on my right leg through a range of dynamic stretches. He is essentially moving your limbs in all sorts of directions, and occasionally having you resist him to help get the most of the stretch. But this is not your normal type of stretch where you feel muscular tension. Instead, it seems to focus more on your range of motion. I will say it can be a bit scary at times, as certain stretches on the knees felt like I was on the verge of being leg locked, lol, but Dirk had a keen sense of knowing the right moment to pull back.
After that first 30 minutes, he had me stand up and walk around. It felt very weird, like my right leg become 20 pounds lighter! He then proceeded to repeat the stretches on my injured leg, and was able to do so without any pain whatsoever.
Overall, I must say that I was quite impressed. So much so that I am writing about it now to you and have told everyone I have been in contact with about it. I of course cannot guarantee it will be as profound for you as me, but it is definitely worth a try if you have been having the same problems with no relief.
If you are in Las Vegas, you can learn more about the place I went to, Cre8Movement, by clicking below:
If not, you can visit the people who created FST and see their directory of providers world wide:
