A leader in myofascial release therapy (MRT) shares noninvasive, medication-free techniques, stretches, and exercises for managing your chronic pain.
Break the chronic pain cycle and rebalance the body so it can heal itself!
This indispensable self-help guide is for anyone suffering from chronic pain and struggling to understand why standard medical approaches have failed them. Taking a mind-body approach, the book clearly and simply explains how chronic pain develops and why an understanding of fascia—the main connective tissue in the body—is the key to restoring pain-free movement and health. Author and myofascial release expert Amanda Oswald informs readers about the role of fascia in chronic pain and empowers them to help themselves through simple and effective self-care techniques, stretches, and exercises.
Living Pain Free is a must-read for anyone experiencing chronic pain from conditions such as migraines and headaches, repetitive strain injury (RSI), jaw (TMJ) pain, frozen shoulder, neck and back pain, chronic pelvic pain, scar tissue, and systemic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and myofascial pain syndrome. It will also benefit anyone interested in understanding chronic pain from a myofascial perspective.
Chapter 1. What This Book Is About and Why I Wrote It
My Work as a Myofascial Release Therapist
My Clients and Their Chronic Pain
My Approach
Self-Help and Self-Empowerment
Who This Book Is For
Chapter 2. What Everyone with Chronic Pain Has in Common
Facts and Figures About Chronic Pain
What Everyone with Chronic Pain Has in Common
Chapter 3. Bridging the Medical/Holistic Divide
Background to the Current Medical Model
How the Medical Profession Carves Things Up
The Limits of Current Medical Treatments
Offering Alternatives to the Medical Approach
Resistance to a Holistic Approach
What This Has to Do with Chronic Pain
Chapter 4. Why Holistic Approaches Are Now (Again) Being Taken Seriously
The Holistic Approach
New Frontiers in Scientific Research
Possibilities for the Holistic Treatment of Chronic Pain
What This Has to Do with Fascia and Myofascial Release
Chapter 5. What Is Fascia?
Introduction to Fascia
Unlearning Traditional Anatomy
Fascial Anatomy
What Fascia Is Made Of
How Fascia Behaves
Fascia as a Communication System
Fascia and the Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
Fascia and Energy
Fascial Memory
What Does This Mean for Fascia, Injury, and Disease?
Chapter 6. Injury and Fascia
Introduction
How Injury Affects Fascia
How Injury to Fascia Occurs
The Importance of Trigger Points
The Link Between Fascia and Chronic Pain
Chapter 7. How Chronic Pain Develops
Introduction
What Is Pain?
The “Normal” Mind-Body Pain Response (the Short Version)
When Pain Becomes Chronic (the Short Version)
The “Normal” Mind-Body Pain Response (the Long Version)
Nerve Endings and Receptors
The Brain
The Brain and the Mind Compared
Neurotransmitters
The Normal Pain Response
How Normal Pain Becomes Chronic Pain
The Unconscious You
How Good Pain Turns Bad
What This Has to Do with Fascia
Chapter 8. What Is Myofascial Release?
Introduction
Myo + Fascia + Release
How Myofascial Release Works with Fascia
Myofascial Unwinding
What This Means for Helping Yourself
Chapter 9. Help Yourself Out of Chronic Pain
You Get to Choose
Using What You Know About Fascia
Introducing the Slow Fix
Fascia-Friendly Breathing
Fascia-Friendly Nutrition
The Foundations of Fascial Health
Chapter 10. Typical Chronic Pain Conditions
Introduction to the Chronic Pain Conditions
Head and Neck: Headaches, Migraines, and New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH)
Head and Neck: Neck Pain, Torticollis, Whiplash
Head and Neck: Tinnitus
Head and Neck: Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and Jaw Pain
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): A Word About RSI
Neck, Chest, and Arms: RSI – Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Neck, Chest, and Arms: RSI – Golfer’s Elbow and Tennis Elbow
Neck, Chest, and Arms: RSI – Carpal Tunnel and Tendonitis
Neck, Chest, and Arms: RSI – Dupuytren’s Contracture and Trigger Finger
Shoulders: Rotator Cuff Injuries and Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)
Back and Pelvis: Upper, Mid, or Low Back Pain, Prolapsed and Bulging Discs
Back and Pelvis: Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome
Back and Pelvis: Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), Non-bacterial Prostatitis
Back and Pelvis: Chronic Abdominal Pain
Legs, Hips, and Feet: Knee Pain and Runner’s Knee
Legs, Hips, and Feet: Shin Splints
Legs, Hips, and Feet: Chronic Compartment Syndrome and Calf Pain
Legs, Hips, and Feet: Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs
Pain Syndromes: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME)
Chapter 11. Fascial Activities, Stretches, and Exercises
Introduction to the Activities, Stretches, and Exercises
Effect on Your Fascia
General Fascial Activities and How to Do Them
Fascial Stretches and How to Do them
Myofascial Ball Work and How to Do the Myofascial Ball Exercises
Using Myofascial Balls
Using Foam Rollers
Chapter 12. Fascia in the Wider World
A More Fascia-Friendly Workplace
Fascia-Friendly Cardiovascular Exercise
Other Fascia-Friendly Activities and Movement Therapies to Try
Conclusion. Wrapping It All Up (in Fascia)
