Frequently Asked Questions
Do you take insurance?
For a full formal answer to this question, please review the document link below. In summary, I opted a cash practice model because the lower overhead costs allows me to keep prices low, in the same range as some outpatient therapy co-pays. It also allows me to practice in a way that gives the maximum amount of autonomy to my clients for making their own health care choices, without the limitations imposed by insurance companies.
What should I wear for my session?
My formal recommendations are to wear shorts and a sports bra, loose fitting tank top or t-shirt if you are coming for a full myofascial release session. Myofascial release is most effective when my hands can go under clothing to be directly on skin, however, if you are uncomfortable with this, treatment can still be effective when performed over clothing. If you do choose to wear long pants/long sleeves, try to avoid thick/bulky material such as jeans or a sweater. Your physical and emotional comfort is very important to me, so I will respect your boundaries, and provide explanation and ask permission if any holds are nearing areas of your body that may feel more personal. Since you will remain in your choice of clothing during your session, I generally do not provide any additional sheet cover, but sheet or blanket cover will be provided if you need it for personal comfort.
How do you do that?!
I get this question or some version of it a lot after someone experiences their first myofascial release session. People are surprised by how my hands manage to find or influence their problem areas, sometimes even ones they forgot to mention in their health history. Sometimes, I will be working on one part of a client's body, and he/she will start to feel an existing problem area in another part of the body start to voice itself. Although it would be fun to say I have magic hands, the truth is that our bodies are interconnected via the connective tissue/fascial web, which extends throughout our bodies from head to toe. So if I am doing a head hold and someone start to feel something say in his/her leg, we have simply managed to find a restricted area of fascia by taking up tension through the fascial web. While I work on someone, all of my touch senses become very tuned in. Like a visually impaired person may develop incredibly good hearing, doing this work has taught me to have incredibly good touch sense for tissue quality, warmth or coolness, subtle vibrations/tremors in the body, and even sometimes a sense of energy or fluid flow in the body. I also use my eyes to help guide treatment. Sometimes I will notice a scar, or I will see an area of redness develop in a part of the body that I am not touching. This too can indicate a fascial restriction that is calling for work. In myofascial release we call all these little subtle signs or symptoms the the "fascial voice". The body's response is what leads the flow of a session. I do not go into a session knowing what body areas I will work on or what techniques I will use. It would be a disservice to my client if I did, because the body know best what it needs. Sometimes I will simply say that instead of a verbal conversation, your body will have a conversation with my body, and your nervous system with my nervous system, without a word being spoken.
Will myofascial release help my (fill in the blank )diagnosis?
The list of diagnoses that myofascial release has the potential to help is long. Here I will refer you to Mr. John F. Barnes himself, the man who developed this approach starting over 40 years ago.
https://www.myofascialrelease.com/about/problems-mfr-helps.aspx
If you clicked the link above, you saw that the list goes on for pages, and yet still acknowledges it is not all inclusive. Despite all the positive results he has seen, Mr. Barnes still encourages practitioners and clients alike to, "Let go of the outcome". I personally chose the phrase, "Let go and feel what moves you" as a logo, because I believe that spending time letting go of our linear thinking brains and tapping in to the intuitive felt-sense within our bodies allows us to move toward authentic healing. Our bodies are amazing creations, meant to self-regulate and heal, let's work together to help them do just that!