Overview of Muscle Fiber Methodology and S.T.R.E.T.C.H.
(Stretching Technique Rehabilitating Exploring Treating Comprehensive Health) LLC
Muscle Fiber Methodology is a unique combination of methods, incorporating muscle fiber manipulations and passive stretches that allow clients to reach optimal performance. Muscle Fiber Methodology will also help to prevent or delay common injuries sustained by massage therapists and clients alike.
Performing massage is very hard on the therapist’s hands and upper and lower extremities. Massage therapists who do mostly very light techniques like craniosacral and energy balancing work might be exceptions. Most massage practitioners will experience some kind of injury or pain syndrome at some point in their careers as a result of the profession. Preventing these injuries is a priority, and Muscle Fiber Methodology was also designed with that in mind. Over 70% of the methods are done with the therapist sitting on a rolling stool. Soft tissue injuries most common to massage therapists are associated with muscle, tendon injuries, and nerve impingement. The common cause of these injuries is associated with overuse. These overuse injuries are lumped under the terms cumulative trauma disorders, repetitive stress injuries, or overuse syndromes. The methods of Muscle Fiber Methodology will help massage therapists to prevent and/or delay common injuries to their thumbs, wrist, neck, shoulder back, and hips. These methods help to reduce, and in some cases replace constant compression on the thumb (saddle joint), bent wrist, elevated shoulders, and tight hip muscles (due to stance) just to name a few. The therapist’s body weight replaces muscle strength.
The mission is to provide a practiced group of muscle fiber manipulating methods and passive stretches that creates wellness-oriented personal care for everyone including busy professionals, athletes, gamers, and soccer moms. These muscle fiber manipulating methods and passive stretches target individual muscles, helps to correct, promote healing and relax all the muscles in the body without pain. The methods and stretches help to promote the body’s ability to manage physical stress as well as enhancing the clients coping mechanisms to better regulate any potential or realized negative impact. A growing number of individuals today choose not to allow stress and pain to compromise their good health.
Health Benefits
Muscle Fiber Methodology offers therapists and clients a systematic and effective approach to treating various muscular problems. Muscle Fiber Methodology addresses the correction, strengthening, and prevention of disorders involving the locomotor structures of the body, especially those impacting muscles, joints, and other supporting structures of the body.
S.T.R.E.T.C.H. (Stretching Technique Rehabilitating Exploring Treating Comprehensive Health) LLC invents devices that passively stretch muscles in the human body. Everyone develops tight pelvic/hip muscles, tight IT (Iliotibial) band, knee problems, and tight lower leg muscles because of how we naturally use our bodies during work, play and rest. Muscle imbalances are the main cause of structural problems in our bodies.
Whether we stand, walk, run, bike, dance, jump, practice yoga or just hang out on your couch, these actions are all associated with abduction of the thigh at the hip, lateral rotation of the thigh at the hip, and eversion/abduction of the foot at the ankle.
Due to the repetition of these actions, the muscles or muscle fibers that perform these tasks become short/overly contracted. These muscles then pull on that part of the skeletal body that it’s attached to (low back, pelvis, knees, etc.). These muscle imbalances can lead to constant debilitating pain and even surgeries to our neck, shoulders, back, pelvis, hips, knees, and ankles.
What They Offer
Muscle Fiber Methodology offers these people a systematic and effective approach to treating various muscular problems.
Muscle Fiber Methodology deals with the correction, strengthening, and prevention of disorders involving locomotor structures of the body, especially those impacting muscles, joints, and other supporting structures of the body.
When the musculoskeletal system, which allows movement of our bodies becomes out of balance, we develop various soft tissue disorders. These range from simple holding patterns, muscle spasms, strains, or sprains to more complex problems such as nerve entrapment that creates an imbalance in the entire body. It’s also common to see clients with temporary conditions triggered by work or home-related activities, sports, exercise (or lack of), weight gain, and repetitive stress injuries. Musculoskeletal dysfunction is experienced regardless of gender or age, and it becomes more symptomatic as we grow older.
S.T.R.E.T.C.H. LLC's First Device is Lad
Lower Lateral Alignment Device pronounced as “lad”. LLAD is designed to passively stretch muscles of the pelvis, hips, and lower leg that do abduction and lateral rotation without the assistance of the user. This device will be used when sitting. LLAD can easily be set to the desired stretch required by the user, placed where the user sits mostly (workplace or home). The user will place his or her feet on the two angled foot-rest mounted on the base. The user sits comfortably while LLAD works. The different positions of the angled foot-rest when attached to the base, increases or decreases the passive stretches of the lower lateral rotator muscles. The user will hold that position for just 15 minutes three to four times a day or as needed.
Muscle Fiber Methodology and LLAD as a treatment
With the introduction of the Muscle Fiber Methodology as a treatment, these methods that focus on muscle fiber manipulations will help us to assess and evaluate muscular strengths, weaknesses, and compensations (pain avoidance from an old or new injury) within the body. From these evaluations and assessments, we can develop client-specific muscle fiber manipulation and exercise techniques that target and utilize all of the client’s muscles, skeletal system, joints, fascia, and other supporting structures creating a support system that will promote correction and/or prevention of muscular disorders of the body.
These client-specific exercises will also create new muscle memories to correct muscle imbalances caused by injuries. This approach does not facilitate compensation, but actually encourages each and every fiber of the muscles within a muscle group to fire together as a unit.
LLAD Can Help
LLAD can help to prevent serious muscle imbalances, help to correct muscle imbalances, help to maintain healthy muscles, and promote a proper posture.
Everyone develops tight pelvic/hip muscles, tight IT (iliotibial) bands, and tight lower leg muscles because of how we naturally use our bodies, which in turn causes a variety of structural problems. Whether we stand, walk, run, bike, dance, jump, practice yoga or just hang out on your couch, these actions are all associated with abduction of the thigh at the hip, lateral rotation of the thigh at the hip, and eversion/abduction of the foot at the ankle. Due to repetition of these actions, the muscles or muscle fibers that perform these tasks become short/overly contracted, and pulls on the part of the skeletal body that it is attached to (pelvis, knees low back, etc). These imbalances can cause problems that can lead to surgeries.
Stretching is Important
Stretching is very important when correcting muscle imbalances in our bodies. The stretches performed can be passive or active. Various stretches have been developed/designed to stretch different muscles in our bodies for example:
There are also devices invented/created to help us stretch muscles, but they all fail effectively to stretch the abductors and lateral rotators of the thigh at the hip and abduction/eversion of the foot at the ankle passively.