Easy Myofascial Release Self Massage for Your Knee Pain

This article is about a successful trial of 1, that being myself. With that in mind, there is no concrete evidence it works but, it did work well for me on my painful knee. So, I thought I should share it with you.

Self-Massage – Myofascial Release to Help Knee Pain at Home

The basics of myofascial release are simple. Just under the skin is what is called fascia. Layers of this tissue can stick together a bit and cause pain. This pain can be eased / released with some simple techniques you can do at home, as described below.

Easy Self-Massage With Myofascial Release on Your Knee

Myofascial release is releasing and relaxing tissues just under the skin. This is useful as pain can be cause by adhesion of tissue layers and this massage can help. Once you have completed the below technique you may wish to repeat the routine daily or even twice a day until you notice an improvement in your condition.

Step by Step Guide to Myofascial Release on Your Knee

1. Please note you should stop immediatly if this self-massage causes you any pain anywhere. Pain is the bodies signal to not do whatever you are doing any more.
2. As you do these massage strokes, be certain to make sure your hands and the rest of your body remain in a comfortable position throughout. Sitting comfortably with your knee bent might be best.
3. Gently touch around the painful area to find out exactly where the pain is located.
4. Once precise the location is found, gently rub around it in a circle a good number of times (clockwise and then repeat anti-clockwise) to warm up the tissues.
5. Move your hands to an inch away from where the pain is.
6. Gently lift the skin into a fold, softly pinching it between your fingers and thumb.
7. You may choose to lightly rub the skin between finger and thumb relasing the layers even further.
8. Move around in a circle, 1 inch away from the pain and repeat this until you return to your starting position.
9. Now do the same in the other direction all the way around.

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Fascia is a sheet of connective tissue just under your skin, around muscles, organs and also separating body compartments. Normally this healthy tissue is strong and pliable but, when it is unhealthy it can cause discomfort and pain. Myofascial release massage techniques can help relieve these issues. There are more and more scientific studies telling us it can work for people, so it can work for you too. Book your treatment today!

What is Fascia?

Facial tissue is a tyoe of connective tissue that exists all over the body. There are up to 4 different layers of It. It surrounds muscles, separates organs from other tissues, separates different compartments of the body and has other functions as well. The fascia we are interested in for myofascial release and help with pain lies just under the skin which means it is easy to access during massage.

How Fascia can Cause Me Pain and Discomfort?

Normally in a healthy body your fascia will be strong. This is because it needs to hold some things together and even add a layer of protection to parts of the body. When it’s healthy, it is quite flexible and pliable. This means when we move, it too should move and stretch freely. Also, when we move our muscles move. This should happen without much friction between the layers of fascia around the muscles.

However, when it loses some of its’ flexibility because you are not moving or exercising as much you should for example, it can start to cause discomfort. When fascia starts to not stretch easily, you might feel pain as it is being stretched. Not unlike pushing open an old unoiled door, it may creak. Also, when less healthy fascia rubs together, between muscles for example, there can be more friction which can cause pain. Just like all tissues you must use it, stretch it, for it to remain healthy. Body fluids must flow through it regularly to regenerate it, retain its flexibility and keep it well lubricated.

What is Myofascial Release Massage?

Myofascial release massage is the use of different, generally gentle techniques to move, stretch and manipulate facial connective tissues. It can involve the use of your therapists fingers or palms gliding over the skin and pulling, pushing and streching it. The layers of fascia are thus moved away from deeper muscles and bones. Werenski j (2011) tells us the goal of myofascial release massage is to relax and loosen up tight areas of fascia around the body.

The facia is lengthened or shortened (stretched or pushed togther) which releases adhesion that may be there. Doing this, over skin warmed up by effleurage or friction strokes beforehand, will also aid repairing the tissues. New oxygenated body fluids arrive and old used fluids move away more easily. If this tissue is stretched a few times, for a few minutes, the tissue will become more flexible. Think of it like taking an uninflated balloon and stretching before inflating it. It will inflate more easily just as stretched fascia moves more easily.

How Can it Help Me With My Pain?

To help with this sort of facial pain and discomfort, you need to release your fascia. When we move facial tissue moves as well. It is supposed to glide effortlessly, with no adhesion and no friction. It is after all made up of mainly body fluids and not solid matter. If fascia is sticking together rather than sliding freely this can cause you pain. In the longer term this can cause more issues as we tend to avoid pain. So, if we avoid movement that causes us this type of pain, the fascia gets tighter and sticks together more and more. You can see that it will only get worse.

Simply tell you therapist where it hurts and they can use myofascial release techniques around that area. The massage of these tissues in particular can help lessen pain and you can benefit a number of other ways too. Come and give our relaxing massage a try today as it has many of these technique in it.

Evidence That Myofascial Massage Can Help

There are a good number of scientific studies that show us facial release can do us good. I have picked a couple out for you here.
Sanchez A et al (2010) studied 64 people diagnosed with a painful condition called fibromyalgia. They were split into 2 groups. 1 group was assigned as a control group and get no massage treatment. The other tested group revived 1.5 hours of myofascial release massage treatment once a week for a period of about 4 months. Results show straight after treatment and 1 month post-treatment the tested group sleep, quality of life, anxiety and pain were all improved.
Werenski J (2011) did a comprehensive review of available literature about Myofascial pain and how effective myofascial release is for this. There are 54 separate relevant references including other documented studies available in his review. He concludes available studies and other important literature support the use of these techniques which can be very effective in helping people suffering myofascial pain.

References:

Sanchez A et al (2010) Benefits of Massage-Myofascial Release Therapy on Pain, Anxiety, Quality of Sleep, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Fibromyalgia [online] available from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/561753/ last accessed 14/05/2022

Werenski J (2011) The Effectiveness of Myofascial Release Techniques in the Treatment of Myofascial Pain: A Literature Review [online] available from https://www.logan.edu/mm/files/LRC/Senior-Research/2011-Aug-34.pdf last accessed 12/05/2022

Video Examples of Techniques:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6UYOH5lvyc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8qTZCmqGvI

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Massage for Osteoarthritic Knee Pain Can Help

There are many painful complications that come with Knee Osteoarthritis. There are also a number of different recommended treatments giving relief from the symptoms. One of these that has proven to be beneficial through many studies is massage therapy. Our guide to self-massage below can help you but, a professional massage therapist will likely help much more.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis are Common 

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the UK according to the NHS (2019). Its symptoms range from severe pain in joints to them just being slightly stiff. This pain and stiffness can come and go on one person and be constant source of discomfort for others. Any joint in your body can be affected but, it is very common in the knee. As you can imagine this joint bears a lot of wear and tear from constantly being under pressure when we move.

There are many simple treatments for osteoarthritis. For milder symptoms these include;

• massage therapy
• regular exercise
• not staying in 1 position too long, getting up and moving regularly
• stretching regimes taught by a therapist
• considering what footwear you use regularly and perhaps changing it
• loosing some weight if your BMI is above average

Doing it Yourself is OK but, a Professional’s Touch Will be Better

Self-massage can help but, allowing a professional massage therapist to manipulate the tissues in and around the knee would be far better. Self-massage requires some knowledge of the knee and leg to ensure you are massaging the right tissues and not going to hurt yourself. A professional will be able to do this for you while you are laid out comfortably on as massage table. Non-the-less if you are gentle with yourself the guide to self-massage below may help, just do it carefully.

Self-Massage of the Knee and Leg Step by Step

1. Please note you should always stop if you are in pain anywhere during this self-treatment. That includes your legs or any part of the rest of your body being in an uncomfortable position.
2. We will be massaging many tissues in the leg which are all connected to knee as well as tissues around the edge of the kneecap, but not over the top of it.
3. Warm up first. Move your arms and legs gently running on the spot for a few minutes. Do 20 gentle punches then, roll your shoulders back 10 times and forward 10 times to warm up your arms.
4. You may choose to sit on a bed, or on a carpeted floor and bend your legs slightly at the knee.
5. Warm up the calf with quick light pressure strokes from the ankle to the knee. Once up to just below the knee, release your hand and move back to your ankle. Stroke inside, outside, behind and the outside front of your shin bone too. When you feel your skin warming up, move to the next step.
6. Use the heel of your hand, or a fist or your knuckles to produce long gliding strokes in an upward motion along your calf muscles. Left side, right side, along the back and the muscle on the outside of your shin bone at the front (tibialis anterior) of the calf too. Press into your calf just above the ankle using medium pressure and move up to just below the knee. Next remove your hand and start again from the ankle. Do this 5 times.
7. Next use gentle pressure in quick long gliding strokes to warm up your front and back thigh muscles. Move from just above the knee to just below your hip, groinor buttock. Next remove the hand and return to just above the knee. Repeat this until you feel your skin becoming warm then move to the next step.
8. Use the heel of your hand, your fist or your forearm to produce slower long strokes, with deeper (more) pressure upwards along your thigh muscles. Start just above the knee and move up to just under your hip on the outside, groin if on the inside or buttock when around the back of the thigh. Release contact and return to start again. Do front inside thigh, central top of the thigh, front outside thigh and if you can reach easily, around the back both sides too. Do this 5 times on each area.
9. Now move to the knee, which is this self-massage all about. Start by warming up the tissues around the kneecap. Rub around the kneecap with your palms and fingers. Keep rubbing until your skin feels warm.
10. Next you want to release the facia, or in English lift the skin away from other tissues between your fingers and thumbs. You should be working skin around the kneecap not over the top of it. You can use a pinching motion all around the kneecap. You may also push the skin gently away from the kneecap with one hand, while pushing toward the kneecap with the other. Again, to be clear we want to lift the skin away from underlying tissues around the kneecap, not over it.
11. Now we want to work across the tendons and ligament that are all around the kneecap but, not on top of it. Using the edge of your hands move your hands in a sawing motion in opposite directions. Move both hand in and out quite quickly with medium pressure. Move all the way around the edge of the kneecap, not over it.
12. Next you can use the heel of your hand, your knuckles, a fist or your fingertips using medium pressure around not over the kneecap. Use small circular motions and move all around the knee. Then use circular movement in the other direction all around the knee. Do this 5 times each direction.
13. To finish gently stroke your leg from ankle, around the knee up to your thigh. Do this 2 times.
14. All done. Now just relax a moment before you get up slowly.
15. You may also find this video helpful. It is in French but, there are English subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObrS30jA4gc                 

References:

Atkins D (2015) Self-Massage For Knee Pain [online] American Massage Therapy Association website available from https://www.amtamassage.org/publications/massage-therapy-journal/knee-self-massage/ accessed 10/05/2022

NHS (2019) Overview – Osteoarthritis [online] available from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/osteoarthritis/ last accessed 09/05/2022

Pearlman A et al (2006) Massage Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee A Randomized Controlled Trial available from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/769544 last accessed 11/05/2022

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