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Soft Tissue Work: Why You Need It

By Bruce Kelly

Soft tissue work has become a buzzword in the fitness and training community but many are not aware of it or are confused by exactly what constitutes soft tissue work.

Soft tissue work is any modality that improves the quality of the soft tissue which is comprised of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and even joint capsules. What exactly is soft tissue quality? Essentially, it is the condition or ability of the soft tissue to function in an optimal, pain free manner; to perform smoothly in other words.

When we train/exercise/move we often times create mini-trauma to our soft tissue in the form of micro tears in the various components of soft tissue. This is part of the training process and results in the tissue healing, growing and getting stronger. But frequently there is also some scarring and adhesions that occur as well and these impede function and performance. In essence, you get knots and damaged tissue matrixes in your soft tissue and the soft tissue can't perform as smoothly and efficiently as it would without these impediments.

Soft tissue work, especially if done regularly and immediately, serves to improve tissue quality as well as improving the extensibility of the soft tissue. Extensibility is the capacity of the soft tissue to lengthen properly. By immediately, I mean doing soft tissue work as a regular part of your exercise regimen will help improve your tissue quality. If you wait until pain or discomfort if felt you are facing that much more of a challenge.

Many athletes and the rich and famous have realized the value of soft tissue work by way of massage. For the type of soft tissue work we are talking about here, we are not talking about relaxing, spa type massage but deep tissue massage which can be very uncomfortable. But the therapist is having to un-do the damage you have created to your tissues and that isn't easy work. If you are serious about improving your soft tissue qualtiy, find a good massage therapist and try to do at least 1 massage per month. Skip a few frappachinos or whatever and do yourself a favor. You may be able to save a few bucks by contacting a local massage school(check the Yellow Pages or Google) and seeing if some of the students need practical experience. It's a win-win as you get a cheaper massage and they get the experience they need.

ART or Active Release Therapy is another form of soft tissue work which is not as familiar. It was developed by Dr. Tim Leahy and works by putting tissue in a shortened state, applying pressure to the scar tissue/adhesion and then taking the tissue through a lengthening movement which serves to break up the scar tissue. It is very effective, painful, and not cheap. I have had it done on my shoulder and it worked quite well but don't expect a day at the beach. Again, reference the Yellow Pages or Google. I believe the ART website has a directory of therapists.

The previous two soft tissue modalities though very effective require a lot of expertise, time, and aren't cheap. What can someone do to augment their occasional massage or ART sessions?

There are several modes that are inexpensive, can be done at home or the gym, and don't require a license.

Self-myofascial release or SMFR can be done by virtually anyone and requires only some inexpensive, easily available tools.

Many people use foam rollers to do SMFR. Essentially, you roll (duh!) over the part of your body that ails you: quads, adductors, hamstrings, upper back, etc. for 30-40 seconds or until you find a "hot" spot and then you can concentrate on that area. You can use a tennis ball for the bottom of your foot or even other areas where it will give a more penetrating, focused feel. Initially, a tennis ball may be too intense for many and you will have to work up to the ball. I have even used a baseball/softball with myself and clients and in one extreme case a shot-put. Not recommended for everyone but necessity is the mother of invention!

Another tool for SMFR is the Stick which is a patented plastic roller with rotating spindles on it. It's advantage is that it is portable and lightweight. You will see many track athletes with the Stick because of those attributes. Essentially, with the Stick you are doing the SMFR in a standing position as the user creates the pressure on the soft tissue as opposed to using gravity to help as with foam rollers.

For SMFR methods, if you have poor tissue quality, an injury history, or poor mobility, you may have to do some work nearly every day. As these issues improve, you can decrease to several times per week but you still have to be consistent with it. You can incorporate it into your dynamic warm-up, do it post workout, or set aside some other time in the day. A thorough program shouldn't take longer than 5-10 minutes--the key is consistency.

I hope this article helped you understand the value of soft tissue work in improving function, aiding in recovery/regeneration, and making you feel better. Give it a try and see how well it works for you.

About the Author:

Bruce Kelly, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, NASM-PES has written articles for sportspecific.com, completetrackandfield.com as well as local publications. He has been a fitness professional/performance enhancement coach for nearly 20 years. He owns a Fitness Together training studio franchise in Media, Pa. His website is www.ftswarthmore.com.