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SMRT for the Thoracolumbar Fascia
I was recently working on a client who happens to be a massage therapist. We had worked on each muscle in her abdominal wall as well as iliopsoas. The tension in her abdomen had decreased and the alignment of her hips had greatly improved, but her right lower back tension had increased.
SMRT for the Thoracolumbar Fascia
I reached around her body (she was supine) and pulled up through the tissue between her iliac crest and her floating ribs. She commented on how tender it was and said, “I think we better finish with QL.”. She could see that we only had a few minutes left and she did not want to be left with that pain.
Her original pain complaint had been in the left anterior hip. As the left anterior hip opened and became less tender, the right QL tightened. I said, “I think that is a good idea.” She began to turn over and I stopped her. Then I pulled my chair around to the right side of her body and reached under her lower back. I placed one hand on her sacrum and the other on her upper lumbar vertebra. This is when I moved into the SMRT position for the thoracolumbar fascia.Pain is Gone!
As I was holding the position, she said, “wow, thought you were crazy there for a minute, but that feels really good. I can feel QL melting.” I told her that was good but I wasn’t actually focused on QL. No, I was focused on the thoracolumbar fascia because QL is surrounded by the anterior and middle layers of the thoracolumbar fascia. I felt like the tension in the muscle was caused by the tautness of the fascia. When I released the position, the excess tension in her right lower back was gone. We were done with the session. The pain she came in with was gone when she left my office.
To learn how to use SMRT for the lower extremities, please register for our class in Austin, TX by visiting our workshop schedule here.
