Myofascial Percussor
Injuries to the body along with daily stress
Too much or too little motion, and repetitive exercise can cause Myofascial adhesions and scar tissue. The build up of these adhesions and scar tissue alter the body’s mechanics and are a key contributor to pain and muscle soreness. Fascia is a thin sheet that covers muscles, organs, and the nervous system like saran wrap. It aids in the frictionless motions between such tissue as well as conducts signals between them. When this thin sheet has been disrupted, either by direct trauma (tearing) or adhesions from being over stressed, it can cause pain that may be perceived as trigger points and inhibit proper motion and gliding of the surrounding musculature. These areas on the body are generally quite tender and if left untreated build up scar tissue, which further adds to the problem.
There are multiple soft tissue therapies that chiropractors use to treat these kinds of conditions. One very valuable modality is the Percussor. This instrument works by not only identifying areas of adhesions and scar tissue build up but also by treating those sensitive regions. The Percussor applies a wide range of vibration and pressure by the practioner to smooth out such issues and break up scar tissue to restore the muscle and fascia back to its functional form. With the use of this tool a dramatic increase in range of motion, decrease in pain, decrease in muscle tension and improvement in overall functionality of the entire kinetic chain can be achieved. When the “saran wrap” covering has been freed of its adhesions, important outcomes such as the ability to move better with proper body mechanics and pain relief can be accomplished.
Used in combination with the cold laser, the percussor can work to organize significant scar tissue and can be used to “reorganize” surgical scars and traumas both on the surface of the skin and significantly within the body.
The Percussor
The vibracussor (as it was called then) is an instrument developed in the 1950’s by an American MD osteopath named Robert Fulford. Dr. Fulford found that by applying a rapid vibratory force on the tissues of the human body, an unwinding and releasing effect occurred in the connective tissues including the fascia and its ground substance. This effect was even observed on the cranial bones of the skull and the sacrum at the bottom of the spine.He also noticed that placing the vibracussor on specific areas would cause a reflex release and mobilization of structures such as the organs and glands of the body and of the lymphatic drainage system.
Dr. Linda Drake’s mentor, Dr. John Brimhall took the vibracussor and improved it. He made it more penetrating, more consistent in amplitude and rate of speed, and more comfortable to the patient. He called it the “myofascial percussor”.
Many experience the unwinding effect of the myofascial percussor as it is happening, but sometimes the effect goes unnoticed until the patient experiences a huge increase in range of motion or some other parameter or symptom that seems to have suddenly improved “all by itself”. “Wow, that’s amazing – it feels a lot better” is a common statement.
Today, it is used in our clinic to facilitate the following with profound results:
- craniosacral unwinding of scar tissue in the dura and meninges of the brain
- general fascial unwinding of muscles and muscle bundles
- release of scar tissue both internal and external (abdominal adhesions, surgical scars)
- increase lymphatic drainage
- increase blood circulation
- mobilize joints, sutures of the skull, vertebrae
- reposition organs and unwind their fascia