Body Therapy Center

Georgetown train ride. 🚞😁🩷

Releasing a Contracted Muscle

A chronic compulsive shortening of a muscle is no longer called a contraction, it is a contracture (Rolfing, Rolf). One of the most effective ways to loosen a contracture is through manual stimulation, specifically, loosening the muscles by stimulating the tissue one layer at a time. When a muscle in contracture is stimulated, the tissue contracts, and then releases. When the tissue releases, it breaks a pattern of contraction and allows more blood to flow back to the tissue which increases the oxygen levels. When oxygen supplies are restored to the tissue, the chronic tension is released and the muscle begins to return to a normal resting length.