Pain therapy
New Beginnings owner Jill Rehrig, PTA/CMT is working to bring a new development in physical therapy and pain management to Carbon County.
At Lehighton's Seventh Moon Wellness Spa, Rehrig gives a fresh take on a bodywork through a technique called myofascial release or MFR."To have this in our backyard, I just had to share it," she said.Rehrig is a fully trained and certified massage therapist, physical therapy assistantand myofascial release specialist. She has worked as a myofascial release specialist since 1991, earning national acclamation by practicing and teaching with MFR innovator and physical therapist John F. Barnes.What is MFR? The answer begins with the definition of fascia.According to the founder of Myofascial Release Treatment Center, Barnes describes the cellophanelike tissue as "The primary communication system in our body. It's really like fiber optics."Fascia is one giant piece of very densely woven tissue that covers and penetrates muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein, and all of the internal organs including the heart, lungs, brain and spinal cord. It is one continuous structure that exists from head to toe without interruption.In the healthy state, fascia has the ability to stretch and move without restriction. Once physical or emotional trauma is sustained, fascia loses its pliability. It becomes tight and restricted, causing tension to the rest of the body."I treat everyone from chronic pain conditions to sprains. People that were told, 'Just learn to live with the pain,'" she said."It's the Humpty Dumpty factor," she says of the therapy. "To put you on the wall and put you back together again. I know the people I touch I help. Anyone who's in a pickle I can help them get out of it."According to Barnes, the fascia becomes "glued" together as a result of injury, trauma or dysfunction."It requires very different principles from massage to release all of the fascia. MFR is reliant on patients and pressure," he said.The art in the technique is finding the restrictions and applying the appropriate pressure to the space.That's where Rehrig steps in with her intuition and education to alleviate pain and aliments.Rehrig describes fascia like the white web of an orange, the layer between peel and fruit.In a mash-up of massage, acupuncture and movement therapy, Rehrig gets deep into the tissue to reshape and smooth out the problem."I'm creating space where the pressure is being put on the nerve," she said."It's a sustained pressure over time with a stretching component. I tune into the body and soften and stretch the tissue."The practitioner has seen a number of injuries benefit from the work."I treat airplane crash survivors with tremors. Someone who was struck by lightning at 16 years old and now at 60 needs work on his digestion area. I treat a woman with chronic migraines who was in a vehicle crash with a deer," Rehrig said."It's almost too good to be true. Until you can get on the table and feel it, you can't describe it. The release is profound," she said.Rehrig said the goal is to open up the tight fascia and resculpt the tissue."It's graceful but it's deep, like a genial wrecking ball," Rehrig said."On a three-dimensional level it's getting blood and oxygen into the area. We'll listen to a complaint but look for the root of the problem. It's like a human puzzle."Rehrig said the patients will feel an immediate relaxation."It's like butter melting. We just wait for the tissue to release."The therapist has been using the technique for over 20 years. In 1991, she completed her first MFR seminar with Barnes and fell in love with the practice."I said, 'Wow, this is for me,' " she said. "It's very rewarding to see someone go from victim to victorious."Rehrig has since traveled the country to conduct her own seminars and says she has been working with doctors and nurses to spread the word and instruct the technique for the touch-based therapy."John has trained over 100,000 therapists but only 300 are teachers of this technique across America. He's very particular because we're touching his patients," she said."By being employed by him I can push it out and share it in my little world here in Pennsylvania."In addition to appointments at the Lehighton location, Rehrig accepts patients at her private practice in Brodheadsville.To make an appointment or for more information, visit
www.myofascialrelease.com or contact Rehrig at