Functional Range Release is a hands-on system of assessment, treatment and rehabilitation that is based on most current scientific research and principles. The primary objective of Functional Range Release is to treat injuries, increase your movement capacity and promote joint health and longevity.
An underlying premise of Functional Range Release is that the tissue responsible for limiting range of motion is not the muscle. – but rather, range of motion is restricted due to the connective tissues and nervous system’s control of that muscle.
The nervous system’s central mechanism controlling muscle length contains a ‘stretch threshold’ point – which, when exceeded, triggers a stretch reflex contracting the muscle. This threshold point is set far beyond what is necessary to prevent injury.
Because of this, while there may be potential for further movement, it’s the central nervous system that will not allow this movement to occur. Thus, this ‘safe’ range is the ‘decision’ of the central nervous system and not determined by the actual flexibility or extensibility of the muscle tissue itself. It is the objective of Functional Range Release to simultaneously both increase this threshold point thereby increasing the range of motion, while also developing strength in the newly extended range, which is termed increasing the ‘functional range’.
Following an injury it’s known there is an inherent response programmed in the central nervous system driving the contraction of the muscles in the area of a lesion preventing further injury in acting as a defense system. Along with this increased muscular tension from the contraction, the connective tissue surrounding the muscle fibers along with the fascia between the soft tissues also tightens. The development of restrictive “scar tissue”/fibrosis is produced as a result of these contractions. Your Functional Range Release practitioner at Perfect Stride will skillfully apply force using their hands to influence the long term remodeling of this disorganized connective tissue improving its quality, pliability and resilience.
The fibrosis, having a high coefficient of friction, creates irritation of surrounding tissues and ultimately activation of pain fibers. This tissue also has the ability to combine tissue structures to each other which prevents independent movement and function, leading to biomechanical compensation patterns, aberrant movements, and dysfunction.
Functional Range Release™ allows our therapist to quickly reduce the patient’s stretch threshold point thereby enabling a more complete release of restrictive fibrosis in tissues. In sum, the principles of Functional Range Release™ focus on influencing the connective tissues and central nervous system to allow for greater joint range of motion, and strength. For this reason Functional Range Release is ideal to treat and rehabilitate musculoskeletal disorders, pain, and movement dysfunction.
