19.00 Welcome from Yvonne Blake

Ruth Duncan

Can we stretch fascia?

Talk content: Often, fascial release techniques discuss that they stretch the fascia. If this were true, fascia would hang around our body like wrinkled socks - think Nora Batty from Last of the Summer Wine!

Fascia can change, along with all the other soft tissue. This is called deformation but, deformation is short lived. If it's short lived, can we actually alter the length of fascia that meets the concept of lengthening something that's short to remove perceived tension and pain?

This tutorial will help you to understand the potential for fascia to change shape and how we can use this physiological change to maximise treatment results for both acute and chronic pain clients.

Biography: Ruth is a Sports and Remedial Massage and Sport therapist and Clinical Hypnotherapist. She is a senior lecturer and myofascial release specialist with 18 years’ experience in clinical practice. Ruth regularly delivers foundation and myofascial release workshops in the UK and internationally. She is the author of ‘A Hands on Guide to Myofascial Release’ published by Human Kinetics. 

Her myofascial training includes the work of John F. Barnes, Thomas Myers and Erik Dalton. Ruth has completed the myofascial release training programme with John F. Barnes including two student internships in his Arizona treatment centre. She has also expanded her knowledge and understanding of anatomy, biomechanics and Biotensegrity by attending human dissection workshops with Julian Baker and Gil Hedley. 

Ruth is also trained in neuromuscular approaches (trigger point therapy, muscle energy techniques and positional release) as well as spinal manipulation, medical acupuncture, sports massage and sports taping. She integrates these approaches into her treatments when necessary.  

Ruth is a consultant for The British Fascia Symposium and delivered the introductory lecture on fascia in 2014. She also presented a poster on a myofascial clinical trial she undertook at the 4th International Fascia Research Congress in Washington in 2015 and is a founding member of the Fascia Research Society.

Closing remarks/notices Yvonne Blake