I recently went to a Myofascial Release special workshop for Breast Health run by Linda from Myofascial Release UK. The day focused on techniques that work the soft tissues of the arm pit and upper chest area and that are especially beneficial for women, particularly for those that have had treatment for breast cancer, however everyone can benefit from them (as I was to find out for myself).
I was not entirely certain why I was actually attending the course; I had bought a block of workshops and this (in my mind) would be the least useful one. I was wrong, very wrong with that idea. In the weeks before the course I started to think about my clientele and realised that I have a number of clients who this would be really good for (some have recovered from breast cancer, others have had surgery in this area, a number have breathing issues and a lot have tightness in this or the immediate surrounding area) and I realised that I should have ways of treating the chest so that I truly can follow what the body wants treated (with the client's permission of course).
This is an area that is often not worked on in a "typical" massage/body work session, but think about it: these structures and the ones they connect with are central to the whole body: the pectoral muscles impact the arms, the latissimus dorsi connect to the lumbar fascia (and are frequently repositioned for reconstructive surgery after mastectomies), the fascia covering the breastbone connect to the abdomen, and there are deep fascial connections to the lungs, the heart, the anterior neck muscles and this is a gross simplification of the whole structure. Linda talked about what she had seen on a dissection course that she had attended where one of the cadavers had had a mastectomy. She said that there was a thickening in the fascia that spanned the whole front of the body, and it was like a web radiating out through the abdominal walls, deep in to the pericardial sack, the lungs and far farther than anyone expected.
The techniques look at the area from the armpit to armpit, from throat to diaphragm, but really in a true treatment it would be extending beyond this elsewhere into the body. From my experience on working on the Myofascia in the rest of the body I can easily understand how beneficial these techniques and approaches would be for people who have suffered the physical trauma of surgery, and chemotherapy for treatment of breast. The gentle work to release the adhesions and restore some semblance of normality to the soft tissue could have such a profound effect for people and probably a lot more that haven't really considered that this could be an area of tightness for them. Three of the techniques worked directly on or below the breast itself, but they can be adapted or not used depending on how the client feels about them being worked on.
I am fortunate enough not to have had any surgery to this area, but I have had poor posture when using a computer for many years when working in an office. I also enjoy yoga on a weekly basis (if not more) and spend a lot of time working to expand the chest area. I was very surprised how much techniques we learnt working on the armpit, ribcage and breast bone areas had a profound affect on my body, particularly freeing up an on-going tightness in my left shoulder. Going to yoga later in the week I could feel a vast improvement in what is normally my tight arm and shoulder, so great a difference that my "good" arm sudden became the one that needed more stretching. The breathing techniques at the end of the session were fuller, more balanced and deeper than they had been before.
I have to say a big thank you to Linda (who ran this sensitive course) and my fellow students for running a very supporting course where I (personally) felt secure enough that I was able to unwind (where the body releases tension in a physical way) not once, but three times. I can honestly say that that was the first time I felt safe enough to properly do it. Thank you to the therapists who facilitated this for me, I am continuing to feel the work that you/we did and it feels amazing.
