Healing Arts Medical Massage & Myofascial Release Center of McAllen

01/14/2026

If you’ve tried different approaches and still live with pain, tightness, or limited movement, your body may be asking for a different kind of support.

Myofascial Release works with the body’s connective tissue to release restrictions and restore natural balance—gently and effectively.

✨ Curious if this approach is right for you?
Send us a message or book your session.

01/14/2026

FASCIA 101 —
The John F. Barnes’ Myofascial Release Approach®

John passed away last month but we are all carrying the torch and continuing to spread his treatment approach and his search for excellence to all.

This is a summary of Chapter 2, “Fascia”, in Myofascial Release: The Search for Excellence by John F. Barnes, PT.

John F. Barnes would always teach that the body should not be understood as separate “muscles,” but as a unified myofascial system, because fascia surrounds and penetrates every muscle fiber, fascicle, and cell. Fascia ultimately determines muscle length, function, and coordination. It forms a continuous, three-dimensional web throughout the body that maintains shape, supports organs, resists mechanical stress, and enables communication and force transmission.

When fascia is restricted by trauma, poor posture, inflammation, or repetitive strain, it can bind down tissues and create abnormal pressure on muscles, nerves, vessels, and organs. These restrictions often cause pain, dysfunction, and seemingly unrelated symptoms that do not follow nerve or dermatome patterns and frequently go undiagnosed, since standard imaging does not visualize fascia. Fascial dysfunction can impair circulation, lymphatic flow, cellular metabolism, immune function, and shock absorption, setting the stage for chronic pain, injury, and disease.

At a molecular level, fascia is composed of collagen (strength), elastin (elasticity), and ground substance (hyaluronic-acid–rich gel that allows glide and absorbs compressive forces). When the ground substance becomes more solid due to restriction, forces cannot disperse properly, leading to injury, even from relatively small stresses. This explains recurrent injuries and chronic breakdown despite strengthening or flexibility programs.

Fascia has multiple essential roles: structural support, efficient movement, postural balance, nutrition and fluid transport, immune defense, detoxification, and tissue repair. Because fascia and muscle are inseparable in function, treating them as separate systems is an illusion.

Myofascial Release (MFR) uniquely addresses the entire fascial system. Rather than forcibly stretching tissue, MFR works by engaging the elasto-collagenous components, reducing cross-linking, and changing the viscosity of the ground substance from a more solid to a gel state, improving glide and shock absorption. It also positively influences proprioceptors and the nervous system. John concludes that without MFR, conventional therapies treat only part of the problem; including MFR allows for a truly comprehensive, whole-body approach to healing. — John F. Barnes

01/13/2026

Your body remembers injuries, stress, and tension, even when the mind has moved on.
Listening is the first step toward release.

#956

01/12/2026

Pain has a source.
Fascia is often the missing piece.

#956

01/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1N7zFXixPg/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Write diffrently From birth, your tongue is actually connected to your toes through an intricate network of connective tissue known as fascia.

If your tongue is not resting correctly in your mouth due to mouth breathing, things can get out of alignment in your mouth and the rest of your body.

Tongue posture can lead to a foot imbalance and vice versa because the tongue guides all myofascial continuity structures that run from the inner arch of the foot up through the middle of the body to the tongue and jaw muscles.

When the tongue sits on top of the palate, it seals the oral cavity and holds the throat open like a tent. These muscles support the neck, keep your posture straight, help you breathe, and maintain your posture upright.

Your tongue also acts as a rudder and support system through a fascial line, and when the tongue is down, we breathe through our mouth, and the head falls forward due to lack of support, which leads to poor posture and increased energy expenditure.

For better core support and spinal, hip, and leg strength, you need to work on your tongue posture!

👅 Try these swallowing exercises:
1. Extend your tongue to the bumpy part on the top of your mouth right behind your teeth.
2. Then curl your tongue toward the back of your mouth as far as possible.
3. Hold for a few seconds.
4. Repeat five times.

Credit:

01/09/2026

Your pain is real.
And understanding where it comes from is the first step toward relief.

#956

01/08/2026

Healing happens best when the body is supported naturally and given space to respond.

#956

01/08/2026

Myofascial Release therapy can improve your health in so many ways.
Releasing fascia increases blood 🩸 flow, lymph function, reduces blood pressure, increases muscle and joint movement just to name a few.

If you are struggling and stuck give us a call. We can talk about your issues and discuss a plan for you.

01/08/2026

If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will have to make time for your illness.
Read that again.

01/08/2026

If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time
for your illness.
Read that again.

01/07/2026

Fascia is the largest and most continuous system in the body.
It surrounds every cell and connects everything inside you.

When fascia becomes dehydrated or restricted due to trauma or stress, it can create pain and tension—sometimes far from where you feel it.

Myofascial Release works directly with this system to support natural healing.

#956