Certainly a well presented and premier technical DVD series on an approach to deep tissue massage and myofascial release. Well formatted and presented. Good on technique and for both patient and therapist positioning. Should be considered as part of any clinical library. Myofascial massage and release is often of underestimated value in patient's plan of care. The DVDs aim at demonstration of technique and do so in a comprehensive and clear manner. The series is not intended to present current scientific evidence.Research has suggested a role for massage in patient care especially when combined with exercise and education (eg massage chronic low back pain - Cochrane - reference - Furlan AD, Brosseau L, Imamura M, Irvin E, Massage for low back pain, Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(2):CD001929. Further recent evidence suggests that muscle nociceptors have a strong influence on central nervous system function, sensory, motor and autonomic. The role of massage and myofascial release needs further investigation to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of such treatments in patients with chronic and sub-acute pain syndromes especially in relation to myofascial pain syndromes from trigger points.Further interest in fascia is now evident. Fascia is a relative newcomer to the neuro-muscular-orthopaedic concept. Often misunderstood and ignored, fascia has an important role in structure, function and movement etc. Travell discussed the role of fascia in referred pain in 1952 in the paper "Pain mechanisms in connective tissues" (see reference: Travell JG, Office Hours day and Night, 1969, chapter 14, page 257, The world Publishing Company. The first world Fascia Research Congress will commence in Harvard, Boston in October 2007 and will bring together researchers and clinicians of many disciplines to integrate the current research on fascia in form and function. Massage and myofascial therapies should aim to influence the research direction and be involved from the outset.These DVDs will ensure the clinician has a comprehensive review of massage and myofascial release techniques and the potential role it can play as part of a rounded and multimodal plan of care. I would recommend Travell and Simons, Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manuals as a reading companion and scientific reference coupled with Muscle pain by Mense and Simons (2002). In summary I would highly recommend these DVDs, without reservation for technical application of massage and myofascial release to therapists of all disciplines.Johnson McEvoyBSc., MSc, MISCP, MCSP, PTChartered PhysiotherapistLimerick, Ireland
