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Soft Tissue Release For Repetitive Stress Injuries: Pain Erased, Mobility Restored

Soft tissue release, or STR, has been around since the early 90’s, yet surprisingly few people have ever heard of it.

Originally developed to treat some of the world’s fastest Olympic sprinters, STR helped keep these athletes’ powerful leg muscles healthy and limber.

The results achieved on these Olympians were nothing short of spectacular as muscle injuries that were once considered irreparable healed at an amazing rate.

Today, master sports injury therapists utilize STR to help their clients recover faster and more completely. STR has even been incorporated into clinical treatments of back, neck and shoulder pain as well as whiplash injuries.

What is soft tissue release and why is it so beneficial? The term “soft tissue” simply refers to the tissue of your muscles, tendons and ligaments.

When these tissues are torn, inflamed or imbalanced, the result is an interruption in the communication between your nervous system and the affected soft tissue, accompanied by mild to excruciating pain.

Unfortunately, many doctors will simply prescribe a pain-killer or anti-inflammatory drug to mask this pain. This approach does absolutely nothing to address the actual problem; it only covers up the symptoms.

Soft tissue release (STR) is a dynamic, highly effective technique that has an immediate and powerful effect on muscle tissue.

It is a combination of movement and manipulation that is extremely versatile. The essence of this approach is a method of applying pressure to a muscle at the same time the muscle is being stretched.

This coordinated movement has a correcting effect on all muscular imbalances, including injured areas where scar tissue is forming or has already formed. You see, as damaged soft tissue heals, it develops scar tissue.

This scar tissue knits together with the damaged tissue, surrounding the injury with a thick mass of movement-restricting scar tissue.

If not treated properly, scar tissue will shrink and shorten, leading to a reduction in flexibility of the muscle.

The secret to the success of soft tissue release is that it is not just another way of manipulating your muscle – it is a way of communicating with your nervous system.

Soft tissue injuries actually trigger inflammation and cause your nervous system to shorten or tighten your muscles to protect them, leading to pain and a loss of flexibility.

Muscle memory is your nervous system's memory of how your muscles should normally be – not too tight, yet not too loose.

Once muscle memory is engaged, your muscles return to their normal length and tone. The inflammation process stops and relief from pain immediately follows.

How is STR applied? After the exact location of your soft tissue injury has been determined, you will be positioned so that your injured muscles can be moved and stretched in a very specific direction.

At the same time, controlled pinpoint pressure will be applied directly to the affected soft tissue or along a specific line of injury.

This combination of controlled pressure and stretching gently breaks down scar tissue, resulting in increased flexibility and reduction of pain.

It also effectively “re-programs” your muscles by stimulating the connection between your nervous system and the injured soft tissue. Thus, muscle memory is engaged.

This result-driven treatment is so effective that most people experience an immediate decrease in pain and increase in range of motion.

Will STR help you? Whether you are an athlete suffering from a sports-related injury or one of the millions of Americans who suffer daily with chronic pain, soft tissue release just may be the answer you have been searching for.

STR has a proven track record in correcting the soft tissue and neuromuscular factors that cause:


STR and MAT – a powerful 1-2 punch against pain Soft tissue release combined with muscle activation techniques (MAT) provide a powerful treatment process that can prevent or greatly reduce the incidence of soft tissue injury and muscle imbalances.
MAT is a biomechanically-based system that identifies and corrects neuromuscular imbalances that can cause injury and subsequent pain, and is particularly effective when used in conjunction with STR.

Specific STR and MAT therapies are used to treat each layer of a soft tissue injury, including muscle imbalances, releasing the motion-restricting scar tissue and allowing the muscle tissues to once again move smoothly over each other.

In most cases, you will feel an immediate decrease in pain and an increase in range of motion and strength.

The combination of these two incredibly powerful techniques makes this cutting-edge treatment process not only revolutionary, but also the most effective method to relieve pain while addressing the muscle imbalances that are the root cause of the condition.

My name is Rich Lauro, and I am a Certified Muscle Activation Technique Specialist in Spotsylvania, VA.

In my profession, I see people every day who are suffering the ravages of pain and sometimes, have done so for years. As a matter of fact, these patients comprise about 90% of my clientele.

For these people, pain has drastically altered their quality of life, stripping them of the ability to enjoy everyday activities. Regardless of where they go or what they do, pain is always an uninvited, unwelcome companion.

Just imagine how surprised and thrilled they are when, after only one or two sessions of STR/MAT treatment, they leave my office feeling better than they have in years. Many of them actually leave completely pain-free!

I invite you to call my clinic, 540-840-3208 or 703 496-3435 make an appointment, and discover how quickly the powerful combination of STR and MAT can work for you.

Let me show you how great life can be when you live it pain-free.

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