Wellpath Holistic Clinic

 The Muscle Release Technique ™ was developed by Mr. Michael Young LMT, who introduced the MRT as part of his concept of Repetitive Use Injury Therapy (RUIT®).

MRT™ is increasingly taught and recognized as a relatively simple, and yet very effective method to treat various types of chronic and acute pain stemming from trauma, degeneration, age, sport related injury or repetitive use of various parts of our body.

The Muscle Release Technique™ is a unique injury therapy that combines muscle compression, extension, movement and breathing technique, executed in a fluid, rhythmic way, and provides the therapist with a tool which frequently relieves chronic pain in a single session. With MRT scar tissue is broken up, muscles are lengthened, lost muscle memory is restored and relief from pain often starts immediately.

It is important to understand that Muscle Release Technique ™ is not a treatment of the muscle. It is the treatment of various conditions by way of realizing the connection between joints, nerves, organs and muscles. Many times if one knows how to release the musculature connected to a painful site or joint – he or she can rid himself or his/her patient from pain.

The following is a brief and simple theory on which TMR™ is based:

We tend to become “stiff” and sore due to numerous reasons. The main reason, however is due to the fact that the muscles tighten up and become shorter. It can be the result of repetitive use, stress, trauma or injury etc.

When a muscle shortens, circulation is restricted and normal detoxification process of the affected area is halted or significantly slowed down. Due to a process know as the “cycle of pain” the painful area contracts in a cyclic pattern until it can not contract any more. This is an instinctive reflex related misguided protective action of our Central Nervous System.

Imagine a fighter about to receive a strong punch to the abdomen. How does he respond? His arm/s drop to block the incoming punch, his abdominal muscles start to contract, his whole body contract instinctively in preparation for the impact. If the punch lands and causes severe pain and damage, the brain responds with an order “protect yourself – contract your muscles even more so they are tight as a wall.” As the muscles in the injured area contact, they tighten around the local blood vessels nerves and organs, cutting of normal supply of oxygenated blood and nutrients to the area and starting a process off accumulation of waste, such as blood and lymphatic fluid draining inwards from injured site. When circulation is cut off, and nerves are compressed, even more pain develops, and the misguided brain calls once more “ tighten up”. The more the injured site tightens – the more painful it becomes, and this process turns in to a vicious cycle.


Muscle Release Technique™ treats successfully cases in which there is a dire need to break this vicious cycle of pain. The TRM does it by RELEASING the tightened, shortened muscles connected to the painful site or joint, and thus restoring proper circulation, oxygen supply, waste elimination, and alleviating the pressure on involved nerves.



To summarize - in order to break the cycle of pain, we need to relax the muscles . We achieve this frequently by STRETCHING and elongating them.

There are many ways to stretch each muscle. There are many books and articles on stretching. Some claim that if you don’t suffer severe pain during stretching – you are not stretching enough (“no pain- no gain”). Others claim that a “good stretch” should last 10 seconds at least, and so on and so forth.

While the ways to stretch each muscle vary, it is my opinion, based on studies and the experience of others and myself that a theory of “ no pain- no gain” should be discredited. A stretch may cause brief DISCOMFORT, but it should not cause PAIN.

The core of the Muscle Release Technique ™ is PRESSURE and STRETCH. Apply pressure to the muscle while putting the muscle through a stretch in order to achieve muscular elongation.

The most important part of this technique is the repetitive, rhythmic stretch. A full release after each stretch is as important as the stretch itself.



I am a firm believer in the method of ACTIVE ISOLATED STRETCHING (AIS) developed by Aaron L. Mattes.

Jim & Phil Wharton the authors of The Whartons’ Stretch Book approach the issue of how to stretch muscles which are not in best of shape and health through AIS. In the introduction to their book they disperse some of the common myths, one being that in order for a stretch to be effective it has to last from ten seconds to three minutes.. Healthy muscles can elongate up to 1.6 of their natural length, but generally do not react well to such extreme stretching.. If you elongate a muscle too quickly or too far, it automatically and ballistically recoils to protect itself from tearing. This compensatory measure is called a “myotatic reflex”, and it kicks in at three seconds into the stretch. The “trick” in progressing in flexibility is to stretch a muscle but not allow it to engage the myotatic reflex.To achieve that you should work quickly and gently, so the myotatic reflex is never engaged. Remember that when a muscle becomes short and tight from overuse, stress or trauma, it does not take much to make the stretch reflex (myotatic reflex) to engage.

I believe that this is the best way to stretch an unconditioned or an unhealthy muscle. Since the majority of clients seeking help from me come to me in pain, I have found that this is one of the most appropriate ways to stretch in order to achieve relief.

If we hold an unhealthy or unconditioned muscle in hard long stretch, - it tears and ruptures if stretched beyond it’s ability, and the client is in agony. As it tears, the muscle bleeds. Bleeding promotes scar tissue formation, (which is how we naturally heal ourselves), scar tissue is stiff, far less flexible than non scarred muscles or tendons. Whenever flexibility is compromised, muscle weakness and tendency to contract and shorten develop.

In Muscle Release Technique™ we are holding a stretch only for two seconds, after which we fully release the muscle. This two-second-stretch helps restore the muscle memory that has been lost over the long period when the muscle was tight and short.

A good client, is an educated one

THAT WHICH IS FLEXIBLE AND FLOWING WILL PROSPER AND GROW,
THAT WHICH IS RIGID AND BLOCKED WILL WHITHER AND DIE.

TAO TE CHING