Questions ANSWERED.

Think of your fascia as the suit of your body. Every structure, organ, bone, nerve, and cell is connected via continuous weaving fibers, supporting and shaping you from head to toe. When you're injured, these fibers become glued and bound, no longer gliding as they should. This leads to a ripple effect of distortions — chronic joint pain, stiffness, headaches, and more. Myofascial release is a form of healing that supports the body to change and heal itself through gentle, sustained hands-on pressure into areas of restricted tissue.

At Release Works, our approach involves addressing fascial restrictions through the highly effective John Barnes Myofascial Release Approach® and shockwave therapy. We also emphasize movement practice and coaching to empower you to become a better mover, maintain your health, and prevent long-term issues. We look deeper to find what is preventing healthy movement, taking a compassionate, patient, and thorough approach to healing.

Conventional medicine and other modalities like chiropractic and physical therapy use rubbing, breaking up, injecting, or cutting to try to fix the symptom — but miss the underlying issue. You may get a neck adjustment, but your neck is thrown out of alignment when you stand up. You may get an injection to reduce inflammation, but the disc is still being crushed and twisted. Even foam rollers can loosen tight muscles temporarily, but often overwhelm the area, causing the body to build more protection. Our style of myofascial release takes a whole-body approach, uncovering where and why your body has built up these restrictions, then unwinding them gently and re-teaching your body how to move well.

People who see us are dealing with stuck connective tissue, over-stressed joints, and misaligned structures. As we address troubled areas and get things moving, people often describe what they feel as a "hurts so good" type of sensation. There is a difference between injurious pain and therapeutic sensation. We will never force and we will never injure. If it is painful or uncomfortable, we want you to tell us. Understanding how your body perceives and responds to sensation is an essential part of healing. We will help you navigate this process, including when you might feel temporarily worse before feeling better.

When life is slowed down or stopped by pain, it's frustrating to spend time, money, and energy on things that promise to help — only to be let down. We promise that if you allow things to change, you will see change. As you work the program, learn to reconnect with your own intuitive healing nature, give yourself the time needed in each stage — never forcing or rushing — and commit to regaining control of your life, you will see change. We will help you find what's getting in your way, identify what works for you, and support you in the ways you need most. You will experience more improvement than just "the thing."

Michael Sudbury is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) with over 20 years of clinical experience specializing in myofascial release. He trained under the John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Approach® and has developed his own trademarked protocol — the Release Works Method of Healing™ — through two decades of systematic clinical work.

Release Works is a movement restoration practice, not a medical practice. We do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe. We work with the fascial system to address the mechanical conditions that produce chronic pain. We always recommend consulting your physician for medical advice.

The Release Works Method of Healing™ is a trademarked, progressive protocol — not a single technique. It includes a comprehensive postural assessment, systematic fascial release protocols, movement coaching, and a self-care practice designed to make you self-sufficient. The goal is not ongoing appointments — it's a defined end point: a client who owns their healing.

No referral or diagnosis is needed. You can book a free phone consultation to discuss your situation and determine whether the Release Works Method is appropriate for you. Many of our most successful clients arrived without a clear diagnosis — the postural assessment reveals what imaging often misses.

Every person is different. Most clients experience measurable change within the first protocol. The full method is progressive — typically spanning weeks to months depending on the complexity and duration of your pain. We will be honest about the expected timeline from your very first assessment. The goal is always a defined end point, not indefinite appointments.

Many of our clients come to us after surgery — sometimes because the surgery didn't resolve their pain, sometimes because new pain developed afterward. Surgery addresses structural findings but does not release the fascial restrictions that may have caused the structure to fail in the first place. The Release Works Method addresses the fascial system surrounding the surgical site, which is often the source of persistent post-surgical pain.

Your first visit begins with a comprehensive postural assessment — a full-body examination of how your fascial system has organized itself, where restrictions are, and how they're creating the mechanical conditions for your pain. From there, we begin the first protocol. Most people feel measurable change before they leave. You'll also receive initial self-care guidance to begin between sessions.

The Release Works Method is not the least expensive option available — but it is, in our experience, the most efficient path to genuine resolution. Consider what you're currently spending on approaches that require multiple visits per week, medications taken indefinitely, and the life cost of living in pain. One focused protocol per week with a method built around the actual cause produces more concentrated progress than multiple visits addressing consequences. Contact us for current pricing.

We do not bill insurance directly. We can provide superbills for you to submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement, depending on your plan. Many clients find that the focused, results-oriented nature of the Release Works Method means fewer total sessions than conventional approaches — often making it more cost-effective overall.

Chronic back pain is one of the most common conditions we work with at Release Works. In most cases, back pain is driven by fascial restrictions in the hips, pelvis, and lower extremities that load the spine incorrectly — not by the structural findings on imaging. The Release Works Method addresses the system creating the abnormal loading, not just the location of the pain. Many of our clients have avoided surgery or found relief after surgery failed.

The knee is almost never the source of knee pain. It sits between two highly mobile joints — the hip and the ankle — and when either loses range of motion due to fascial restriction, the knee compensates and suffers. The Release Works Method examines the entire kinetic chain to find what's actually loading the knee incorrectly, then addresses the system rather than the symptom.

Many chronic headaches are driven by fascial restrictions through the shoulders, neck, and cranial base that create sustained pressure on pain-generating structures. These restrictions don't show up on standard imaging, which is why headache sufferers often cycle through medications without resolution. The Release Works Method addresses the fascial system producing the mechanical conditions for headaches — often with dramatic results.

Shoulder pain frequently originates far from the shoulder itself — in the thoracic spine, the ribcage, and the fascial chains connecting the neck to the upper extremity. Conventional approaches that focus on the shoulder joint alone often provide temporary relief at best. The Release Works Method examines the full upper body system to find the fascial restrictions driving the shoulder dysfunction.

Absolutely — this is central to the Release Works Method, not supplementary. From your very first protocol, you'll receive specific self-care practices designed for your body, your restrictions, and your current stage in the method. The goal is always self-sufficiency. Clients who practice between sessions consistently see significantly better results than those who don't.

No. Age is not a barrier. Many of our clients are in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. The fascial system responds to skilled engagement regardless of age. What matters is not how old you are but how long the restrictions have been present — and our method is specifically designed for chronic, long-standing patterns that have not responded to other approaches.

Shockwave therapy uses acoustic pressure waves to stimulate healing and break up calcifications in chronically restricted tissue. At Release Works, we use it as a complement to hands-on myofascial release — particularly in areas of dense, long-standing restriction where the tissue needs additional stimulus to begin the release process. It is not a standalone solution but a powerful accelerator within the broader method.

No. While most people come to us because of chronic pain, the Release Works Method also serves people who want to optimize movement, prevent injury, and maintain the physical capability they've built. Athletes, weekend warriors, and active professionals use the method to address fascial restrictions before they become pain — keeping their bodies performing at their best.

Myofascial release helps with a wide range of conditions including back pain, neck pain, headaches, migraines, TMJ dysfunction, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, frozen shoulder, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and many types of joint pain. Because the fascial system connects every structure in the body, releasing restrictions can resolve issues far from the original site of pain.

Many techniques branded as myofascial release — Rolfing, Graston, foam rolling — use forceful pressure to 'break up' restrictions. This can overwhelm the tissue, causing the body to build back tighter. The John F. Barnes' Myofascial Release Approach® uses gentle, sustained pressure to help dehydrated, glued tissues rehydrate and release naturally. It's like melting an ice cube instead of smashing it into smaller chunks — leading to longer-lasting, more thorough changes.

Many people feel meaningful changes after their first session. However, lasting structural change requires addressing the layers of restriction that have built up over years or decades. Most clients follow a structured program that unfolds over weeks, allowing the body to release, adapt, and strengthen progressively. The deeper and older the restrictions, the more time the process takes — but the results are cumulative and lasting.

Yes. The Barnes MFR Approach is gentle enough to use with even the most pain-sensitive individuals. We never force, and we never injure. If something is painful or uncomfortable, we want you to tell us. Understanding how your body perceives and responds to sensation is an essential part of the healing process.