Myofascial Release for Fibromyalgia
Living with fibromyalgia can be exhausting — not just physically, but emotionally too.
Many people I see have been living with widespread pain, fatigue, and heightened sensitivity for a long time, often without clear answers or joined-up care.
This page explains how fibromyalgia is commonly understood today, why the nervous system plays such an important role, and how Myofascial Release may be used as a supportive, hands-on approach.
It also looks at how this fits within a broader, whole-person approach to managing fibromyalgia.
Living with fibromyalgia is exhausting
Living with fibromyalgia is often exhausting in ways that are hard to put into words.
It’s not just the pain itself, but the effort it takes to get through everyday life — getting up in the morning, concentrating, managing fatigue, and deciding how to use what energy you have.
Many people describe feeling as though they are constantly having to ration their energy. Tasks that once felt straightforward — washing, preparing meals, working, socialising — can take far more out of you than expected.
This can be frustrating, isolating, and emotionally draining.
Alongside this, it’s common to have had difficult experiences within healthcare.
Symptoms may not have been taken seriously, different issues may have been treated in isolation, or you may have been left feeling as though you need to keep proving that something is wrong.
If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.
Fibromyalgia is complex, and the challenges people face are very real — even when they don’t show up clearly on scans or tests.
Why fibromyalgia pain can persist, even when scans look ‘normal’
Fibromyalgia is still not fully understood, and that uncertainty can be unsettling.
Many people are told that their scans, blood tests, or imaging are “normal”, yet their pain continues — sometimes intensifying over time.
One reason for this is that fibromyalgia does not fit neatly into a model of pain caused by tissue damage alone.
Instead, it’s commonly understood as a condition where the way the nervous system processes sensation has changed.
Signals that would normally be filtered or dampened can be experienced as pain, discomfort, or overwhelming sensitivity.
This doesn’t mean the pain is imagined or psychological. The pain is real. What’s different is how the body is interpreting and responding to sensory information.
Understanding this can be an important first step.
It helps explain why pain can persist even without clear structural findings, and why approaches that only focus on individual muscles or joints don’t always provide lasting relief.
When widespread pain is only one part of what’s going on
Fibromyalgia is often described in terms of widespread pain, but for many people it doesn’t stop there.
Pain may sit alongside fatigue, poor sleep, digestive issues, headaches, dizziness, brain fog, or heightened sensitivity to touch, sound, light, or temperature.
These experiences can feel disconnected at first — as though lots of different things are going wrong at once.
It’s common to move between different specialists or services, with each symptom treated in isolation, without anyone stepping back to look at the bigger picture.
Over time, this can add to a sense that your body is unpredictable or difficult to understand.
You may start to notice patterns: flare-ups during periods of stress, symptoms worsening when you’re overtired, or new sensitivities appearing without an obvious cause.
Seeing fibromyalgia in this wider context can be helpful.
Rather than being a single problem to fix, it’s often part of a more complex picture involving how different systems in the body are interacting and responding over time.
What all of this has in common: a sensitive nervous system
When symptoms are varied and widespread, it can help to look for what they may have in common.
In fibromyalgia, one of the most consistent patterns is a nervous system that has become more sensitive over time.
The nervous system’s role is to keep you safe. When it detects threat — physical, emotional, or physiological — it prepares the body to respond.
In fibromyalgia, this protective system can become over-alert. Signals that would normally be filtered or toned down may be amplified instead.
This heightened state is sometimes described in terms of fight, flight, or freeze. You might notice feeling constantly on edge, easily overwhelmed, unusually sensitive to touch or sound, or completely wiped out after relatively small demands.
These are not signs of weakness — they are signs of a system working very hard to protect you.
When the nervous system stays in this protective mode for long periods, the body doesn’t get enough opportunity to settle and recover. Muscles may remain guarded, sleep can be disrupted, digestion affected, and pain signals kept switched on.
Understanding fibromyalgia in this way doesn’t minimise your symptoms
— it helps make sense of them. It also opens the door to approaches that aim to support the nervous system in feeling safer, rather than trying to force change in a body that already feels under threat.
How Myofascial Release uses touch to support a sensitive nervous system
When the nervous system is highly sensitive, the way touch is experienced matters.
For some people with fibromyalgia, hands-on treatment in the past may have felt overwhelming or even made symptoms worse.
This isn’t a failure of the person or their body — it’s often a sign that the nervous system was not able to tolerate the input at that time.
Myofascial Release is a hands-on approach that pays close attention to how the body responds moment by moment.
Rather than working forcefully on individual muscles, it involves slower, sustained contact with the connective tissue (fascia), alongside careful observation and ongoing feedback.
This type of touch can provide the nervous system with clear, steady sensory information. When the input feels predictable and tolerable, the nervous system may begin to shift out of a constant protective state.
As this happens, pain sensitivity can reduce and tissues may soften without being pushed or forced.
Importantly, this work is guided by your responses.
Pressure, positioning, and pace are adjusted continually, with the aim of helping your body feel safer rather than overwhelmed.
For many people with fibromyalgia, this nervous-system-aware approach helps explain why Myofascial Release can feel very different from other forms of hands-on treatment they may have tried.
Myofascial Release is not a standalone solution, nor does it aim to “fix” fibromyalgia.
Instead, it may be used as one supportive option within a broader, whole-person approach to managing fibromyalgia — particularly where sensitivity, guarding, and persistent pain patterns are present.
What working together usually involves
If you decide to explore this approach, the starting point is always a conversation.
This is a chance to talk through your symptoms, your history, and what you’ve already tried — as well as what has and hasn’t felt helpful along the way.
Sessions are guided by careful assessment rather than a fixed plan.
What we do on any given day is shaped by how you’re feeling at that time, how your body responds, and what feels manageable for you. There’s no expectation to push through discomfort, and you’re encouraged to give feedback throughout.
For some people, support involves hands-on work in the clinic. For others, it may also include education, pacing strategies, or guidance around self-care.
Where appropriate, sessions may combine Myofascial Release with other approaches, always with the aim of supporting longer-term change rather than chasing short-term relief.
Progress with fibromyalgia is rarely linear. There may be periods of improvement, times when things feel more challenging, and adjustments along the way.
Working together means allowing space for this variability, and adapting the approach as your needs change over time.
I have been suffering with fibromyalgia for years and contacted Steven in September after a particularly difficult few months.
We had a 15 minute video call to discuss my symptoms and possible treatment, and during the call Steven asked me questions about things like light sensitivity, music choices, music volume, and room temperature.
This was immensely helpful and put me at ease as I knew what to expect.
Ayla J
Ready to explore next steps?
If you’d like to take things further, you can explore the available appointment options, including in-person sessions and online consultations.
Session lengths, pricing, and practical details are all outlined so you can choose what feels right for you.
There’s no expectation to commit to anything beyond the next step. Many people start simply to ask questions, clarify what’s going on for them, or see whether this approach feels like a good fit at this stage.
If you’re unsure, starting with a conversation can help.
This may be through an initial consultation or a first appointment, either in person or online.
It gives you space to ask questions, talk through your concerns, and get a clearer sense of whether this feels like a supportive next step for you at this point.
Is this the right next step for you?
Myofascial Release is not the right approach for everyone, and it’s not something you need to rush into.
It tends to suit people who have been living with fibromyalgia or persistent symptoms for some time, particularly if their body feels sensitive, reactive, or easily overwhelmed by stronger forms of treatment.
This approach may be worth exploring if you’re looking for something that works at a pace your body can tolerate, and if you’re open to understanding your symptoms in a wider, whole-person context. It can also be helpful if previous hands-on treatments have felt too intense, unpredictable, or difficult to recover from.
On the other hand, if you’re hoping for a quick solution, a forceful technique, or a clearly defined treatment plan with guaranteed outcomes, this approach may not be the best fit right now.
If you’re unsure, starting with a conversation can help.
This may be through an initial consultation or a first appointment, either in person or online.
It gives you space to ask questions, talk through your concerns, and get a clearer sense of whether this feels like a supportive next step for you at this point.
How this approach differs from standard massage
Many people with fibromyalgia have tried massage at some point — sometimes with mixed results.
While some find it temporarily soothing, others notice that pressure-based treatments can leave them feeling sore, flared, or more sensitive afterwards.
This doesn’t mean massage is “wrong”, or that your body is reacting badly. It often reflects the fact that fibromyalgia involves a nervous system that is already working hard to protect you.
When input feels too intense or unpredictable, the body may respond by increasing tension or pain rather than settling.
The approach described here differs in both intention and pacing.
Rather than aiming to release tension through pressure, the focus is on working with your responses — adjusting touch, depth, and duration based on how your body is reacting in the moment.
Sessions are shaped around feedback and tolerance, not a fixed routine.
The aim is not to push through discomfort, but to help the nervous system feel sufficiently safe to ease its protective response.
For people with fibromyalgia, this distinction can be important.
If you’ve previously found hands-on treatment difficult, this difference in approach may help explain why some experiences felt unhelpful — and why a slower, more responsive way of working can feel very different.
Frequently asked questions
These are questions that often come up for people living with fibromyalgia who are considering a slower, more nervous-system-aware approach. If something isn’t covered here, you’re always welcome to ask.
Myofascial Release isn’t a cure for fibromyalgia, but for some people it can be a helpful part of managing symptoms. It’s often used to support a sensitive nervous system by working at a pace the body can tolerate, rather than applying strong or forceful pressure.
For people whose pain feels widespread, reactive, or easily aggravated, this slower and more responsive approach can feel very different from other hands-on treatments they may have tried.
Myofascial Release is not intended to be painful. The work is guided by how your body responds in the moment, with pressure and positioning adjusted throughout.
For people living with fibromyalgia, sensitivity can vary from day to day. Sessions are paced carefully, with the aim of working within what your nervous system can tolerate rather than pushing through discomfort. You’re encouraged to give feedback at any point, and changes are made straight away if something doesn’t feel right.
While both involve hands-on work, the intention and pacing are different. Standard massage often focuses on applying pressure to muscles, whereas this approach is shaped around how your body and nervous system respond.
With fibromyalgia, stronger or more forceful techniques can sometimes lead to flare-ups. Myofascial Release works more slowly and responsively, with the aim of supporting nervous system safety rather than pushing through areas of tension.
This difference can help explain why some people who haven’t found massage helpful may experience this approach as more tolerable.
This approach tends to suit people who have been living with fibromyalgia for some time and whose bodies feel sensitive, reactive, or easily overwhelmed by stronger treatments. It can also be a good fit if you’re interested in understanding your symptoms in a wider, whole-person context rather than focusing on one area at a time.
If you’re unsure, that’s very common. Many people decide after an initial appointment or a brief telephone call, once they’ve had a chance to ask questions and get a feel for whether this way of working feels supportive for them.
Most people begin with an initial in-person appointment, which allows time to talk through what you’ve been dealing with and to work together at a pace that feels manageable on the day.
If you’re unsure whether this approach is right for you, you can also book a brief 10-minute telephone call. This gives you a chance to ask questions and clarify whether an in-person appointment feels like a good next step, without any pressure to commit beyond that.
Fibromyalgia is complex, and there isn’t a set number of sessions that suits everyone.
Some people notice helpful changes within a few sessions, while others benefit from a more gradual, ongoing approach. Progress is often non-linear, with periods of improvement and times when symptoms fluctuate.
Rather than working to a fixed plan, sessions are shaped around how your body responds over time, what feels manageable, and what you’re hoping to achieve. This allows the work to remain supportive and flexible, rather than goal-driven or rushed.
If this doesn’t quite fit
If your symptoms overlap, change over time, or don’t fit neatly into one category, this page explains the main pain issues I work with and may help you decide where to begin.
