Have you heard about Rapid Neurofascial Reset? Many of my clients have had great success with this technique, but because it is relatively new, there are always a lot of questions. As a Rapid NFR Specialist (having completed all the training for this treatment) I want to help clients better understand this powerful therapy and the results they can achieve.

So let’s take a deeper dive into what it is, how it’s used, and all the benefits of this therapeutic technique!

Also known as Rapid NFR, RNFR, or just Rapid, this treatment is relatively recent among therapeutic techniques and health care professionals. The name comes from being fast at getting results, causing a near-immediate reset within the body, mainly affecting your neurological and fascial system. Your fascia is the connective tissue that holds all of your blood vessels, bones, muscles, nerve fibers, and organs, providing internal structure.

Like massage, Rapid NFR targets soft tissues of the body. Like physical therapy, Rapid works on movements at your full range of motion. Like acupressure or chiropractic treatment, Rapid brings relief to your ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons and tissues. It combines many older fields into a modern treatment based on our current evidence and knowledge about the body’s central nervous system.

What is a Rapid Neurofascial Reset?

The brain, spinal cord, and several major nerves in the body all collectively make up the central nervous system. These parts of your body work hard to gather and understand all of the sensory input coming from the physical world, along with directing our emotions and hormones. Last but not least, they must send out responses to all of those sensations, during which problems sometimes occur.

A common association of injury is neurogenic inflammation or the inflammatory reactions caused by your brain. These include a higher temperature, swelling, and tenderness. Too much neurogenic inflammation causes stress to your brain, which will then “lockdown” the tissue with scarring to prevent more damage. This creates chronic pain, a lesser range of motion, and loss of strength in certain areas. The inflammation can remain due to lack of oxygen or acute damage such as micro-traumas (an accumulation of small tears in the muscle), pulls, stress and tension.

Imagine your body suffered some kind of injury, maybe long ago. At the time of the injury, your central nervous system responds by activating healing cells in the area, but sometimes those cells can’t complete their job. This along with the neurogenic inflammation causes the area to become highly sensitive to all further pain, a dysfunction known as neurological hypersensitivity. The neurological “lock” can also make muscles and tendons in the area shorter and weaker, bringing about tendinitis, more pressure on local nerves, and even more pain.

Rapid Neurofascial Reset treatment sessions use movement and touch to target the “locks” placed by the central nervous system binding your tissue, which calms old hypersensitivity and releases constraints, restrictions, and tensions. This can bring relief and restore function within your fascia, ligaments, muscles, nerves, and tendons. In other words, you feel near-immediate relief – often within days – to pain that was once thought to be permanent for the body. This even remains true in cases of physical trauma and overuse.

Put another way; your brain realized you were hurt one day and yet never noticed when the danger was gone. Rapid NFR tells your brain the threat is gone and you are safe, so your brain will then stop being so sensitive about that area.

What is Rapid NFR treatment like?

The therapist generally asks about your medical history at your first session, including broken bones, concussions, major or minor injuries, specific procedures and surgeries, sprains and strains, or your general lifestyle. You should prepare beforehand by reviewing your medical history and any details relating to your health that may be important.

The first assessment and treatment may take about 45 minutes, while follow-up appointments can be as short as 30 minutes. You will remain clothed throughout, though your therapist will ask that you wear comfortable, loose-fitting, and non-restrictive clothes – such as athletic wear, gym clothes, leggings, and t-shirts – so they can assess and manipulate all affected areas.

During the assessment examination, the therapist will use their hands to evaluate the texture, tightness, tone, and possible range of movement of your body. Most clients feel slightly uncomfortable during this phase or treatment, and there can be soreness the following day, but this is necessary to test your current full range of motion, stimulate your neurological system and bring healing to the body.

Every new Rapid Neurofascial Reset session requires a new assessment to see any differences in your movements and where more is needed. Most clients need several sessions for complex issues, and if you have multiple old injuries, the therapist can focus on the most troubling while sending you home with a treatment plan. Effective healing comes from ongoing treatment and working on your overall health.

What is Rapid NFR massage?

After the assessment examination phase, a Rapid NFR session includes hands-on treatment. During this treatment, your therapist treats hypersensitive areas and abnormalities with a mix of precisely targeted tension and specific movements on the part of the patient. Again, depth and direction are essential to reach the affected areas and help tight muscles relax.

The therapist applies pressure to the areas, often close to bony prominences. They may also move parts of your body and ask how much pain is felt at various places. Again, Rapid NFR treatments often cause some discomfort, but that stimulation can help restore function and flexibility. In addition, the release of restrictions on your tissue affects neurological change to bring a release or reset from future pain.

Who needs Rapid NFR?

A single old injury can cause traumatic damage and spread symptoms. That’s why anyone experiencing chronic pain and movement restriction should see if these conditions are caused by the central nervous system. Rapid Neurofascial Reset is for anyone struggling with constant muscle tension and ligament or joint pain. Active people who want a rapid return to life should consider this treatment.

The conditions treated include: arthritic joints, back pain, baker’s cysts, bunions, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, frozen shoulder, hamstring / quad pulls, headaches / migraines, knee pain / problems, past and recent injuries, Plantar Fasciitis, sacroiliac dysfunction, scar tissue from surgeries, sciatica, shin splints, shoulder pain, TemporoMandibular Joints (TMJ), tendinitis / tendonitis, tennis/golfers elbow, vertigo and tinnitus, and whiplash.

Does Rapid NFR work?

You won’t know without an assessment and first treatment. Rapid Neurofascial Reset therapists treat what they can, and most patients feel noticeably better with just one treatment, often within a few hours or days of their session. Major improvements to chronic conditions have been reported within that time.

Biopsies on old injuries have been shown to contain large amounts of what we call neuro-immunological factors. These are thought to be the leftovers of chronic inflammation. For that very reason, rapid NFR targets the neurological system, the cause rather than the symptoms. The movement and tissue massage treatment flush the area with neuropeptides which are known to break up neuro-immunological factors.

Summing It Up

Rapid NFR is still relatively recent among therapeutic practitioners but it combines many older styles of treatment. The reset affects the central nervous system of your body, targeting old inflammation and injuries that place painful “locks” on the tissue. Sessions take about 30 to 45 minutes and include an assessment followed by massage treatment. Rapid NFR is helpful for many people experiencing chronic pain and movement restrictions.

If you want to live independently, be active and involved in your life, and feel comfortable again within your body, then Rapid might be for you! Click here to book a free consultation. We’ll start by creating a custom plan for your needs, helping you regain ease of movement and discussing the right treatment for your specific needs.

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