By Christine Graf
After graduating from the Swedish Institute, a massage therapy school in New York City, Albany native Virginia Touhey, embarked on a decades-long career as a massage therapist. The owner of Fascial Connections, Touhey has offices in Clifton Park and Saratoga.
“I got into this about 30 years ago just kind of by accident,” she said. “I had been working as a carpenter for about 10 years, and I was in between jobs. I heard about this massage school in New York City, so I went to check it out.”
The rest is history, and Touhey worked for Stratton Mountain Sports Center and the Crystal Spa in Saratoga before venturing out on her own. Although she started her career doing Swedish massage, she now specializes in myofascial release (MFR), a technique that involves the application of gentle, sustained pressure to myofascial connective tissue—the tissue that wraps, connects, and supports muscles. By applying sustained pressure to trigger points in the connective tissue, MFR can help to reduce pain, release tightness, and improve circulation and mobility. MFR has been shown to be particularly effective in improving pain and physical function in patients with chronic lower back pain.
An Advanced Myofascial Release Therapist, Touhey was about five years into her career as a massage therapist when she received her MFR training from John Barnes, an internationally renowned physical therapist. A leading authority of MFR, Barnes has trained more than 100,000 therapists and physicians.
“A lot of times you will see on someone’s business card or on their website that they do myofascial release, but that could mean they took a one-day class,” said Touhey. “I’ve had about 150 hours of training, and I’ve worked side-by-side with John Barnes.”
Many of Touhey’s clients suffer from pain, both acute and chronic. Common complaints include back pain, shoulder pain, and neck pain.
“I help people with their pain, and I work a lot on mobility,” she said. “I work in a similar way to other massage therapists. It’s just that once I start working, I work to address the connective tissue.”
Touhey said that people are surprised to learn that MFR can be used to treat a wide variety of health concerns.
“TMJ is a big one, and believe it or not, so is acid reflux. People don’t understand that acid reflux can be from a stuck core.”
According to Touhey, she also works with athletes, those with injuries or mobility issues.
“Someone might say their leg is just not striking the ground well when they are running or that their shoulders are not rotating fully when they swing the golf club. It’s usually an imbalance in their mobility, and I can improve their athletic ability by improving their mobility.”
Some of Touhey’s clients aren’t suffering from an identifiable ailment, instead reporting that something in their body feels “stuck” and needs release. It is something she experienced herself many years ago when working in construction.
“My back felt stuck, and it needed to be released. It really needed to be opened up,” she said. “When people tell me they feel stuck, I’m happy to unstick them and make them more mobile in their life.”
Although some individuals experience noticeable results after just one 60-minute session, Touhey encourages people to have realistic expectations.
“Sometimes it is one and done, but a lot of times people will come in with a chronic situation that has flared up but that has been going on for a year,” she said. “You aren’t going to have one 60-minute session with me and say that it’s been fixed. If someone really wants to get rid of their pain, I suggest that they start out by coming once a week for two or three weeks. I am also very adamant about giving them homework–things that they can do at home to myofascially stretch.”
In addition to practicing MFR, Touhey is receiving training in lymphatic drainage massage. A specialized technique designed to stimulate the flow of lymph fluids through the body’s lymphatic system, lymphatic drainage massage can aid in the removal of waste and toxins from tissues.
“In layman’s terms, that will allow me to address issues with swelling. After a person has surgery, I would work on scar tissue connective-wise and on the swelling lymphatic-wise.”
Touhey’s offices are located a 6 Franklin Square in Saratoga Springs and 306 Grooms Road in Clifton Park.