Fascia… what is it?
You may have heard of fascia recently, but do you know what it is or does?
Fascia research has been improving and is becoming better understood. This helps us to understand what is happening in the body and how they are linked to other areas of the body.
Fascia is a continuous web of 3D fibrous tissue passing through all muscles, bones, vessels, organs and nerves.
Fascia has 3 layers
So if the body is made up of continual lines of fascia surrounding the muscles, do we have separate muscles or does this mean we have one giant muscle separated by fascia into pockets?
Fascia distortion is caused by poor posture and movement patterns. The distortion can cause a domino affect of problems. When we keep loading the fascia it can become dehydrated, causing stiffness/ trigger points (sore areas).
Healthy Fascia is hydrated and pliable allowing smooth movement.
The stiffness/ trigger point with fascial distortion can restrict the rest of the fascial line, like a snag in a jumper. The snag travels through the line and starts to effect other areas of the body. So the fascia snag needs to be moved to allow smooth movement through the fascia.
We have all experienced a tight point in a muscle at some point. Sometimes a little rest will be enough to get it to settle. But if it doesn’t go and you don’t get it sorted, it can niggle away. A few weeks down the line you have another sore area… It is quite possible that the two are connected through the fascial line. The original problem area could be restricting the fascia causing other areas to become dysfunctional, as they are not able to move as they should do.
This is where myofascial release comes in…
‘Myofascial release is an application used to alleviate tension, restrictions and adhesions in the myofascia in order to restore balance and function. ‘
Myofascial release techniques include:
- Instrument assisted massage
- Cupping
- Trigger point release
- Foam Rolling
- Massage balls
Hopefully this has given you a small insight and understanding to fascia. It should now make a little more sense why when you have an injury in one area, you can end up with other issues down the line if the initial area is not treated. Due to how the fascia lines/slings work, conciquently causing areas of disfunction somewhere else in the body along the fascial sling.