All About Fascia
By: Dana Brandt
We’ve all experienced pain and stiffness in our bodies, and we often attribute it to creaky joints or “tight” muscles.
And maybe you do a quick stretch, take a collagen supplement, or even take some pain medication. But whatever you seem to do, that pain and stiffness is persistent and never fully goes away.
What if I told you that the main source of that stiffness, achiness, and lack of flexibility could be from a body part you never knew existed?
Fascia.
It is believed that the fascia contains approximately six times as many sensory nerves as muscle tissue. No wonder you are in pain!
So, what exactly is fascia, and how can you reduce the discomfort caused by it?
What is fascia?
Fascia is the connective tissue that forms a web around all of your internal “stuff”. It surrounds your bones, vessels, muscles, nerves, and organs. It basically connects all of our internal structures together and gives them their shape – kind of like a three-dimensional flexible scaffolding inside our bodies. It helps to transfer energy across structures and helps to transform the work of our muscles into smooth movement.
The fascia should be supple and flexible while still maintaining structure. Think of it like a giant spider web – thin and flexible enough to take on the shape of whatever it surrounds but strong enough to maintain its integrity to keep things in their place. It’s the Elastigirl of your insides. Okay, not really, but it’s a fun analogy.
Fascia stretches and moves…until it doesn’t. Sometimes, fascia thickens or gets stuck, which can lead to stiffness, lack of flexibility, and even pain.
What Causes “Tight” Fascia?
Fascia can stick—both to itself and to the material it surrounds. It can also stick to surrounding structures, or you might feel little knots or bumps. This can be caused by a number of factors.
- Repetitive movement. Do the same thing over and over again, such as running or cycling?
- Too little movement. Do you sit at a desk or in a car all day every day and don’t move your body through a full range of motion?
- Injury of any kind (including surgery) can also result in fascial adhesions.
Fascia and Movement
Fascia helps us to move smoothly and effectively by connecting all of our internal structures together. It allows muscles to move, nerves and vessels to slide between joints, and organs to shift and move as influenced by the body.
Fascia enables the transfer of energy and the distribution of tension so our movements are smooth and coordinated.
Fascia and Emotions
Something that may surprise you is how fascia is tied to emotions.
Because of the high number of nerves throughout the fascia, dysfunction in the fascia can result in emotional changes as well as physical discomfort.
Have you ever felt weepy while experiencing widespread achiness? Me too.
Fascial pain can lead to emotional changes, which can lead to further postural changes (the way you slump forward when you don’t feel great). So, reducing physical pain can help improve the emotional aspects of pain as well.
Is It Fascia Pain?
Typically, when there is a dysfunction in a muscle, you will experience pain with a specific movement. If you hurt your bicep, pain occurs when you use that bicep.
But with fascia pain, discomfort is usually not triggered by a specific movement. Widespread achiness and stiffness are common complaints. Some people even complain that their skin hurts or is hypersensitive or that their pain is more intense in one area of their body.
With myofascial pain syndrome, fascial adhesions can worsen over time and develop into trigger points.
Unlike with muscle injury, gentle movement often decreases fascial pain and improves range of motion.
Three Ways to Reduce Fascia Pain
Heat
Applying heat to an area of fascial pain helps to restore elasticity, allowing you to stretch and move more effectively. So, soak in a hot tub bath or enjoy a relaxing 20-minute session in a sauna.
Move more
Stretching, especially full-body movement like gentle yoga, manipulates the fascia and helps to reduce pain and stiffness. The key is to move the area in all directions. Be sure to twist and bend and stretch in as many directions as possible and hold those positions for extended periods to allow the fascia to release. I recommend holding each position for a least a minimum of 2-minutes.
I highly recommend every morning to move all your joints within your body through their full range-of-motion. Just like Ian from Markow Training Systems does in the video below.
Massage
Massage therapy provides targeted treatment in specific areas. It allows you to address an issue more comprehensively by generating heat, calming the nervous system, and treating muscle and fascia issues simultaneously.
Massage therapy can also address any trigger points you may have since trigger points are often hard to self-treat.
Conclusion
We all experience pain and stiffness from time to time. If chronic achiness and stiffness have been troubling you, a consistent program of heat, movement, and bodywork can be enormously effective at reducing discomfort and improving performance.
Schedule your appointment here.
