a thin sheath of fibrous tissue enclosing a muscle or other organ.
what IS fascia?
To know the importance of it we need to understand what fascia is in general.
Fascia is your connective tissue network, it’s like a web that is connected from head to toe fusing everything in your body.
It gives us our body shape and holds us together. Actually you can look at it as a “second skin”.
Fascia can be found immediately underneath the skin, around muscles, group of muscles, organs, nerves, bones and cells. For example it allows the muscles, organs and nerves to move freely alongside other structures and it reduces friction in between them.
So why is this fascia so important for us and our body?
In a healthy state the fascia is relaxed and very flexible and this capacity allows us to respond to movements and activities properly.
But as every other structure, fascia is not free of any damage. Fascial dysfunction can occur because of lack of movement, poor postures, trauma and unhealthy diet.
If so, it becomes tense, inflexible and it loses it’s ability to slide and glide.
AND IF IT’S NOT FUNCTIONING WELL?
Fascial dysfunction is associated with pain, stiffness, fatigue and limited range of motion. If you exercise and you have one part in your body that has lost his flexibility it will tighten somewhere else to compensate it’s immobility. This in return can cause pain in body parts even if you haven’t had any problems before.
It is very important to think of fascia as one whole piece. If a trauma occurs there will be a reaction of your body, affecting a part of it for good or worse.
Therefore, it is necessary to keep your fascia agile so it can react to every movement or activity without compensation. If your fascia loses this ability the risk of getting injured increases even more.
What can you do to keep your fascia healthy?
Water: Fascia consists of 70% of water so keep yourself hydrated.
Massage: This will break the adhesions between the fascia and the other tissues next to it. Keeping the lubrication and a healthy range of motion
Cupping: The negative decompression treats fascial adhesions and therefore releases fascial restrictions and tension
Foam roller: Foam roll your fascia but consider that this tissue is really slow in reacting. Roll slowly through it or stay on sore spots up to 5 minutes until you feel a release. “No pain, no gain” is clearly the wrong approach.
Where? : Everywhere actually… Start with your feet and work your way up
Move more: if you don’t use it, you lose it!