Spending any amount of time in the same office as Dawn, MA, LMT, CPMT, CFMT, CMD, MMT, Etc. Etc., one is going to hear the word fascia. One day, I am going to endeavor to count the number of times I hear it in one work period. Much like the rest of the things that go on in the office, I have come to the conclusion that, rather than fight it, I will embrace it, and what she has (un)intended for annoyance, I will use for good.
So, what’s the deal with fascia? First of all, Johns Hopkins Medicine defines it as the thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. (1)
Holds…everything…in place. As grand as that sounds, it is even more involved in your life than that. Science is just now, within the last 10 years, developing and documenting an understanding of fascia. In regards to movement and functional performance, we look at fascia as it relates to two other systems that are very familiar to us: the skeletal system (your bones), and the muscular system (the system that creates movement for the bones). The fascia is the third system, and it connects the skeletal to the muscle. (It does much more in the body, but we will look at that later.) Ideally, the fascia allows the muscles to move freely with the bones, gliding smoothly.
Let’s take a little detour, the scenic route, if you will. Acupuncture has been used effectively in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years with the purported goal to restore the balance of Yin and Yang as it flows through meridians. While that sounds weird to our Western ears, the science we use to describe what has always worked is finally catching up. Without derailing this with the full blown explanation, there are several studies supporting the anatomical and functional correspondence between the meridians network and the fascial system network. (2) The funny thing about the fascial system is that it does not show up on any diagnostic imaging, like X-rays, CT, or MRI, that we are so fond of here.
Don’t get me wrong, I love science and being able to know the why behind it all, but Western medicine, for hundreds of years, has disregarded this third system called fascia. I once heard a doctor, who had gone through medical school a number of years ago, describing the cadaver lab, where the students gained the bulk of their knowledge of anatomy. She said it was common practice to literally cut the fascia away and throw it in the garbage. That sounds like my brief stint as an Army mechanic before I reclassified into another MOS. “I am not sure what this part that came off does; let me just put it in the ‘extra parts’ box.” Expedient, and I still have a good understanding of the machine…but it is definitely not complete or ideal.
Back to our bodies. How to describe fascia…Picture yourself wearing one of those body suits, but your body suit is tightly fitted, not too tight, but it isn’t loose. Now, can you imagine the havoc that would be created by “knotting” up one part, say your calf area. Remembering that this suit leaves just enough room to contain you, can you see how “knotting” any part will affect another? I have observed anecdotal evidence of “frozen shoulder” being remedied by focused work on the calf muscles. Imbalance results in increased or decreased myofascial tonus, or diminished neuromuscular coordination, which are big factors in many of the manifestations of pain in your body, including what feels like your muscles. (3)
One last tidbit before this article closes. Fascia contains 6-10 times more sensory nerves than does muscle. Think back to a time you did something damaging to your muscles, for instance working out, or even yard work, when your muscles were sore the next day or the day after. That’s a good thing, as it indicates your body’s adaptation to the work imposed. Imagine that pain though, 6 to 10 times amplified. When your body experiences any bit of imbalance in the fascia, it leaves you in pain. You might feel it in different ways. You might have that nagging pain for days or weeks. Perhaps you have “learned to live with it” for so long that you forgot it was there; however, your body knows, and maybe you walk a little differently, or you avoid certain activities.
The cool thing about fascia, and figuring out the possible issues that are causing your imbalances, is that it can be fixed. Through massage, certain instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation (IASTM), and exercises and movement, you can return to more normal function. Heck, you might feel better than you have in years.
Our next article will explore some of that. In the mean time, you can contact us here to set yourself up on the path to feeling better.
References
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/muscle-pain-it-may-actually-be-your-fascia
- Bianco G. (2019). Fascial neuromodulation: an emerging concept linking acupuncture, fasciology, osteopathy, and neuroscience. European journal of translational mycologists, 29(3), 8831. https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2019.8331
- Klingler, W., Velders, M., Hoppe, K., Pedro, M., & Schleip, R. (2014). Clinical relevance of fascial tissue and dysfunctions. Current pain and headache reports, 18(8), 439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-014-0439-y