The Glue Of The Body - FASCIA

Imagine your muscles being similar to the pith of an orange (the white/translucent part!). The part that encloses every pocket of liquid orange! Except in our case, it's the proteins that make up the muscle - actin & myosin (more on these in a different blog!). Fascia encases these proteins and all other connective tissues! In other words, fascia holds together the whole body! When fascia is healthy it allows free movement & flexibility, gliding easily. An easy way to see if your fascia is happy is to see if you can lift your skin away from your muscles. It's ok if there's a slight burning sensation, you're just unsticking your fascia! An acute/recent injury, chronic injuries, body posture - ergonomics at home & work, scars can all cause incredible restrictions in Range of Motion (ROM) & cause unnecessary chronic pain. Having Fascial bodywork performed may alleviate pain & increase ROM. Fascial work is often done with no too little oil, oftentimes shea butter. This work is very slow & with little motion from the therapists, for example, the therapist will sink their hands into the layers of the skin then slowly move in one direction, here you may feel a slight burn or stretching feeling, then moving into the other directions. Some modalities such as Rolfing or Structural Integration focus solely on this while other bodyworks simply add it into their toolbox.