What is fascia and what does it have to do with pain?

You may have heard the word fascia being mentioned by your therapist, chiropractor or yoga teacher. But what is it and what functions does it perform in our bodies? How does it cause pain and what can we do about it? Read on to find out more. And what on earth has an orange got to do with it?!

What is fascia
Fascia is “the soft tissue component of the connective tissue system“. It forms ligaments, tendons and wraps around the brain, nerves, bones, muscle fibers and bundles of muscle fibers. These fasciae were previously labelled as different structures yet the mind-boggling truth is that these things are one fascia and all interconnected through a silk-like spider’s web. If your body was an orange, your skin would be the outside orange peel, your muscles would be the fleshy orange fruit itself and the thin white membrane surrounding each orange segment would be the fascia.

Fascia plays a number of important roles in your body, including:

• Structural Support: it forms a network that holds the body together, providing shape and support for muscles, organs, and other tissues.
  

• Movement and Flexibility: it allows for smooth movement and flexibility by enabling tissues to slide and glide against each other, reducing friction.
  

• Force Transmission: it transmits forces from muscles to tendons and joints, facilitating movement and stability.
  

• Organ Protection and Support: it protects and supports internal organs, blood vessels, and nerves, ensuring their proper function.
  

• Nerve and Blood Vessel Support: it surrounds and supports nerves and blood vessels, contributing to their proper function and protection.
  

• Sensory Role: fascia is rich in nerve endings, making it highly responsive to the autonomic nervous system. During times of stress, the sympathetic nervous system (the body’s fight-or-flight mechanism) can signal the fascia to tighten as a protective response.
  

• Interconnectedness: it is a continuous network that interpenetrates and surrounds all body structures, enabling all body systems to operate in an integrated manner.

Fascial pain and stiffness
Healthy fascia is smooth, slippery and flexible, but if it becomes stressed it can tighten up and cause pain and restricted movement. This pain can manifest in a number of different ways, including deep, aching pains in muscles, pain that doesn't go away or gets worse, a tender knot in a muscle, trouble sleeping due to pain, a general feeling of being not well (malaise) or tiredness.

Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can influence the elasticity and hydration of the fascia. Chronic stress reduces the fascia’s flexibility, creating restrictions. Even more fascinating, though, is the human body's remarkable ability to “remember” emotional experiences. Negative emotions, such as grief, anger, or anxiety, can leave somatic imprints in the fascial system, much like a scar left by physical trauma. Factors that cause fascia tension (adhesion - literally ‘to be stuck down’) include:

• A lifestyle of limited physical activity (too little movement day after day)

• Repetitive movement that overworks one part of the body

• Trauma such as surgery or injury

• An overload of stress hormones

• Emotional trauma
  

Fascial restrictions do not show up on CAT scans, MRI’s or x-rays, and many people can suffer from unresolved physical or emotional pain due to blockages or trauma in their fascia. Fascial tension is common and most of us will have restricted fascial tissue somewhere in our bodies. For it to function properly fascia likes to move, something which is an issue in a world where many of us have desk-based jobs, excessive driving and repetitive movements within the workplace. It also likes to be hydrated, so that means drinking plenty of water, which many of us by our admittance do not do.

Have I got fascial pain?
Determining whether your pain is due to muscles, joints or fascia can be difficult. In general, muscle injuries and joint problems feel worse the more you move, for example, a sprain or a strain. Fascial tension tends to feel better with movement and also responds well to heat, which helps bring back the tissue’s elasticity. However adhesions can worsen over time, causing the fascia to compress and contort the muscles it surrounds. This can result in hard, tender knots in the muscles, called trigger points. Myofascial pain syndrome is a condition in which those trigger points cause pain to occur during movement when pressure is applied to them, or in seemingly unrelated parts of the body (referred pain).

How we can relieve fasical pain
A multi-faceted approach works best when dealing with fascial pain and treating it requires using more than one therapy. While stretching, yoga, and other self-care practices can help maintain fascia health, any deeply entrenched emotional tension often requires professional intervention. Myofascial release therapists are trained to identify subtle restrictions and imbalances in the body, and then target them with specific techniques that self-release does not always reach. Professional therapists are also able to ‘hold space’ for the processing and letting go of any stored emotions.

Doing fascial work requires a willingness to follow intuition, a deep sense of connection to the body and the development of a ‘listening touch’. Whether direct techniques (Structural Integration or Rolfing), indirect techniques (myofascial release or craniosacral work) or a combination of both are used, the results can be very powerful. Conditions such as whiplash, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, RSI, sporting injuries, rotator cuff issues, fibromyalgia, pelvic and menstrual problems, IBS and headaches can all be treated successfully. Long-held emotions can be released in a safe and structured way.

If you work with me, I will assess and address your fascial restrictions, promoting physical and emotional harmony. I do this by unwinding layers of tension, allowing the body to regain balance. I use a combination of techniques to do this, including hands-on myofascial release, heat therapy, movement (such as yoga and chi gong) and mindfulness (which can help to shift our mental perception of pain). Don’t suffer in silence - book a session with me today and let’s get your body and mind back to balance.

References
Chaitow, L. (2014) Somatic dysfunction and fascia’s gliding potential. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 18 (1), 1-3

Duncan, R. (2016) Myofascial Release. Human Kinetics: USA.

Fairweather, R. and Mari, M. S. (2016) Massage Fusion: the Jing method for the treatment of chronic pain. Handspring Publishing, Edinburgh.

Karrasch, N. (2012) Freeing Emotions and Energy through Myofascial Release. Singing Dragons: London.

Myers, T. W. (2001) Anatomy Trains, 1st Edition. Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh

Myers, T. W. and Earles, J. (2017) Fascial Release for Structural Balance, Revised Edition. Lotus Publishing: Chichester.