What is fascia?  Why have I never heard of it?  Why don’t doctors talk about it?

One client intuitively called his fascia his “internal Spider Man suit.”

MFR therapists often use the terms fascia and connective tissue interchangeably.  It runs like a three-dimensional spider web throughout our entire body.  It goes through and around every part of our body down to the cellular level.  It is one uninterrupted structure from the top of our head to the tips of our toes. 

The elastic component (elastin) of fascia makes it extremely flexible and stretchy.  Tendons have lots of elastin.

The collagenous component (collagen) gives fascia incredible strength.  Fascia is capable of producing pressure of 2,000 pounds per square inch.

Fascia provides support, structure, and is the conductor of electro-magnetic impulses to every part of our body.  Fascia is the stuff of the intercellular environment.  Fluid must pass through it for our tissues to be hydrated, for cells to take in nutrients and release their waste products.  Tissue that is walled off by fascial restrictions quickly accumulates toxins, becoming starved for fresh water and oxygen.  We experience this as tenderness, soreness, trigger points and restricted range of motion.

You probably haven’t heard of fascia because traditionally it is thought to be inert tissue. In medical school anatomy is taught using cadavers.  Comparing the fascia of a cadaver to the fascia of a living person is like comparing a telephone pole to a living tree.  It’s not the same stuff!

At the microscopic level, fascia is constructed of tiny, hollow fluid-filled tubules.  This was discovered with the electron microscope, which magnifies 10,000x and more.  These tubules conduct energy in the form of light through our bodies.  It can be said that this light energy is our “spark”, “essence”, maybe even life itself. 

Fascia contains tissue memory.  There is a cumulative effect in the retention of physical and emotional traumas we experience throughout our lives.  Our body’s response to trauma is to shore up areas that have been hurt by manufacturing additional connective tissue cells.  The area becomes thicker, tougher and drier, and layers of tissue that should slide over one another now stick together.  This is how trauma causes restrictions in our fascia.

As restrictions accumulate the fascia exerts abnormal pressure on joints, organs, and blood vessels.  Just imagine 2,000 pounds of pressure wrapping around your heart, lungs, arteries or eyeballs, pulling the base of your skull down toward your shoulders.  Fascia is interconnected through our entire body so restrictions in one area of the body may cause symptoms in another, seemingly unrelated area.  For example, imbalance in the pelvis may be causing neck pain or headache.

Myofascial release is a whole-body approach to open up the entire system, helping the bodymind release restrictions and holding patterns.  Our bodies return to a more natural, efficient way of being in space and responding to gravity.  The light returns.

Acupuncture, massage, yoga, Pilates, strengthening programs – any form of movement and bodywork you might enjoy will all work better after your system is opened up with MFR.