What is fascia?

Fascia is a three dimensional fibrous tissue that extends from head to toe without interruption. The fascia surrounds every nerve, muscle, bone, blood vessel, organ and cell in the body. The fascia is one continuous membrane and affects every system in your body. It is, in essence, a web of fibers, much like a spider web, where a restriction in one part can cause a profound effect on any other part. Each part of the body is connected to the next like yarn in a sweater. In a normal and healthy state, fascia is mobile and flexible, free to move. When you experience pain and trauma, the fascia loses its ability to move, creating tension in the body. The tension in turn creates  more pain and restrictions.

What affects the fascia?

Trauma effects the fascia by creating restriction in the system and can come in many forms.

Physical injury such as surgery, muscle injuries, repetitive stress, postural effects, scars, inflammation, inflammatory processes are among the many things that can cause restrictions in the fascia.

Emotional trauma that has occurred throughout our lives also are a cause for restrictions. Our body literally keeps the score of our experiences and our cells have memories of all that has happened in our story. These traumas live in our bodies and are a contributing factor to ongoing pain and dysfunction. Releasing the restrictions releases the trauma and frees the body to move and function in an optimal balanced way.

How do restrictions effect the body?

Myofascial restrictions produce tensile pressure of about 2000 pounds per square inch, resulting in pain that does not show up on standard test like x-ray or MRI. This type of tensile stress is equivalent to two horses standing on your foot. This puts pressure on all the internal structures of the body, nerves, muscles, organs and limits the  ability of these structures to move freely  and function.

What is Myofascial Release?