Have you ever noticed the thin, translucent film covering a raw chicken breast? That is fascia, connective tissue that wraps around every muscle, bone and fiber in your body. And up until about 10 years ago, fascia was dismissed as virtually meaningless – something to be pulled away so you could get to the good stuff.
However, those of us in the medical and body work fields have discovered that fascia is more than a covering. Fascia is what holds all of our internal parts together and makes them move smoothly. Fascia is vital to your body’s wellbeing. When your fascia is damaged, your body feels stiff and achy.
How do you keep your fascia in good shape? By staying hydrated, stretching every day (especially before any physical activity) and by listening to your body.
Unfortunately, your fascia is constantly under attack. When you slipped on the ice walking to your car, a wrinkle formed in your fascia. When you strained to pick up that overloaded bag of groceries, another wrinkle formed. When you spent hours hunched in your garden weeding, when you forgot to stretch before playing golf. All of those activities created new wrinkles in your fascia. All of those wrinkles add up to little aches and pain, stiffness when you move, and your back going out when you reach for your glasses on the coffee table.
Because your fascia is wrapped around every bit of you, all of your body parts are intricately connected. That’s why damage to your fascia in your right shoulder can lead to lower back pain.
Fortunately, you can repair the damage to your fascia. That’s where I and other massage therapists come in. We target the areas that are damaged to smooth out the wrinkles in your fascia. By stretching and smoothing your fascia, we can restore the suppleness that allows your body to move freely.
If you’ve been feeling tight and sore, or if you have pain that just won’t go away, call me. I use a variety of massage therapy techniques, plus rolling when appropriate, to address your individual needs.
And if you want a great visual of fascia, check out this video from Gil Hedley: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VCfclmGrjMk. Be warned, however, that Gil uses a cadaver for his demonstrations.