Mysterious Webs Of Fascia

Feeling as stiff and creaky as Frankenstein's monster?  You may just be stuck in sticky webs of fascia….

​What Is Fascia?

Fascia is a connective tissue that forms a mysterious internal netting that looks very much like spider webs. Your fascia is made of dense, sticky protein fibers that weave continuously throughout the entire body, wrapping around and supporting your all of your cells, muscles, muscle fibers, bones, and even your organs.  

Healthy fascia is normally supple, stretchy, and flexible, allowing it to slide and glide across muscles and around joints. Fascia can get stiff and sticky when you don’t move around enough, but it can also get twisted and bound up when you move too much, do a lot of repetitive motion, or become injured.

Signs that your fascia may be stuck can include feeling stiff and creaky, popping joints, areas of sensitivity and tightness, chronic pain, reduced range of motion, and feeling like you are trapped in a “straightjacket”.

​Tricks For Getting Fascia Unstuck

There’s a saying that "motion is the lotion" for sticky fascia.  Gentle exercise, stretching, and staying well hydrated can help keep your fascia healthy, and many people find relief using self-massage, tennis balls, and foam rollers.  However, sometimes it’s a good idea to get some help from the pro’s.

Massage therapists work with a lot of fascia everyday, and they use many tricks and techniques to keep your muscles and fascia working together.  A frequently used and very effective technique used by massage therapists is myofascial release.  By applying gentle and sustained pressure to myofascial connective tissues, a skilled therapist can eliminate pain and restore healthy motion.

​Myofascial Release & Your Next Massage

Many of you may have probably experienced myofascial release techniques without realizing it.  Myofascial release is usually performed directly on skin without oils or lotions, allowing the therapist to accurately detect fascial restrictions and apply the appropriate amount of sustained pressure to facilitate release of the fascia. 

These techniques can be incorporated into any of our session types. The next time you visit, ask your massage therapist to incorporate some myofascial release techniques to get you unstuck!