What is Fascia?
Fascia is connective tissue; it connects every cell in the body. In a more gross sense, it wraps up every muscle; it is the tendons and ligaments that connect muscle and bone.
It moves and contains us, and is rich with nerve endings that communicate between areas of the body and the brain.
When Fascia gets tight from not moving, muscles get tighter, and flexibility is lost. In addition, nerves don’t slide through tissues as well, and pain can result. Structures don’t ‘slide and glide’ relative to each other, and this stimulates the nerve endings in fascia, causing pain.
Fascia itself has 6 times as many nerve endings as muscle.
To relieve pain in the fascia, different types of massage or stretching can be used. See the blogs on stretching and physio myofascial release for more information.
What are Fascial “Slings”?
Fascia through it’s connections creates “slings” throughout the body. The slings travel up the front and back of the body, up the sides (L & R) and there are spiral lines, functional lines and a deep line.
Below are some examples of “fascial slings” and some examples of stretches to ensure their mobility and flexibility (from Thomas Myers’ book Anatomy Trains).
Examples of Fascial Lines (Slings) and Yoga poses to restore flexibility:
1. Superficial Front Line
2. Lateral line (side)
Often tight after a rib injury, or when you have outer hip, knee or ankle pain.
3. Spiral Line
This can be tight after a fall or an ankle sprain. Often implicated if you try to catch yourself while falling; eg holding the stair railings as you fall.
4. Deep Front Line
The body’s myofascial core. This is the one most affected by the stress.
To relax the deep front line -> Breathe or do Yoga Nidra.
Anatomical images are from Anatomy Trains book by Tom Meyer
Have your body assessed at Physio Therapy Yoga in Milsons Point on the Lower North Shore, Sydney.
Fascial ‘release’ can
- Reduce pain and restore movement.
- We treat the cause of long-term myofascial imbalance.
- Be used to treat yourself to speed up your healing, e.g., self-massage.
- Speed up pain relief,
- Improve your mobility and flexibility,
- Improve posture and
- Make walking or running more efficient.
Note: Please do not attempt these exercises if you are not familiar with them; get guidance from a physiotherapist.
