FACIA
That's a weird word, isn't it. What is it?
Well, it's something that we ALL have within our bodies. The best way to describe it is that it's like that stringy 'stuff' that's all over chicken breast when you go to prepare it for cooking. Because chicken breast is muscle, it's covered in it. And, yes, its covers all of our muscle too.
Let me explain a little more.
We all have skin covering our bodies. And under that skin is all of our connective and muscle tissue. Our muscle tissue is what moves us. Quite literally. If we didn't have any muscles, we would not be able to move our limbs to get around.
Connecting our muscles to our limbs are our tendons. And thrown in there are some ligaments to connect certain joints as well. (For example, there are only a tiny amount of small muscles within our hands when compared to the rest of our body, we primarily use ligaments to move the finger joints, connected to the muscles within our forearm.)
So, what's Fascia got to do with all this?
Well, Fascia is the very fine tissue that surrounds our muscles. It's there for a couple of reasons. The main reason is to keep everything separated, allowing the muscles to 'slide' smoothly when contracted and used. It's wet, and slippery, so is good for such a job. It basically creates a protective 'sheath' around our muscles and internal organs because it can be quite stiff and resistant to over stretching.
But, recently, we have learned that it's not just there to 'package' our muscles and organs. It also have sensory impact, and responds to stress with the ability to contract separately to the muscle.
In understanding some of that, it's not hard to imagine that Fascia also has a lot to do with how we move and use our bodies. How we move, or more importantly, how we don't move when our Fascia is having problems.
In the same way that an over strained muscle can knot or cause a cramp when we have moved incorrectly. Our Fascia can limit our mobility for multiple reasons as well.
Someone once described it like wearing a t-shirt. Grab your collar and give a good tug. The rest of the shirt comes with the collar, and then falls back into place when released. Fascia is all through your body, and you can't just move one piece of it.
Now, grab that collar again, and hold it for 8 hours while you sit at a computer and work, or behind the wheel of a car. Or, pull at that collar over 2000 times per day while you run or walk all those steps you monitor.
Being an organic material and part of your body, your Fascia is able to repair itself and heal, unlike your shirt, but it also fatigues like the rest of your body. However, it can also over stretch, as well as lose flexibility over time. Think about holding that shirt while sitting. The shirt loses it's original shape eventually. Just like Fascia if your are leaving your muscles in the same place for long periods of time, over and over again.
Just like a hospital patient who gets bed sores from being immobile, your Fascia can be damaged or torn from repetitive movements, or lose flexibility from repetitive movements.
Then there is the issue of dehydration, just like any other part of the human body, and lack of proper diet to replace lost minerals and salts. As well as over hydration creating a PH neutral problem throughout the body. (The PH of blood, for example is usually 7.4. The stomach is acidic, but the intestine is alkaline. Water is neutral at 7.) Your Fascia reacts to these things, becoming both over tight, and less flexible.
The good news is that when the Fascia begins to create a movement issue for the musculature within the body, it is definitely correctable.
Now your are asking how.
You need your body to stay well hydrated. When exercising, you lose more fluid through sweat, so that needs to be replaced, along with the minerals being sweated out. I have always recommended to my clients that if they are urinating between 3 to 5 times per day with healthy colour, then they are reasonable well hydrated. (Urine should be a pale yellow, to goldish colour.)
Before exercising you should always 'activate' your muscles correctly. And / or do some active stretching with some form of flexibility routine. I don't recommend too much long term foam roller use, as I believe that it should only be used for a short term fix to an urgent Fascia problem, to then be followed by a quality consistent training routine to prevent future need of such devices. (for my clients, I usually spend their first few weeks working with me to instil these important routines into their behaviour to hopefully prevent future issues.)
After your workouts it's also important to have a good stretching routine that works the whole body. Don't just stretch the muscles that you worked on that particular session, such as leg day. You will have used more of your body than you realised, so stretch everything. Front, back, upper and lower. I teach all my clients about post-workout static stretching to aid in recovery, as well as re-mobilise the muscles for their next day.
And, importantly, relax. Find some time for yourself and to reset your mind. As I mentioned earlier, Fascia reacts to stress. Most of your stress is emotional and mental. You should learn some differing techniques to reduce that stress and allow your body to recover, just as much as your mind. The two are linked.
When you start to understand what's happening within your body, you can then assist it to heal.
And, I'm sure that you want to be able to move freely on a daily basis without restriction and pain.
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