Fascia ( pro.

Fasha )
What is it ?
It's a soft tissue membrane that glistens with a slick lubricating
fluid . It is composed of collagen and elastin and forms a
continuous envelope that extends from head to toe , front and
back , surrounding every muscle , every organ , every nerve , every
blood vessel and every bone . It comprises of up to 7% of your total
bodyweight .

The thoracolumbar fascia connecting

to fascia in the lower body

It literally knits us together , forming a web that binds , supports ,

connects and separates all the regions of the body . It can be
considered as another skeleton of the body but one made of soft
tissue ( many muscles are attached to it in a similar way as they are
to bone ) .

What does it look like ?

There are different types of fascia from superficial to deep
below is a superficial type around a muscle ;

This type is soft and pliable others are tough and unyielding .

What does it do ?
The study and research of fascia is still in its infancy and we are a
long way from understanding many of its properties .
It relays information about the forces applied on muscles
from one muscle grouping to the next , promotes their
contraction as a co-ordinated movement and transmits the
load between them
Allows muscles to slide past each other
It can contract in the same way as a muscle
It is extremely strong up to 8X stronger than muscle
It has a role in directing blood and lymph towards the heart
It can transmit nerve impulses they can travel at
122 m/s through a nerve but are even faster in fascia !
Has a role in preventing infection

Diagram showing how fascia connects

the head to the feet

Consider what happens when you stand on one leg the rest of
the body comes into play in an attempt to restore balance it is the
fascia that helps to re-distribute the forces needed to achieve this .
When we sit for long periods or sleep , fascia will begin to knit
together and we get that feeling of wanting to stretch this severs
the fibres .

Stretching his fascia ?

Fascia and muscles

Have a look at this section through a muscle ;

The red sections are muscle fibre but most of the white sections
are fascia quite a high proportion .
Problems can occur when fascia surrounding a fibre , muscle , or
muscle group sticks to another ( usually as a result of overload ) .
This stops the muscle from working efficiently and the problem can
spread over a larger area this is a common problem on the inner
and outer thigh and the lower back . Thankfully , specialist massage
techniques have been developed which can relieve this .
Another problem is Compartment Syndrome where , during
exercise , a muscle fills with blood and increases in bulk which
causes the musculature to grow larger than is allowed for by the
surrounding fascia , as it is not very elastic . This causes a build-up
of pressure which can be very painful . Again , massage techniques
have been developed to relieve this but in very acute cases ,
surgery is required to cut open the restricting fascia to relieve the
pressure .
Below is an example of this in the leg ;

Another , potentially serious problem , is an Intramuscular

Haematoma where bleeding can occur as a result of impact
( such as a dead-leg on a soccer field ) . If the fascial sheath
around the muscle remains intact the excess blood has no way out
and the pressure increases the danger with this type of injury is
that the pressure can cut off the blood supply to lower parts of the
limb and immediate medical advice is required .
Fascial release techniques are now routine practices amongst
physical therapists and many are of the opinion that research into
this mysterious and largely unknown tissue holds the key to
understanding aspects of musculoskeletal problems such as lower
back pain and fibromyalgia .

Val O'Halloran
Massage Therapist