Fascia is connective tissue made up of densely-packed collagen fibers that wrap around each of your internal organs and connect them to your muscles and bones. It is responsible for stabilizing your entire body and giving you your human form.
Your fascia has the ability to contract and relax independently of the muscles it surrounds. Because of this, it can respond to stress without you knowing it. Needless to say, when your fascia is tight or inflamed it can cause a great deal of pain. In fact, it can be a primary source of persistant or referral pain for many people. Referral pain is when you feel pain in one area of your body, but the actual source of that pain is coming from somewhere else. Connective tissue, including fascia, is loaded with receptor membranes that communicate with all of the other receptor membranes in your body.
Your fascia stretches and moves to support your body, and actually protects you from overstretching. But, if you hurt yourself, your fascia adapts to protect your body from further injury. Likewise, if you sit all day slumped over a baby or a computer for long periods of time, you put abnormal stress on your fascia. And, it molds itself along the lines of your posture – with the end result that your shoulders hunch forward and the circulation of blood, lymph, and energy to your chest, lungs, and heart become suboptimal.
Over time, this can lead to impairment throughout your entire body. On the other hand, when you stretch, move your body (motion is lotion!), get regular massage therapy you can improve the health of your fascia throughout your entire body.
A lot of people don't realize that your fascia can hold your emotional memories. Sadness, pain and past trauma (even from past lives) can get locked deeply in your fascia. If you have ever found yourself crying on the massage table, it’s because the therapy has assisted you in releasing emotions, including anxiety, fear and anger, that can take become frozen in your fascia. The goal of myofascial release therapy is to stretch and loosen the fascia so that it and other contiguous structures can move more freely, and the patient's motion is restored.
Your fascia has the ability to contract and relax independently of the muscles it surrounds. Because of this, it can respond to stress without you knowing it. Needless to say, when your fascia is tight or inflamed it can cause a great deal of pain. In fact, it can be a primary source of persistant or referral pain for many people. Referral pain is when you feel pain in one area of your body, but the actual source of that pain is coming from somewhere else. Connective tissue, including fascia, is loaded with receptor membranes that communicate with all of the other receptor membranes in your body.
Your fascia stretches and moves to support your body, and actually protects you from overstretching. But, if you hurt yourself, your fascia adapts to protect your body from further injury. Likewise, if you sit all day slumped over a baby or a computer for long periods of time, you put abnormal stress on your fascia. And, it molds itself along the lines of your posture – with the end result that your shoulders hunch forward and the circulation of blood, lymph, and energy to your chest, lungs, and heart become suboptimal.
Over time, this can lead to impairment throughout your entire body. On the other hand, when you stretch, move your body (motion is lotion!), get regular massage therapy you can improve the health of your fascia throughout your entire body.
A lot of people don't realize that your fascia can hold your emotional memories. Sadness, pain and past trauma (even from past lives) can get locked deeply in your fascia. If you have ever found yourself crying on the massage table, it’s because the therapy has assisted you in releasing emotions, including anxiety, fear and anger, that can take become frozen in your fascia. The goal of myofascial release therapy is to stretch and loosen the fascia so that it and other contiguous structures can move more freely, and the patient's motion is restored.
- managing persistant pain
- releasing trauma
- increasing mobility of scars from surgery or injuries
- healing of tendonitis, shin splints, or a bad sprain/strain
- relieving jaw pain from TMJD
- reducing headaches
- relief of pelvic pain, menstrual problems, incontinence, and infertility
