I’ve found myself talking about fascia a LOT recently and increasingly I’m thinking of its importance when looking at both new injuries and long term postural changes – for example the dreaded “laptop posture” that I tell people off about!! So I thought I’d put some of my ideas down on paper..

Basically, fascia is a clingfilm-like substance that is wrapped around every muscle fibre, every muscle, each organ and underneath the skin. It’s designed to slide and move as we move but if it’s held in the same position for a long time it can begin to stick together. This ‘sticking’ can restrict movement, and along with shortened, tight muscles can exacerbate poor posture and increase your changes of suffering with long term pain and stiffness.

Here’s an absolutely fantastic video illustrating what fascia is and how it turns into ‘fuzz’. Be warned, this video does use real dissections to illustrate certain points. Don’t worry its not too gruesome, but if you’re sensitive maybe give the video part a miss and just listen to the voiceover:

So how can we stop becoming ‘fuzzed’ up:

• Move! Avoid sitting for long periods or holding the same position for hours on end. Get up, have regular breaks and keep moving.
• Exercise! Yep, you’ve heard this one before 🙂 But, it’s a great excuse for getting out there and using your body for what it’s meant to do. Find a sport or exercise that you enjoy or just go out for a walk – your body will thank you.
• Treatment! As the video says, regular physical treatment whether massage or osteopathy can help to restore movement and keep the muscles and fascia moving. Prevention is better than cure!

So, I hope that this is interesting for you. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch and I’d be happy to talk it all through with you. There’s a fantastic book called ‘Anatomy Trains‘ which goes into a lot of detail too. It really is fascianating stuff 😉