If you haven’t heard of fascia then this is worth reading so you gain a bit of insight into what it is, does and how it can cause us pain. We often attribute pain to tight muscles but our fascia can create pain as well.
Fascia is a thin sheet of connective tissue made up several thin layers with a liquid called hyaluronan in between. Imagine one giant sheet of wrapping paper that then wraps round all the structures in your body. It covers organs, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, bones and is innervated with nerves so is as sensitive as our skin. Fascia is the stuff that provides tension in our body so we can stay upright and move around. Fascia can become tight and stressed just like any of our other soft tissues and this can cause pain and limited movement.
The many layers of fascia are categorized as the superficial layer and deep layers. The superficial layer is found between your skin and the muscle. And the deeper layers are between muscles, around organs and around vessels like nerves. The superficial layer has been coined a ‘fluid highway’ as this is where your vessels travel through to get to your organs and muscles. We need our arteries, veins and nerves to run smoothly so they can supply and remove nutrients to our muscles. The deep layers help divide muscles and create space to allow sliding. If the fascia is dehydrated, adhered or stuck then the muscles can not slide properly. The deep layers also penetrate the muscle so injury/stress/over load can lead to pain signals that come from the fascia but feel like they are from the muscle. When we get injured our body naturally creates an inflammatory process to start the healing.
Following inflammation the body lays down new tissue which can lead to the formation of scar tissue which can be found at all levels in our body. Scar tissue can lead to adhesions. Adhesions and scars in the superficial facial layer can limit vessel flow and superficial muscle function. If the fascia can not slide fully it can get stuck. More info here
Fascial pain can have many contributing factors but the most common are:
A lifestyle of limited physical activity (too little movement day after day)
Repetitive movement that overworks one part of the body
Trauma such as surgery or injury
So how do we reduce our risk of fascial pain? As with most conditions exercise is key. The benefits of exercise are vast for both our mental and physical health. Here are a few tips to keeping your fascia healthy
Exercise regularly - exercise shouldn’t be a chore, find something you enjoy. Government guidelines advise as adults we should do 2 sessions of strength based exercise and 150 minutes of challenging exercise that gets us out of breath. Circuit classes, cycling, netball, football, swimming, weights are but a few you can try.
Move regularly - if your job is predominantly desk based you can end up sat in one position for hours on end. It doesn’t matter how good your chair or set up is your body wont like it. We are animals that thrive on movement so get up regularly and move around
Eat a healthy varied diet. Plenty of greens and anti inflammatory fruit and veg are important for our inner health. A plant based diet has been shown to reduce inflammation in our body so trying to cut down on animal products can be a simple change to make.
Self myofascial release- now I don’t agree we should all be rushing out to grab our foam rollers and I certainly don’t recommend massage guns. However, some self myofascial release can sometimes be useful. This is where you use massage or a tool such as a roller to gently move the fascia/soft tissue around to help reduce any tension and restore the natural balance. I do use some soft tissue work with my patients but I always show them ways they can then do this themselves at home regularly.
Massage- as often claimed massage doesn’t break down scar tissue or realign muscles or restore range of movement. What it may do is help dampen the nervous system. You feel relaxed so your body can relax. The soft tissue can relax and with gentle encouragement the fascia can be released allowing movement to feel easier. A good therapist can also help educate on ways to train more efficiently so you aren’t over loading and causing tissue to break down.
As with anything to do with our bodies its all very complex (yet glaringly simple). Our mental and physical health are deeply linked and we cant address one without the other. As a therapist it is an important part of my role to educate a patient on pain and help them understand what may be causing their pain. Adaption is key to reducing this pain. This may be changing a lifestyle of inactivity, reducing training load, improving flexibility in a joint, changing a work set up, moving differently and a hundred other ways.
A good therapist will work with you to find the cause of your pain; facial or not, and help and support you to make the changes that are needed.
If you have any questions or wish to book in for an assessment then please get in touch.