Live Well
Everyone ’ s Talking About
Fascia By Karyn Cowan
Fascia is the collagen based connective tissue situated everywhere in the body . It is the “ framework ” tissue that surrounds every cell , organ , blood vessel , bone , nerve fibre and muscle , and it allows the muscles to move freely alongside each other , and other structures , while reducing friction .
To understand fascia , a great example is to visualise an orange or a nartjie . Your skin would be the peel of the fruit , your fascia would be the thick white pith layer below the peel as well as the thin stringy layers encasing each nartjie segment and the individual juice droplet segments .
However , fascia in our body can misalign , get ‘ stuck ’ or become restricted from a variety of causes , such as :
• Muscle injury , trauma or strain .
• Repetitive movements .
• Muscle weakness or low tone .
• Emotional stress .
• Poor posture .
• Increase in scar tissue .
• Pregnancy .
While everyone can have a different experience with fascia that is tight or damaged , these are the general feelings one may experience :
• Restrictions in range of movement and feelings of being stiff , or vice-like .
• Pain in localised or related area that feels tender , throbbing or deep aching .
• Potential recurring injury in another location , e . g . a fascia restriction in the shoulder could cause a a calf strain ). Since our whole body is connected through this ‘ net-like ’ tissue , one part can affect a totally unrelated area .
• Trigger points ( nodules or ‘ knots ’ in the body that are painful when touched . Weakness or lameness in affected areas .
• Headaches , fatigue , anxiety and poor sleep .
While fascia holds us together , it is too thin and not dense enough to show up in medical imaging like x-rays , CT scans or MRI ’ s . If you feel that your fascia may be restricted , here are some things that you can do to assist with the release :
• Foam rolling or self-massage with a ball . Find the areas that feel tight and restricted and slooooowly roll over these parts . This is painful , but massively relieving .
• Find a body worker that will help you work out the restrictions , e . g . physiotherapy , myofascial release massage , chiropractic , Lyno therapy , Rolfing , acupuncture , Bowen technique , and so forth .
• Hydrate well !
• Try a different kind of exercise than what you are used to doing regularly . This will change your body ’ s holding pattern and get you to use different muscles .
• Dynamic stretching , light weight-bearing exercises to tone muscle , and aerobic exercises to increase oxygen into the muscles .
• Heat or ice therapy .
• Relaxation and breathing techniques like yoga and meditation .
• Avoid foods that create inflammation and acidity .
As they say , healthy fascia , healthy life … and here are the benefits of keeping your fascia ‘ happy :’
• Faster recovery , improved performance and increased blood flow .
• Alignment of posture .
• Reduction of cellulite and stretch marks .
• Breakdown of internal scar tissue .
• Improvement in mood .
• Less overall bodily pain .
• Freedom of movement .
Higher Pain , More Gain
Teaching your body and mind to go through the pain barrier is part of the secret to sporting success . In other words , we can endure far more pain than we think – and here we ’ re talking about that familiar pain when we are pushing our own personal boundaries . Athletes who want that personal best ( PB ) or goal badly enough , and are willing to push themselves through the pain of lactic acid and other metabolic waste build-up , are the ones who will ultimately achieve it .
Tim Noakes refers to the ‘ Central Governor ’ in our brain , which keeps an eye on all the systems and functions of the body and protects us from physically harming ourselves , using a built-in early warning system to stop us long before we reach our breaking point . Signals of pain are sent to the brain to slow us down or stop us , so that our bodies can return to its comfort zone … but there are unfortunately no PB ’ s to be found in the comfort zone .
Images : Pexels & Unsplash
Karyn Cowan is the owner of In Touch Wellness and a partner at Bedford Wellness Centre . She is a massage therapy specialist , palliative care worker and end of life Doula . Karyn advocates holistic wellness , which includes aspects of mental , physical and emotional health around sport , pregnancy , terminal care , stress management and life transitions . Find out more at www . intouchwellness . co . za , or go to Instagram : in _ touch _ wellness , or Facebook : In Touch Wellness .
Therefore , in order to achieve our best , we have go beyond the comfort zone in progressive , planned training , because the human body has an amazing capacity to adapt to gradual increases in physiological stress , which teaches both the mind and body to handle pain . The secret to success here is a gradual stepping up of your training workload .
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