Maybe you've heard the word fascia buzzing on social media. Maybe you haven't. Every organ, every bone, every blood vessel, every nerve fiber, and every muscle are held in place by fascia. In diagrams it may look as though fascia is one solid layer, but in reality it is more like a web made up of different layers separated by a liquid known as hyaluronan. Fascia, primarily composed of collagen is designed to move with us, but sometimes fascia dries up, thickens, or gets extra sticky, and begins to move against us leading to mobility issues or painful knots.
This photo is of healthy fascia. You can see it is smooth, well hydrated, and flexible. Unknowingly adhesions (restrictions) are created within the fascia when we lead a sedentary lifestyle, are under stress, dehydration, poor diet, poor sleep, poor posture, repetitive/unbalanced movement, and/or trauma from surgery or injury. Unhealthy fascia can also make an appearance as cellulite/dimpled skin.
Obviously the goal for everything within the body is health. Benefits of keeping your fascia healthy include improved bodily alignment, scar tissue breakdown, improved blood flow, reduced appearance of stretch marks and cellulite, reduced aches and pains, and improved sports performance.
There are 4 types of fascia.
Superficial fascia located directly under your skin
Deep fascia which surrounds your muscles, bones, cartilage, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels
Visceral Fascia which surrounds your organs
Parietal fascia which lines specific body cavities
for the purpose of body contouring i'll be focusing the most on the first 2 layers. However if you've ever had surgery of any kind I urge you to make your way to a knowledgeable physical therapist to help you work through adhesions in the third and fourth fascia type.
How to keep your fascia healthy in the next blog.
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