Will it last (treatment on fascia)?

At first, our clients don't believe that the fascia can be manipulated. Then after they see the results, their first question is, "Will it last?", meaning will the fascia stay where it has been placed, manipulated.

The short answer is "yes". But to fully answer the question, let's take a look at what fascial manipulation is and how it fits into the concept of structural integration.

Fascia has the approximate tensile strength of steel. It is not uncommon for an athlete to avulse a bone before the tendon and fascia will tear loose or stretch. (Avulse means pull a piece of the bone off). So we can deduce from this and other research that fascia does not stretch to a great degree. If it did, now would it provide the strength we need to support ourselves, lift things, jump and carry loads?

One can also ask why can't I stretch my fascia, with yoga or stretching exercises? You can, but to a limit.

So what is going on with fascial manipulation in the context of structural integration? We still don't know! Science and medicine are still working on it. Based on the research so far, photomicroscopy of fascia, and clinical practice, we believe the following:

• Fascia is made up of collagen fibers, elastomers, and ground substance (gel)
• Fascia is self-organizing, orienting fibers in the direction of stress through the tissue
• We can manually influence the reorientation of fascia, causing realignment of fibers
• Fascia self-organizes around the resultant net forces going through it

With these principles and more in mind, it means that we manipulate the fascia so that it will "let go" of its dysfunctional holding pattern (dysfunctional alignment based on forces caused by injury, trauma, surgery, or habit) and now align and self-organize around a new set of forces that we have input into the fascia. So essentially, the fascia has reorganized itself. It is VERY dynamic, not like a sheet of fiberglass or mesh.

What differentiates structural integration from "myofascial release" techniques, is that structural integration is a science of knowing where and how fascia should be organized to create the most integrated, efficient body structure for each individual. Not only does the fascia need to be reorganized, but it needs specific placement and there is a specific sequence to the placement.

With this as background, we can come back to the question: "Will it last?"

The answer is a qualified "yes". When we manipulate fascia, it will remain in that state of organization until some other force or forces influences it to cause it to reorganize. There are two main considerations:

1. Fascia regenerates its tissue in terms of months
2. If we have not removed all of the dysfunctional forces that created the fascial dysfunction, then there will be a tendency for the fascia to "go back" to its dysfunctional state

So it is important to look at the whole picture of what is going on throughout the body, not just the site of dysfunction or pain. Because everything is connected to everything else. There is "no free lunch" with structural integration. It is a holistic approach, and often contrary to the standard medical approach or physical therapy approach. It is certainly contrary to the health insurance industry paradigm.

This is why there is the word "integration" in SI. It is the integration of all forces through the fascia that creates the functional structure, thereby relieving pain and discomfort and providing increase functionality and range of motion.

If you are fully integrated, your fascia is very "happy", because it is now in an organized state that it has perfected over millenniums of evolution. Then you can say, "YES", it will stay right where it should be.

In general, you can schedule your session even a month apart, and very little change will happen to your fascia from the last session. This is assuming you are not in an acute phase or condition. This is how your practitioner is able to systematically plan and implement your structural integration, a step at a time.

(See FAQ, "What is fascia?")