What is fascia?

The short answer is that fascia is the connective tissue that creates your shape, connects all bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs, and forms the "bag" in which your body resides.

However there is a longer more complete answer, with many tidbits of information that are relevant to your treatment sessions and your healing. We hope you will read the details. Note that the answer provided below is also listed as an educational handout, What is fascia?", on our web page.

Longer answer, "What is fascia?"

Structural Medicine specializes in treating structural compensation patterns, often associated with dysfunction or chronic myofascial pain.

So the question that is often asked by our clients, “What is fascia?”

Simply, fascia is connective tissue. Fascia is what holds all the parts together. Each muscle fiber, muscle belly, and muscle compartment is surrounded by fascia, like a bag or covering. Fascia also surrounds each bone, connecting muscle and other tissues to the bone. Areas of our body that need extra reinforcement have additional layers of fascia, such as along the rectus abdominis (our belly) and the lumbar/sacral region.

Fascia is made of collagen, a very strong material with the equivalent tensile strength of steel! The collagen is layed down in specific directions according the direction of stress on the tissue.

Collagen is a living tissue, requiring nutrients from our vascular system, water and fluids, and export of metabolic wastes. The biochemistry of fascia and its relationship to other tissues is very important to our structural health.

In essence, we are one big envelope, with many smaller envelopes inside. The interface between one envelope and another is important too (such as the quad compartment from the abductor compartment or the hamstring compartment). If the envelopes and compartments are not free to move and slide freely against each other, then the result is restriction, trigger points, adhesions, metabolic ischemia. It is critical that the muscle belly is free to move and expand and contract within its fascial envelope in order to have full strength and range of motion.

The Shape of Our Bodies (Posture)
Fascia is a major player in shaping our bodies. If we were to remove all of our organs, muscles, and bones from our body, we would see a network of fascia and fascial compartments that constitute our body, its 3-dimensional shape. The bones, muscles and organs occupy space inside the fascial compartments, but the fascia determines the boundaries and limits of the body.

More important to Structural Medicine and structural integration, the efficient shape and alignment of our body is dependent upon the relationship of all the fascia and fascial compartments to each other. The range of motion of our joints depends upon the alignment and position of the joint relative to other parts of the body. If the hip joint is compressed or locked into external rotation, then the hip does not, cannot have full range of motion. In addition, compression can set up conditions of inflammation that may cause joint deterioration over time. If a muscle is out of alignment with the intrinsic physical design of a joint or limb, muscle strength is often compromised.

Our “shape” becomes our “posture”. Posture affects and impacts our ability to move, our range of motion, our energy level, the amount of energy it takes to move, our emotions, and self-image. Our posture is very much a part of who we are, our whole integrated being.

Adhesions and How They Affect Our Posture
Adhesions result from trauma to our body through surgery, cuts, blows to body tissue, extreme forces such as automobile whiplash injuries, falls, broken bones, and simply from the way that our bodies lay down collagen over time.

The latter is more important than many know. When our body is out of alignment, the body lays down collagen in alignment with the stresses in the body. It has no idea what is “good” alignment or “bad” alignment (efficient and functional vs inefficient and dysfunctional, even painful). So the body actually lays down fascia or reconstructs fascia according to our compensation patterns and “locks” our posture into that position. In addition, muscles and fascia that “live” in a short position, are then “locked” and frozen in that shortened position.

Surgery or trauma often introduce very specific, localized adhesions from scar tissue. Very small adhesions can result in significant restrictions based on adhesion of fascial compartments to each other or to the bone. Without release, these adhesions can remain for life, grow in size, and cause other compensation patterns within the body.

Fascia and Structural Integration
Structural Medicine uses objective myofascial length tests and specific means of observing the relationship of fascial structures in your body to assess the degree of dysfunction and efficiency of motion and support within your body. The intrinsic design of your anatomy embodies efficient, functionality when the body is properly aligned.

Alignment is dependent upon the fascial arrangement of your body (plus the integrity of your joints, bones, and other structural parts). Structural Medicine Specialists (SMS) use specific myofascial release techniques to facilitate movement and reorganization of your fascia, moving your posture into a more efficient, aligned, integrated structure. The patterns and physics of alignment are inherent to the anatomy and function of the human being. Structural Medicine’s goal is to optimize your structure and function though myofascial manipulation, using hands-on manual manipulation techniques.

Alignment and conditioning of your fascia, a living tissue, results in better biochemistry, a more healthy biochemistry for your fascial tissue and surrounding tissues. Necessary metabolic exchange takes place, including exchange of oxygen, nutrients, and export of metabolic wastes.

Lasting Changes
Fascial restructuring and integration changes the alignment of your body. Therefore, new collagen is layed down in a healthy, efficient manner. Your new posture is stabilized through new collagen responding to the new structural integration.

(See FAQ, "Will it last?")