Fascinating Fascia
Published: July 27th, 2024 | By: John Holman | Read Time: 3 mins
It is true to say that with age comes experience, which is certainly the case with me at Massage Matters Clinic. With thirty-four years and counting, and north of fifty-five thousand hours of hands-on treatment experience, I am very much an expert in helping my clients with musculoskeletal issues. I have noticed that I am now attracting clients with less defined causes and more complex origins of their pain. Many of these clients claim to have tried “everything and everyone” to find a resolution, but nothing has worked.
When confronted with such clients, I employ well-accepted methods of evaluation to try and determine the issue, but sometimes they are not musculoskeletal in origin. It is then that I start to consider one of the lesser-known systems of the body called fascia.
I have utilised one of my teaching presentations about fascia to provide insight into its importance. I have also provided a real-life example of the benefits of understanding a little more about fascia; it is well worth the five minutes it takes to read.
Compared with muscles and bones, the medical fraternity has largely ignored fascia. It is still common practice in the training of medical doctors worldwide to undertake gross anatomy and dissection in the second year of their training, and fascia was considered to be the stuff to cut through to get to the really interesting bits! It was just connective tissue.
Given the scientific basis of all medical training, it was hardly surprising, because, unlike muscles and bones, you cannot measure it in any sort of qualitative or quantitative way. No one could work out where it began and ended; you cannot X-ray it or see it on an MRI scanner—until now. The development of high-resolution ultrasound finally allowed us to see structures and movements to tens or even hundreds of a millimetre, and we could at last see living fascia without surgery or dissection!
The world of medicine, and especially surgery, began to realise that fascia is far more important than they could have possibly imagined.
Recent research has indicated that up to 40% of any load placed on a muscle is directed through the fascia, through something called tensegrity.
The word tensegrity is made up of two words, tension and integrity. The creation of this word is credited to a man called Richard Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, and I believe he came up with the best description of tensegrity when he said, “Tensegrity is an island of compression in an ocean of tension.” I think that is a beautiful description of tensegrity and of the role of fascia. If you have ever been to our clinic and seen a funny-looking model in the reception window consisting of pieces of wood and elastic bands, you have been looking at a tensegrity model!
Some basic facts about fascia:
- All fascia is made from one substance, which is called collagen.
- There are two types of fascia: loose and dense.
- There are three layers of fascia: superficial, deep, and visceral.
- Fascia has four properties: elasticity, plasticity, viscosity, and remodelling.
It is remodelling that has proven most interesting to therapists interested in the subject matter, particularly where injury has occurred.
This was the case with Maddie. Her story is below; I think you will find it fascinating.
Got an ache or pain that you cannot find a solution to? It might be the effects of fascial remodelling.
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