Did you know that every internal organ, muscle, bone, blood vessel, and nerve fiber in the body is held in place by a thing called fascia?
The fascia is a thin case of connective tissue made up mostly of collagen. It keeps the body’s internal structure intact. The thing with fascia, though, is although it looks just like one thin sheet, it actually has layers of liquid in between. This allows the fascia to stretch along with your movement.
Because it has nerves, the fascia is very sensitive – almost as sensitive as the skin. It’s also vulnerable to stress. Stress causes the fascia to tighten up and lose its flexibility, leading to a condition called fascial adhesions.
- Have a sedentary lifestyle, with minimal movement
- Are prone to repetitive movements that strain a single part of your body
- Were injured
- Have poor quality of sleep
- Don’t hydrate properly
Carpal tunnel and frozen shoulder are two examples of issues caused by fascial adhesions.
Fascial adhesions are painful and significantly limit your mobility. They can also trigger inflammation and cause damage to the surrounding area. And they can worsen over time, as they can signal the body to produce more collagen links, which can tighten the adhesions even further.
At Back N’ Line, one of our methods to address these adhesions is called fascial release. This treatment is based on traditional Eastern medical practices. We gently scrape the affected area with a beveled tool called gua sha. The scraping action breaks down the adhesions and loosens the tension in your muscles. It also promotes blood circulation, which is essential to healing.