This isn’t the first time we’ve highlighted fascia, and you can bet it won’t be the last! Fascia (FA-shuh) is a connective tissue that’s often been overshadowed by muscles, tendons, and ligaments, but in the last few years it’s gotten more attention as the scientific community has learned more about it. However, it’s one thing to know what fascia is, and a whole different thing to really understand fascia.
This magnified video is a fascia-nating look at this mysterious structure, and it really helps the concept hit home! In particular, this video makes clear the importance of hydration for health, showing the aqueous nature of fascia in close detail. These aqueous strands can split off and join together, forming protective sheaths that surround almost everything in the body.
The scientific community’s knowledge of fascia continues to grow deeper and more detailed. For now we know that fascia is important in several key ways:
Muscular fascia reduces friction of muscular force, and provides a supportive and movable wrapping for nerves and blood vessels as they pass through and between muscles.
Fascial tissues are supplied with sensory nerve endings, leading scientists to postulate that fascia plays a role in different types of sensation including our ability to sense our body in space, feel pain, and sense our internal body.
Fascial tissues also store and release energy.
Because of fascia interacts with nerves, bones, muscles, and organs, it’s important to keep it healthy! Here’s what you can do to promote fascial health:
Stay hydrated. Make sure you drink enough water each day to supply all the tissues of the body! Imagine your body like a sponge: when it’s filled with water it’s supple and flexible, but when it’s dried-out it’s stiff and immobile. Proper hydration helps our tissues move in healthy ways.
Movement Matters! Your body does not have a passive way of moving fluid through the fascia. Moving, stretching, and activities like foam-rolling act as manual pumps moving fluid through fascia to maintain fascial hydration.
In addition, keeping tissues active helps prevent stiffening and adhesions. Fascia is naturally smooth and slippery — as you can see in the video— and designed to move! Even short breaks for movement throughout the day can have huge benefits on your physical health.
Stretch it out. Stretching is beneficial for inflammation reduction and structural integrity in the body. Just like with movement, you don’t have to dedicate a huge amount of time to stretching in order to gain benefits. Even a couple minutes a day will help. Combine movement and stretching into dynamic stretches for maximum impact!
Change it up. Fascia responds to patterns of behavior, so if you only do one type of movement or stretching, your fascia will only develop in one way and may become tight or adhered in other areas. Vary the types of activities you do, as well as the tempo and rhythm at which you do them for optimal fascial health.