by admin | 29 Nov, 2022
Lately I’ve been seeing more and more patients with restrictions in the facia that are greater than any muscle or joint capsule restrictions !
They are often stretching their muscles with no result, and the muscles just go back to the original length that they were prior to stretching. They also LOVE their hot showers, hot packs and massages because that makes things more viscous (lubricated feeling!) Sound familiar? If so, you are feeling the effects of fascial restriction.
The reason for this can be many things, but for my blog today I want to focus on the tight fascia being a primary reason for the restriction in the range of motion and lack of success of the stretching program.
Fascia is a very tough “connective tissue”, where it connects to, and holds structures like muscles and organs and nerves in a relative “container” to keep them in place. The trick is that these layers of fascia should be able to glide along the surfaces of the things they surround. When they do not have the fluid and freedom to glide, they end up restricting the movement of the things they surround. This can be organs, muscles, nerves etc.
Hydrating the fascia does not mean just drink more water, however, though to some degree this helps your whole body function. To get fluid flow and nutrient exchange it helps to use the foam roller and other tools such as racquetballs or even deep tissue devices (just keep it gentle!)
Local rolling over the muscles and fascia bring compression – which forces old stagnant materials OUT – and when released, allows fresh nutrient filled fluid to flow IN. This allows the gliding to begin to occur and allows for more length of both the fascia AND those pesky muscles we talked about that would always go back to original length.
Once you are getting more length from the tissues it is time to USE that length with functional exercises that move you through this newly gained range of motion so the nervous system learns to KEEP it.
There you have it! Stop fighting your muscles and help them out by working on the fascia. Need help? Schedule an initial office appointment and I would be happy to do an in depth assessment of what are the restrictions in your movement patterns, what areas you should be targeting and how to get the best results for your body.
Call (713) 489-9485
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