Thread by @realpungao

It's finally here.

After many requests...

Fascia.

What is fascia? What are the most common fascial lines and problems? How can we use this information to hurt less and perform better?

👇👇

What if I told you that the muscles of the human body do not work as independent units and that, instead, they act as parts of a full-body network that is all connected and linked?

Those links are called fascia, and they exist everywhere in your body.

So what is this stuff?

Fascia is a layer of tissue, made mostly of collagen, that covers every organ, bone, muscle, nerve, and blood vessel and holds them all in place.

It is rigid enough to provide structure, but malleable enough to allow for optimal motion and movement of each system of the body.

So what does fascia do for us?

When healthy, fascia is flexible and allows each body part to move, push, pull, and function perfectly.

But when it tenses up, it can cause pain and injuries locally and throughout the body, to body parts that are nowhere near the initial problem

So what causes fascia to become problematic?

Typical fascial issues come from injuries or overuse.

For example, let’s say you hurt your hip, tearing your labrum.

You get surgery to fix the labrum, which seems healthy, but maybe your fascia didn’t recover.

This fascia becomes stiff and doesn’t move how it should. This may lead to pain in the hip, but that is not all.

Fascial lines stretch throughout the body, from the toes to the head.

And if part of the fascial line is hurt, it can affect places up or downstream on that line.

Think of it like you are wearing a big polyester jumpsuit.

If I pull on the material by your hip and knot it up, your hip will feel it.

But that, alone, isn't it.

It will tug down your leg on the material by your foot, and across your torso to the material near your shoulder.

Fascia is all connected along these important lines, designed to help you move and feel great.

So what are some of the most popular lines?

The mapping of these lines is always growing as researchers continue to learn more, but here are 6 big ones.

The Superficial Back Line

From the bottom of the feet, all the way up and over the head to the forehead.

Maybe that old ankle sprain is the reason for those headaches

The Superficial Front Line

Also runs from the feet all the way to the skull.

The Lateral Line

Runs all of the way up the sides, as it sounds.

The Spiral Line.

Possibly the most interesting to me. We move so much in this spiraling way that it makes complete sense to me we would have a fascial line here.

The Arms Line

The Functional Lines

So what should you do with this info?

To start, I would pay attention to the patterns you notice on these major lines.

If you have had an injury up or downstream of a previous injury, I would think it is fair to say that the original injury quite possibly caused the subsequent.

Now how do we actually fix fascial problems?

The short answer is: Painfully.

This will not feel good and will take a little bit of willpower.

Typically, you can tell when an area is jumbled up because it is tender to the touch.

This is when you would either have to dig hard, with your hands, a lacrosse ball, or a foam roller.

The more acutely you can hit the spot, the better.

There are many techniques to release tight fascia so do your best to feel out how you can get to a deep layer and continue to “dig”.

Eventually, it will begin to feel less and less painful; this is typically how you know you are making progress.

In general, before you dive in, I would do some research on the techniques to make sure you are attacking your fascial problems correctly and safely.

If you feel as though you have deep fascial problems, especially ones that have been apparent for years, it may make sense to see a fascia specialist.

They are similar to tissue-massage experts, but specifically target the fascia.

These sessions do not feel good.

All in all, if your fascia is loose, you will feel and perform better.

Muscles, organs, tendons, ligaments, and bones are all essential.

But do not overlook the importance of fascia.

(not a doctor and this is not medical advice)