What is Fascia? Connective tissue in a system with no beginning & no end

  • Have you heard about connective tissue? You know that thin layer around our muscles?
  • New research shows that the connective tissue is more than that. It is a network without beginning or end, from the skin, through the entire body, to the smallest cell.
  • Fascia research deepens our knowledge of the body – and the results are incredibly fascinating.

Recent research changes our views on aches and pains

Figuratively speaking, every part of the body is enclosed in thin bags, known as connective tissue. These bags are in turn linked to each other in an extensive network, serving as the body’s backbone and keeping all parts in place.

The fascia has a vital importance for the slightest muscle movement, but also works when we remain still, as the immune system uses the network to keep us healthy. Additionally the fascia works to reduce pain during an accident. If you, for example, hurt your foot the body compensates by means of the fascia so that a portion of the blast is concentrated to the knee, thigh and sometimes the hip and lumbar spine. The compensation and the realization that everything is linked together becomes particularly interesting when you look at what happens during lock-ups and inflammation in the fascia.

Fascia is a network of connective tissue, without beginning or end, and it envelopes almost everything in the body – from muscles and the skeleton, to organs and cells.

Imagine the Fascia as a web of thousands of thin sewing threads that work alongside each other. If they stick together, which happens when we rest, problems may occur. To a certain level, the body can handle it, but not always.

If you look at a cat or a small child, they always stretch after they rest. Why?

Fascia that is stuck together affects mobility, and since there are six times more neurons in the Fascia than in muscles, lock-ups in the Fascia can be linked to pain in the lower back (among many other common afflictions). A “sick” fascia quickly becomes a vicious circle. Inflammation occurs, the flow of fluid and the immune system is affected – and the pain itself makes recovery more difficult.

Knowledge of the Fascia also affects how we look at training and exercise. In the martial arts they have for a long time, consciously or unconsciously, trained in a way that benefits the Fascia’s functionality. There are numerous examples of footballers who used solely martial arts or yoga as adjunct training and had long careers with few injuries. There is a reason that the German world champions in soccer focuses their rehab around the fascia.

Perhaps we should simply take after cats and children, stretch our legs and train agility and mobility. But above all, we should take to heart in the latest knowledge about how our bodies work.

The story behind how new research changes the way we look at pain

The Fascia Guide Method

During the last couple of years we have developed a simple but powerful method of communication, used by hundreds of health professionals, to inspire their customers & improve relations.

Is cancer fascia related? New insights presented in Boston 2015

New research leads to insights and by looking at the body in a completely new way we get new perspectives and explanations to symptoms and diseases. At the 2015 Joint Conference on Acupuncture, Oncology and Fascia in Boston, research was presented regarding Fascia and Cancer

Why Fascia is still relatively unknown

Here are three major reasons why the Fascia’s central importance to the body’s functionality is not nousehold knowledge. It might be helpful to bare these in mind when relating to current and previous research.

Fascia Lines are the intersections of the body

The concept of Fascia Lines is a great way to understand how the body functions and how treatment can be optimized to increase mobility and functionality. The main principle is that muscles, no matter what they do individually, also affect tissues throughout the entire body.

Fascia Research Database

Fascia research has sparked an ongoing global revolution in the anatomical research field. In The Fascia Guide Research Database we have gathered hundreds of research articles about fascia.

Disease is excess oxidation

Diseases are an excess of oxidation – Redox physiology is an excess of oxidation greater than reduction.

What causes back pain?

New research shows that low back pain is caused by inflammation in the Fascia. But why are we getting low back pain and what happens in our body when we get back pain?

Growing interest in Fascia treatment: “Fascia problems are often under diagnosed”

David Lesondak is a structural integrator and a myofascial specialist who has been working for many years trying to explain what fascia is, as well as the benefits you get from treating different problems with fascia treatment. In an interview at the Fascia Research Congress in Berlin 2018, he describes the basics of what fascia is and what challenges it is facing in the strive for recognition in the medical field.

Can you heal osteoarthritis?

The function of the articular cartilage is to reduce friction between the two articular cartilage surfaces and facilitate sliding when the joint moves, and to absorb the load when the joint is exposed to pressure, compression

Fascia helps us understand the body as a whole

Look at a ballet dancer, a gymnast or a drummer and study their movement, feeling, timing, it is easy to be fascinated by how fast it is. Fascia helps us understand how the body is able to function in such an incredible way.

The influence of mechanical forces on Fascia?

Connective tissue / fascia is an incredibly adaptable and plastic tissue. It is transformed, remodeled and strengthened or weakened according to the mechanical stimulation (load) to which it is exposed. If we don’t move, the tissue will diminish.

Frequently Asked Questions about Fascia

On the Fascia Guide FAQ we have gathered the most common questions and answers about Fascia. Is there anything you would like to know? Visit the page and submit your question.

Fascia and The Living Body

“Fascia and the Living Body” is a document about the scientific understanding of the body as a living whole.

How do we learn to understand Fascia?

Fascia is a new perspective, a completely new way of looking at the body, a new way of conducting research and a new way of understanding the world. So how do you learn to understand Fascia?

Stress and sugar harms fascia functions

What we do know for sure is that the abundance of sugar has a negative effect on the fascia and makes it less elastic. Stress also affects the fascia in a disadvantageous way

Fascia loads and unloads pressure

What do we know about the Fascias function and what affects the Fascias ability to rebuild – and how can we use that knowledge in our everyday lives?

Training for strengthened Fascia

Exercise increases collagen production in tendons, ligaments and all Fascia. To stimulate collagen formation in tendons and ligaments, it doesn’t matter if the exercise is eccentric (muscle contraction during extension) or concentric (muscle contraction during shortening).

Are my problems related to Fascia?

Most of the questions we receive are about various issues and discomforts related to Fascia. How can Fascia represent a new way to treat and prevent problems?

7 things you should now about Vitamin C

Vitamin C is good for the immune system, but did you know that it also supports tissue regeneration or that we use up 7 times more Vitamin C during stress?

Problems linked to Fascia

Fascia is a system of flexible connective tissue encapsulating everything in the body. If the system is running smoothly, all is fine, but when some parts become stiff, tense or inflamed, there will be consequences.