08/12/2021
100%! Beautifully said, less is more.
“Personally, when I roll and consider that I’m squishing cells all over, it slows my roll and triggers me to move with more tenderness, deep listening and care. The cells sell me on respecting my rather than blasting it to battle within it. Rolling aggressively will only p**s off the neurons and immune cells- you’ll ignite pain, bruising and your whole body will be the loser, you certainly won’t feel any “looser."”
The Cells Sell
Every time I teach about fascia I encounter questions about how to guide students who believe that harder is better and that going “deeper" is more beneficial. I have many different responses to students who think rolling has to hurt to work. But one thought I like to share is that fascia is an estuary of cells.
When we acknowledge that fascia is not inert filler material within the body, but it is a living tissue with an abundance of different cell types, it starts to bend our attitudes about application. We tend to revere living things, while non-living objects may be treated with coarseness.
RESIDENT CELLS IN FASCIA
1) Fibroblasts (fibroclasts) - these cell types produce the fibers found throughout the fascial web.They respond to load& will add or subtract fibers based on use.
2) Myofibroblasts - fibroblasts that have morphed into tensional cells containing actin& myosin filaments. these cells display contractile properties especially in wounded areas (contracture)
3) Fasciacytes - these cells maintain levels of hyaluronan in a given area (one of the slick fluids that comprise fascia’s extracellular matrix)
4) Adipocytes - fat cells are abundant in fascia - in the superficial layer
5) Telocytes - cells discovered in 2015 their role is unclear. Found first in the fascia lata, these cells may have something to do with cell to cell communication.
CELL “PARTS” IN FASCIA
1) Sensory neurons - approximately 250 million sensory neurons terminate in fascial layers throughout the body, their cell body’s reside elsewhere.
2) Smooth muscle cells within lymphatic channels
MIGRANT CELLS - these cells traffic in and out to clear infection, produce/reduce inflammation, assist with wound healing
1) Mast cells
2) Macrophage
3) Neutrophils
Personally, when I roll and consider that I’m squishing cells all over, it slows my roll and triggers me to move with more tenderness, deep listening and care. The cells sell me on respecting my rather than blasting it to battle within it. Rolling aggressively will only p**s off the neurons and immune cells- you’ll ignite pain, bruising and your whole body will be the loser, you certainly won’t feel any “looser."
Tune Up Fitness
