28/02/2016
Fascia is the glue of our body
What tissue in our body do we have in large quantity and what tissue do we usually ignore while studying physiology? That is fascia, viscous slippery connective tissue, through which parts of our body are held together. Fascia is a General term referring to extracellular matrix of fibers, "glue" and water surrounding all your cells and enveloping your muscle fibers, muscles, organs, bones, blood vessels and nerve fibers, as well as the whole body under a layer of skin. "The fascia is like Cinderella among tissues in our body, says Tom Myers, the "brain" in integrative anatomy and author of the theory of anatomical trains. — It is the most ignored in comparison with other tissues of our body — at least until recently. However, consideration of the fascia is critical to a complete understanding and maintaining body function and health throughout life".
Understanding of fascial tissue helps us see the important, but little-known aspects of the functioning and health of our body. Here are four surprising fact related to the fascia:
1. Everything you learned about "muscles", is a mistake. The Main lesson learned from the study of fascia: what we were taught about muscles is wrong. "This familiar illustration of red muscle in the human body actually shows the body from which the cut fascial tissue, Myers said. — You do not look well from the inside, but it looks much cleaner and easier to learn the muscles. This is the way doctors are taught to see your body." Usually, we're talking about the musculoskeletal system in which muscles are attached to bones. But actually, muscles are not attached to bones - fascia is attached to them. "Muscle as a Burger, it can not be attached to the bone, Myers said. — Fascia envelops the muscle on the outside and inside. And on the ends of the muscle is this fascia twisted in the tendon on the outside and from the middle of the muscle, as well as spun yarn". Perhaps to understand with our thinking mind it is useful to dismember the body on 600 muscles and their tendon attachment to the bones. But our body does not think by category "600 individual muscles". "Your brain doesn't reason in terms of biceps and deltoid muscle, says Myers. — There is one muscle, placed in 600 fascial pockets. Ultimately, the brain creates movement, referring to a large fascial networks and individual motor neurons, not individual muscles listed person".
2. It is much more than just the enveloping material. Until recently, the fascia was considered as a kind of "brown stuff" that surrounds other tissues in the body. Now we know that fascia is the regulatory system in our body. Fascia is not just a passive "wrapping material", but a living, biological tissue, which distributes the load and directs movement in the body, also reacts and remodels, if the forces applied to the body, changes. Some scholars like Helene Langevin from the University of Vermont, believes that the network of connective tissue can function as a General communication system in the body, and it affects the operation of other systems in our body. "The nervous system, circulatory and fascial system — everything is interconnected in the human body. They are formed together and work as a team. When you change something at the level of the fascial system, everything else in our body is also changing," says Myers. How exactly is this network, enveloping the whole body, transmits information within its structure is not known. Possible options: for example, Langevin argues that fascial network corresponds to the map of acupuncture points and meridians. In this case, the impact on these points leads to changes at the cellular level, which in turn apply at the level of connective tissue. To similar effect leads effect on the connective tissue in the course of or an external impact during the massage, and physiotherapy or yoga.
3. New definition of chronic pain. In its healthy state the fascial tissue stretches and moves without restriction. But with age, after the experienced trauma, repetitive stress, poor posture and even emotional trauma fascial tissue loses its elasticity, becomes stiff and limited in mobility. This helps to stabilize the body during the trauma, but unfortunately, it also makes you a prisoner of chronic stress and leads to deformations of the body that are difficult to fix. Imagine this example on the fine silk costume worn by you. If you pull one side of the suit, the tension reveals overall product and you will experience discomfort. Patterns of fascial tension are transmitted throughout the body and affect the structure of the whole body. They are often one of the causes of chronic pain (migraine, chronic back pain, rheumatic pain). Therefore, techniques of the body which act directly on the fascial tissue, are more effective than working only at the level of the muscles or skeleton, the effect of which is usually short-term.
4. Rethinking fitness. While we usually think of fitness in the context of strong muscles and cardiovascular endurance, we ignore fascia at your own risk. Holistic and well-trained fascial tissue is important not only for those who play sports, it is necessary for everyone who wants to keep your body healthy and functional throughout life. Of course, when you train your body, you are also training the fascia. However, the way you train it most likely will not give you the desired result. If you mostly train in the gym, your fascial tissue becomes strong, mobile and functional to the fullest. It develops in the unidirectional network, which is struggling to cope with difficult and unusual for you loads. "Training Machines are well up to the task of development of individual muscles they are not able to train your fascial tissue. And all because they train the fascia in one particular direction, the unidirectional vector of influence, -- stresses Meyers. — In the end you get the fascia, not adjusted, because life interacts with your body in the same directions, and simulators". As for training, Meyers advises to prefer forms of activity that include a rich variety of areas of mobility and workloads – it will create a balanced stability of your body. For the study of long chains of fascial tissue in a huge number of directions, most practice Hatha yoga. It provides the necessary system training for the whole body. But too assiduous or constructed from unidirectional movements it can result in fascial adhesion of the fibers or injury. There is more progressive but little-known way to achieve more sustainable results in a shorter period and without injury, which can be done only on unique, alternative trainer , that came to us from the heritage of the Slavic tradition, being known as a rule.
