What is fascia? Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, which lays beneath the skin to attach, stabilize, enclose and separate muscles and other internal organs.

 

Fascia runs from our heads to our toes in a continues sheath.

 

Image from Anatomy Trains by Thomas W Myers 2009.

 

Fascia  when relaxed and flexible moves without restrictions, however if we experience a trauma or some kind wether it physical or emotional our fascia can loose its flexibility becoming tight and restricted.

This causes tension and discomfort in the body

Traumas such as repetitive stress, poor posture, surgery, scaring, a fall or accident can all have a negative impact on our fascia.

 

Myofascial release is an Osteopathic soft tissue stretching technique where the direction, force and length of the stretch is determined through feed back the therapist obtains from the clients body.

The release of tension and restrictions in the fascia facilitates elongation of muscle fibers and decreases tension on tendons and their attachments to bone.

When our fascial system isn’t functioning optimally it can cause tightness, pain, reduce flexibility, affect stability, posture  and restrict our movement .