Why caring for fascia health is so important

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Going in for sports, we often forget about another component of our body, which requires no less attention than muscles and ligaments, and on the work of which the quality of training and the general condition of our body depend. Today we will talk about what fascia is, what functions it performs and how we can maintain its health.

What is fascia

Fascia (lat. Fascia - bandage, strip) is a connective tissue membrane that covers organs, blood vessels, nerves and forms cases for muscles in vertebrates and humans. The functions of the muscle fascia are: ensuring the sliding of muscles, setting the position of the internal organs, transferring movement from muscles to bones, providing a favorable and flexible packaging for the nerves and blood vessels as they pass through the muscles or between them.

As you can see, fascia problems can cost you dearly if you don't take care of it as much as you care for your muscles and ligaments.

Causes of pain

One of the most common problems that you've probably already heard about is plantar fasciitis, or heel spur. However, with excessive physical exertion, pain occurs not only in the legs.

In a normal state, the so-called fascia leaves move freely relative to each other when the body moves, but as soon as an excessive load appears or you get injured, they begin to stick together and fascial adhesions are formed. You get a whole bunch of troubles: poor joint mobility, impaired coordination of movements, muscle overload and, as a result, pain. In addition, disturbances in the functioning of internal organs and other body systems may occur due to compression of blood vessels and nerves.

It would seem that just include at least one day of stretching or yoga in your training plan - and that's it, the connective tissue will be happy, vigorous and obedient. However, not every stretch exercise will help relax the fascia of the body parts you have been working on. Moreover, there is a separate area in fitness, completely dedicated to the fascia - fascial fitness. This technique is aimed at restoring blood circulation and elasticity of the fascia, eliminating adhesions and faster recovery from injuries.

Exercises

1. Myofascial relaxation

Exercises with a massage roller for the muscles of the upper shoulder girdle, which restore the mobility of the cervical and thoracic spine and the correct functioning of the diaphragm. This technique can significantly increase the volume of the lungs.

2. Exercises for the hip joints

A combination of exercises to restore the mobility of the fascia and increase the range of motion in the joints. Restores the balance of the deep muscles surrounding the joint and the superficial muscles.

3. Stretching and myofascial massage

The vice-champion of Russia in crossfit and trainer ARMA S. M. C. tells about the release of clamps in muscles, myofascial massage, stretching of the trapezius muscle, iliopsoas muscles and hamstrings. Alexey Nemtsov.