Your fascia wake up call!

A brief introduction to how we really move.

To get straight to the point, the biomechanical model as a basis for how we move is outdated; that metaphor is incorrect.

Where the model came from

About 400 years ago, this model was devised in the Western world based on anatomical research on dead male bodies. Nothing flowed, no blood, no lymph, no fascia, everything was hard, and conclusions were drawn from this, such as:

You consist of a skeleton, bones are connected by joints, and these move because muscles pull on them. Movement was seen as a mechanical process, as if we were puppets made up of strings and hinges, with muscles acting like elastic bands to move our bodies by pulling on those bones. We still learn about origo, where a muscle begins, and insertion, where a muscle ends or where it is attached. Moving in this way means that your hinges, or joints, have to endure a lot.

As long as we stick to this biomechanical model and treat injuries in this way, we will continue on the path of pain, discomfort and joint replacement.

Don't get me wrong, it's great that we can get a new hip or knee, but what if we could prevent that?

What if we didn't move like puppets at all?

During those studies, “that white wrapping” (fascia) was cut away and discarded because people were convinced that it got in the way of what was really important: muscles, tendons, bones, organs, etc.

The metaphor of biomechanics has become a belief and has long stood in the way of research into that wrapping.

In recent decades, a great deal of research has been conducted into fascia, what it is, where it is located in our bodies and how it functions, and especially how our fascia enables us to function, both physically and mentally.

Not all fascia has the same composition; this appears to depend on where it is located in your body and its function in that location. For example, fascia can be more crystallised, contain more collagen and therefore be firmer, like bones. In other places, it is less crystallised and contains more hyaluronic acid (and still collagen), making it “sticky” and gel-like, allowing it to flow as it does in and around muscle tissue and in and around your organs.

It would be going too far for this article to describe all the properties and functions we currently know about our fascia, as there appear to be quite a few. A lot has been written about it in the meantime, which is super interesting! te beschrijven, het blijken er namelijk best veel te zijn. Er is ondertussen flink over geschreven, super interessant!

Experts still do not entirely agree on what can and cannot be called fascia, which leads to many interesting discussions.

What the experts do agree on is that every cell in your body is surrounded by fascia, every single cell, everywhere in your body. This is called the extra-cellular matrix.

It has been irreverently called the “soup” that surrounds and permeates everything in your body; your organs, brain, eyes, everything is located in that matrix. There is nothing empty inside your body; there are no cavities.

Let's look at fascia and movement.

Those so-called separate muscles are organised by the scalpel of anatomists; in your body, everything flows together. It is useful to know the names of those parts of your body to clarify things, but that is not how your body moves.

Our body is one whole, no origin, no insertion, but one thing becomes another and the other becomes another, etc. We are one big whole, a continuum.

Your brain and nervous system know nothing about separate muscles, but they do know about movement.

What we now know, simply put, is that we move through our fascia, which works together with our muscle tissue.

The fascia moves us through ripples, wave movements throughout your entire body, distributing the pressure of the movements you make across your entire body. So not through leverage, not biomechanics, but biomotion.

Your fascia contains your resilience, which is essential for walking, running, jumping, etc., in short, for all your investments. Fascia loves rhythm and bounce, springy movements, and all movement based on walking, in a broad sense.

All your tissue is shaped like DNA is depicted, in diagonal lines, spirals; your resilience lies in those shapes. There are no straight lines in your body.

The communication to move is also done by your fascia, at lightning speed; you haven't even decided that you need to pull your child away from that oncoming car, and you've already done it. Fascia reacts faster than your brain, and thank goodness for that!

When you stretch, the tissue retracts to protect you; this is a physiological reaction, and your muscle tissue ultimately becomes stiffer and loses its resilience.

You cannot grow more muscle cells lengthwise, nor do those cells become longer.

What you can do is restore your muscles to their natural length (which is different for everyone) by, for example, rolling out your fascia or lengthening it through the way you move, which is slightly different from stretching.

So take good care of your fascia so that it remains supple and hydrated and everything in your body can function properly.

If you master this way of moving again, it will result in a resilient body, literally and figuratively. Moving becomes easier and requires less effort, and the risk of injury is greatly reduced, which makes us all happy, doesn't it?

A few simple tips:

Start the day by yawning with your whole body, imitating your cat or dog. Let your body guide you. Do this for a minute or two.

When standing and walking, keep your knees slightly bent, so they are always unlocked, and feel what happens when you tighten your gain just a little bit more.

Throughout the day, put on some nice music and gently bounce to the beat. Even if it's so subtle that your colleagues in the office don't notice, it still has an effect on your fascia.

Of course, you can also come and do Fascia Pilates Plus classes with me. You can find more information at CoreBiz.nl.