Fascia is a connective tissue. Its’ elastic like tissue wraps around all organs, bones, muscles, muscle bundles, nerves, arteries and veins. It is the most highly innervated tissue in the body.
Our training programs at Healthy Habits aim to improve the quality of fascia.
The physiology of fascia is very different from cellular physiology which governs muscular conditioning and strength training. Fascial training responds to hands-on manual therapy followed by exercise that opens the joint line allowing the blood, nerve and artery to the area to improve.
Fascial training is about making space along every joint in the body.
Regained joint space allows for one to absorb impact better, improve joint pain such as osteoarthritis, and avoid injury from sports or regular movement patterns.
Fascia has been mapped throughout the body. Below are three general fascial lines that show how fascia connects distant parts of the body into one cohesive line of movement. This also proves how the source of ones pain can be distant to the injury as tension along the fascial line can create pain far from the source.
Eldoas and Fascia:
Addressing Fascial Line Tension
Eldoa exercises are specific to the Osteopathic philosophy. Eldoas are exercises that decompress tensions along the spinal column fascia, de-coapting or ‘opening’ each segment. This frees up movement and can improve pain at each spinal level. Elodas address compression from the cervical spine to the sacrum by putting the body in specific positions under precise tension thus improving the fascia’s ability to glide and slide over its many layers.
Myofascial pin and stretches also release tension along specific lines of fascia. These lines of fascia run throughout the body connecting the bottom of the foot to the brow, hand to shoulder, top of the toes to pelvis. Specific postures play with the fascial tensions to improve mobility. Knowing where this tension lies is why a comprehensive physical assessment is vital to improving posture and peak movement.
