Fun Facts About FASCIA

Once thought to just simply exist in the body, fascia was a structural (and functional) part of the body that was overlooked for many, many years. Only within the last decade or so was fascia realized to have an enormous amount of purpose and function within the body. Here are some fun facts about fascia!

1) It acts like storage compartments in our body. Fascia is flat banks of dense, irregular connective tissue that sits below the skin and both covers and separates layers of tissue in the body. It also holds all of your organs in place so they don't shift around too much.

2) It transmits forces all throughout the body (aka fascial chains). So when a muscle in your foot contracts, that force generated can travel all the way up to your low back (and even further!). This is one reason why people can experience pain elsewhere in the body away from the source of injury. 

3) Creates frictionless areas in the body (aka bursaes) so muscles and tendons can glide and slide properly. Inflammation of the fascia due to injury or excessive repetitive stress is called fascitis or bursitis (if it's a bursa that is affected)

4) Fascia can feel pain. It contains many nerve endings and is therefore quite sensitive to stimulus.