01/10/2025
Fascia may hold the key to tackling chronic pain and immune dysfunction.
The sheets of white, fibrous connective tissue that surround your muscles and organs, known as fascia, forms a network that pretty much holds us together.
Superficial fascia sits directly under the skin, and the deep fascia wraps muscles and organs and connects them to each other. Some researchers, however, extend the definition to include the visceral fascia, which lines the body cavity and divides it into compartments for different organs, and also thin layers of connective tissue that line pretty much every part of the body.
Even after an initial injury has healed, a lack of movement in the lower back can be enough to keep the fascia stiff and to cause adhesions, where two layers become physically linked by new collagen fibres. This, other studies suggest, restricts movement, not only in the fascia immediately surrounding the stiff spot, but also in connected regions nearby.
Injury and inflammation aside, there are many other reasons why fascia may become stiff. Some research hints that activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is involved in the body’s fight-or-flight response, causes the fascia to contract.
On the plus side, this dynamic nature of fascia suggests that lifestyle changes could help to reverse problems related to it. One promising intervention under investigation is stretching.
Other studies by Langevin with pigs showed that stretching the lower back for 5 minutes, twice a day, not only reduced the size of an area of inflammation, but also seemed to induce a series of anti-inflammatory chemical events from the fascia. This is a promising finding because chronic inflammation has been linked to pretty much every modern ailment going, from heart disease and diabetes to cancer and depression.
A pilot study at Harvard Medical school showed that healthy volunteers who undertook an hour-long stretching session had altered levels of immune system molecules called cytokines, compared with those who didn’t stretch, suggesting that there is a regulation of inflammation after stretching.
Additionally, chiropractic adjustments can help restore proper movement patterns and reduce strain on the fascial system.
Tissue strain patterns are sometimes found in babies and children who have experienced phsical or emotional trauma. Treatment involves releasing the fascia overlying the cranial bones to allow the brain and nervous system to function efficiently.
