BOOST YOUR FASCIA FITNESS

Unexplained aches and pains could be down to an overlooked part of your anatomy, called fascia. We look at what it is, and why it could be causing you pain

- Angela Kennedy

A sharp twinge in the shoulder or a grinding ache in the back are debilitating everyday experiences for millions of women in the UK. About 38 per cent of women have chronic pain, most commonly back pain. Not knowing its cause means it can’t be treated in order to heal, only masked. An estimated 7.1 million adults in England are regularly prescribed painkillers. But new research is uncovering an overlooked source of unexplained aches and pains – one that can be tackled with simple lifestyle changes to ease your sore spots, naturally.

You might already have heard of fascia, but if you haven’t, this connective tissue runs throughout your body, protecting your internal organs, cells, nerves, vessels and muscles.

‘Fascia is like scaff olding for your body. It’s a matrix of structural support around cells, keeping everything in place. It’s made from layers of mostly collagen fibres plus some elastic fibres with a viscous gel containing hyaluronic acid between the layers, allowing for flowing, easy movement,’ says Camilla Ranje Nordin, fascia teacher at The Fascia Guide (fasciaguide.com), an insightful online educational resource.

Until recently, fascia was thought to play a passive role in the body, but new findings from scientists such as Professor Carla Stecco at the University of Padova, Italy, have redefined fascia as an active functional system, enabling cell communication, which is vital for tissue repair, immunity and keeping your body in balance (homeostasis). Fascia allows for the smooth flow of movement and for the free flow of communication between different body parts. So, it’s a very sensitive connective system that can become tightened or thickened in places, which may cause pain.