What is Fascia ?

In short, fascia is the organ of structure in the body. Fascia is the connective tissue which connects different parts of the body together and allows the body to maintain its structure.

Fascia can be thought of as a stocking of tissue that lies inside the skin and functions to both hold certain anatomical structures together and to separate others from each other. It is ubiquitous in the body - it connects the organs, bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles.

If you peel an orange - the white pith of the orange is analogous to fascia in the human body. The pith connects the skin to the flesh of the orange - and if you examine the segments of orange carefully, you will find that the white material of the pith also permeates the fleshy segments of the orange.

Rolfers believe that fascia is a responsive and plastic medium. It responds to the forces which it encounters. If a muscle is under constant strain, due to say, bad posture or an injury, the fascia surrounding that muscle responds by becoming thicker to better resist the strain. This change allows an injury to heal, but unfortunately, the fasica often does not relax to its original state once the injury has healed resulting in a semi-permanent change in the local tissue. Over time, this can result in aches and pains.

Rolfers achieve lasting structural change in the body by working with the fascia. The pressure applied by the rolfer causes lasting change in the fascia - allowing chronically tight areas to relax. These changes when applied in the Rolfing Series can help to achieve a better structural arrangement in the body, allowing the fascia and body-tissues to function optimally and helping to relieve and eliminate chronic aches and pains.