ANATOMY SHOW - FASCIA IN THE MOVING BODY

Fascia in the Moving Body

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Fascia Hydration
ANATOMY SHOW - FASCIA IN THE MOVING BODY

Fascia Hydration

How often have you heard the reminded to stay mindful of being
hydrated? And that was even before knowing about the fasciae.
Most bodily functions need water or occur in a watery
environment.
Fascia - our connective tissues - are full of bound water, about
three quarters of it are water. Free water in the body is that part
of the water that is outside of the cells and blood vessels, but not
assimilated into the ground substance. The free water would be
part of your lymph fluid.
Bound water, while nicely integrated in your tissues, still needs to
be exchanged. All living tissues produce by-products and wastes,
which need to be taken care of either by recycling or excretion.
In short, any physical movement leads to fluid exchange in the
connective tissues.
While many upside down poses effect blood pressure and
lymphatic flow, bound water in the fasciae is less responsive to
gravitational pull.
Movement can be active or passive for fascia fluid exchange and
hydration.
A sponge is a good, but not completely accurate, model for
hydration and fluid exchange in our connective tissues. Water in a
sponge is still free water, whereas in our tissues it is bound.

Fluid exchange in our tissues can happen passively through

massage, or actively by muscle activation and their squeeze
against other body structures.
Since each muscle fibre, muscle bundle and then bones and joints
are enveloped in fascia, any and all movement in the body has to
be between fascia membranes. These so called sliding surfaces
are ideally slippery layers of fascia. Their surfaces, wether in the
hip joint or between layers of muscle, require lubricating fluid.
Movement stimulates the production of these lubricating fluids in
the fibroblasts which are then secreted on to the fascial surfaces
such as joint spaces.
Both passive or active movement can lead to lubrication of sliding
surfaces. Active movement, however, has the added benefit of
producing heat, which has further benefits on the fascia ground
substance.
Re-hydration of fascia is a process of squeezing and releasing.
As tissues begin to move, as squeezed tissues begin to release,
space is created, which can draw in fresh fluid back into the
tissues.
In the spine, gravity has a continually compressing effect when we
are upright.
Spinal discs, or intervertebral discs, are also considered to be
part of fascia. The discs are made up of the same ingredients as
other fascial tissues: fibres, cells, water and ground substance. It
is their particular arrangement and density that make this type of
fascia spinal discs.
Spinal movement helps to keep the spine healthy and hydrated.
In fact, any exercises or practices we do that include spinal
movement can help regenerate the spine on our own.
Always remember the sponge-like rehydration that spinal
movement, can bring keep the intervertebral discs in good shape
and also restore them back into a healthier state.

Our bodies and our fascia are alive and can regenerate.
Especially as we discontinue habits which affect us negatively.
Quit sitting at your desk on on the couch all day and get up to
move regularly!
Dehydrated fascia behaves like glue. It becomes stiffer and more
sticky, permitting less movement. Eventually, dehydrated fascia
becomes solid.
Dehydrated tissue is harder to move, requires greater effort
from us, which in turn reduces our likelihood to move, and our
tissues with the intrinsic fluids become stagnant. Stagnant fluids
accumulate waste products and in turn become more acidic.
The perpetually produced and existing fibres begin to get sticky
and form adhesions, reducing movement further.
Having to break through adhesions creates micro-tears. Tears,
even micro tears, can create inflammation. In acidic tissues
inflammation leads to more adhesions which are a type of
fibrosis a mild form of scar tissue.
Inflammation is the underlying cause of most degenerative
diseases and tissue dysfunction.
Keeping your fascia hydrated prevents and can reverse this cycle.
Hydrated fascia maintains the potential for free movement
possibilities and a functional body.
The hydrating and lubricating fluid responds to:
• heat - increased temperatures increase fluidity of the
fluid and make movement easier
• acidity - increased acidity reduces fluidity and makes
movement more difficult
• movement - increases fluidity and fluid production, easing
further movement
Regular movement prevents tissue adhesions and allows for a
more balanced body - nervous system connection.