Fascia is a type of connective tissue made of an elasto-callagenous complex that creates a three dimensional web extending continuously from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. It surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve, blood vessel, all the way down to the cellular level - providing protection and structure throughout our bodies.

The core of the fascial complex is made of collagen and elastin fibers that are pliable, stretchable, and extremely tough - with the tensile strength of nearly 2,000lbs per square inch (crazy right?). Additionally, there is a matrix – or ground substance – that under normal conditions is a gelatinous consistency, transporting metabolic material throughout the body.

*Picture a spider web throughout your whole body with a liquid substance surrounding it.*

Through trauma, inflammatory processes, poor posture, or simply the weight and strain of daily life, the ground substance of fascia can solidify, becoming cement-like as the collegen and elastin fibers shorten and twist. The fascia will organize itself along the lines of tension that are imposed on it, creating detrimental effects throughout the physical body while also affecting our mental and emotional states. The clinical repercussions of fascial restrictions can be bizarre and seemingly unrelated, but seeing as this complex touches everything inside of us, it makes sense that being out of balance would have unexpected reprecussions.