Fascia lines and surrounds every organ, muscle fibre, bone, nerve, vein, artery, as well as the brain and spinal cord. If you removed everything else from your body and left only your fascia, you would have the complete three-dimensional framework of yourself. It is one structure that exists from head to toe without interruption. AMAZING. Think of it as a body-sized cable knit sweater. If you get a snag up by your shoulder you would see all the lower threads pull up in that direction. The same can be said for your body when it sustains an injury or is subject to repeated postural strain.

Fascia responds to trauma by thickening and shortening, causing torques in this three-dimensional net. These fascial lines of tension have incredible tensile strength and often cause distortions to this existing framework. These distortions can cause pain. Pain is a clue, but often only a part of the puzzle. Since fascia is so interconnected it’s torques and twists can have far-reaching effects. A strain in your pelvis for example may be causing a line of tension to your shoulder. You may feel the pain in your shoulder and be symptom free in your pelvis, but if the pull in the pelvis is not addressed your shoulder pain will never resolve. In order to turn this pain signal off we must first address the postural pull of the fascia or else the pain will keep coming back. Manual mobilizations of this tissue by your RMT can release thickened fascial strains and soften distortions. This alleviates pain and allows freedom of movement once again.