Many of our patients have had pain for many years prior to their first visit. They usually arrive with stacks of reports, MRIs and x-rays. The reports’ diagnoses are typical – several herniated discs, spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis, or osteoarthritis. The patient’s fascial system is never mentioned. This is a shame because abnormal changes in fascia can invoke pain.
According to Human Anatomy and Physiology, fascia a structure of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other. The fascial system surrounds and holds all of our organs, nerves, blood vessels, and skin together.
When we move, the skin, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, etc. should easily slide over each other with minimum effort. And this is where the problem exists. In people suffering from muscle/skeletal pain, these tissues do not easily slide. They become caught, sticky and hook on to one another. The thickening, increases friction invites further inflammation, reduces mobility, reduces healing, and increases pain.
The recipe for reducing fascial thickening is compression and increased temperature or friction. This many be the reason why deep tissue massage often brings relief.
The chiropractic adjustment often reduces fascial thickening and when combined with soft tissue techniques such as the Graston Technique, our fascia becomes more pliable, supple, and less inflamed.
To keep these tissues supple, treatment plans should also include further adjustments, stretches, exercises and a way to assess faulty movement patterns that are often the true cause of pain such as the Functional Movement Screen.
As research progresses, we discover that muscle/joint pain origins are not only restricted to our joints, other structures such as our fascia play a big role. If ignored, our pain and impairment often goes on.
