Fasciae (Latin "fascis" = bunch, bundle, compound) refer to the connective tissue that permeates the entire body as an enveloping, connecting network and gives it support and form.
They form net-like small layers, sheaths and strands of fibrous connective tissue, which are wrapped and interconnected by increasingly larger layers. They wrap individual muscle fibers as well as whole muscles, organs, blood vessels and nerves. The health and the tension conditions in this network are decisive for how smoothly our muscles work, how bones, vertebrae and also organs are positioned and how our joints are loaded.
The parts of the connective tissue, which for example in osteopathy and Rolfing are summarized under the subject complex "fasciae", can be divided into the following sub-areas:
connective tissue, which forms ligaments, tendons and capsular tissue
the sheaths of the body cavities, peritoneum, pleura and pericardium with their envelope folds, which are called ligaments, mesenteries and omenta, depending on their location and function
the spinal membranes: spinal cord membranes
the large body fasciae (surface fasciae), which are enveloping in the true sense of the word
These shares
envelope and permeate all muscles, organs, vessels and nerves (CNS, PNS and VNS)
separate structures and grant their sliding among themselves
connect tissues/structures with each other
form "crevices" for vessels and nerves to accompany them and protect them from shear avulsion
form the suspensions of the organs and ensure the optimally fixed organ position with the best possible mobility
establish a unity between the parietal, the visceral and the craniosacral
give the body and all its parts the shape, the appearance
protect an entire network of functionally identical cells against overlapping infections and
can be a mirror of our psycho-emotional state of mind.
One of the leading experts in current fascia research is body therapist Dr. Robert Schleip.
One of his currently highly regarded research findings is that fascia has the ability to tense and release independently of muscles. Only in recent years has it been recognized that the fasciae are also a sensory organ. This includes the property that they themselves can trigger pain - presumably many types of muscle and soft tissue pain. This is particularly interesting in the case of lumbar back pain, for example. Much of it here comes not from the discs, but most likely from the fascia in addition to trigger points. The lumbar fascia is very densely populated with free nerve endings that can also signal pain. In back pain patients, it shows numerous signs of tearing, scarring and inflammatory processes. Fascia is the most important organ for proprioception, that is, the perception of one's own posture and movement, the body's internal perception. Even in the superficial fascia membranes there is a denser colonization of pro-prioceptive nerves than in muscle spindles and joint capsules.
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