Your Fascial Adhesions Are Killing You!

You are stiff all over and you can’t touch your toes. It’s limiting and inconvenient but not life-threatening, right?

Think again.

Your chronic stiffness is more serious than you think.

Death by Fascial Adhesion

Body tissue that is tight or locked up creates a significant overall health hazard.

I know, I couldn’t believe it either. Western medicine has done a great job of convincing us that the disease we suffer is genetic and that stiffness in old age is normal. Yet cellular biologists are discovering that a major cause of disease and death is adhesions (fibrosis and scar tissue) in the fascia (connective tissue) and joints.

“Moreover, most of the clinical problems that bring a patient to the doctor’s office result from changes in tissue structure and mechanics. Although these physical alterations have been commonly viewed as the end-result of the disease process, recent advances in mechanobiology suggest that abnormal cell and tissue responses to mechanical stress may actively contribute to the development of many diseases and ailments. Thus, it might be wise to search for a physical cause when chemical or molecular forms of investigation do not suffice.” – Dr. Donald Ingber

Dr. Thomas Wynn, who has spent his distinguished career studying the progression and resolution of chronic inflammation, tissue regeneration, and fibrosis, states that “nearly 45 percent of all deaths in the developed world are attributable to fibroproliferative disorders.”

Dr. Helene Langevin, another scientist with a brilliant track record, believes that there is a striking relationship between fascial adhesion and back pain.

Finally, Dr. Donald Ingber is a distinguished bioengineer and cellular biologist with degrees in molecular biophysics and cellular biochemistry. A recent bio stated that, “Ingber’s insights have helped create the fields of mechanobiology, angiogenesis, tissue engineering, nanobiotechnology, and biomimetics.” He doesn’t mince words but states that mechanical stress in the connective tissue is a major cause of morbidity and mortality.

These scientists believe that a large percentage of today’s disease and death is directly related to facial adhesion. This is because fascial adhesion—another word for restriction in body tissues—causes a loss of proprioception in the body.

What Is Proprioception?

To understand what these scientist are saying we need to understand what proprioception is. Proprioceptors (or mechanoreceptors) are specialized nerve cells that are found in large numbers in the body’s muscles, joints, and connective tissues. The proprioceptors detect the amount of stretch, movement, and pressure in these tissues, sending messages to the brain for constant evaluation.

These proprioceptive biofeedback loops allow the body to know exactly where all of its parts are in relation each other and its environment. They enable the body to know whether it’s moving, how fast it’s moving, and in which direction it’s moving. In a pitch black room you know exactly where your hands are and the amount and speed of their movement. You can even touch your nose.

This is proprioception. There could be no great athletes without our complex proprioceptive capacity. Let this sink in, and you will realize why this is more important for balance than inner ear function. It is a beautiful thing when all is working well.

A 30-to-1 Ratio Gone Bad

Unfortunately, misaligned vertebrae and tissue adhesions disable proprioceptors and mess up the body’s amazing biofeedback loop. This not only affects body mechanics and posture but also overall health. And it does it because of a 30-to-1 ratio gone bad.

For every proprioceptive impulse sent to the brain from the muscles, joints, and fascia there are 30 returning impulses that are sent back in response. Consequently, every time a proprioceptor malfunctions and fails to send a message to the brain, there are 30 motor responses that never return from the brain because they were never sent. This would be disastrous even if only these tissues were involved. However, many of those 30 returning messages go to vital organs and glands. Thus restricted proprioceptors don’t just incapacitate tissue and make us inflexible. They also damage overall health.

“The etiology [cause] or clinical presentation [symptoms] of sickness and disease result from abnormal mechanotransduction.” – Dr. Donald Ingber

This is why doctors Ingber, Wynn, and Langevin conclude that many, likely most, disease is the result of the abnormal function of proprioception throughout the body and especially in the area of its joints. What’s more, they believe that no one can understand any disease process without first understanding these biomechanics.

Three Ways To Break Up Fascial Restrictions

This is disturbing information, but nature hasn’t left us without any solutions. Here are a few simple but dynamically effective ways to break up fascial restrictions:

Adhesion-Busting Techniques

One of the most powerful ways you can resolve connective tissue adhesions is by turning it over to your body’s own intelligence through the amazing therapy of TRE®. This simply-learned exercise enables your body to break up fascial restrictions by muscular manipulation of joints and fascia. Two other techniques that are also very effective are resistance stretching (find some great exercises here) and the pandiculation of Clinical Somatics.

 Full Range of Motion Exercises

Strength training’s squats and lunges and yoga’s stretches, when performed properly, take take your joints through a full range of motion and improve mobility. Truthfully, movement of any kind lubricates the connective tissue and increases flexibility. Like the body work proverb says, “Motion is lotion.”

Hydrating with Manual Therapy 

Hydrating the connective tissue is critical, but it’s not what you think. When it comes to fascia Tom Myers believes that where the water goes is more important than how much you drink. You can drink a lot and still have dehydrated fascia. It’s squeezing the sponge through manual therapy (massage) that hydrates the connective tissue. Toxins and stagnant fluids are replaced by fresh water and nutrients as congested tissue is squeezed and circulation improves.

It’s Never Too Late

We aren’t helpless against the morbidity and mortality caused by fascial restrictions. Most of the techniques listed above are completely assessable, even to the elderly. We don’t have to sit in our homes and wish we weren’t so stiff and sore. These therapies really work!

So don’t put of increasing your flexibility to a more convenient time. Take action today and enjoy more vibrant health.