Everyday Fascial Fitness

Fascia can be found everywhere in the body, it is like a three-dimensional spider web that covers everything in the body. Training this fascia network is recommended to create elastic connective tissues and freedom of movement. Markus Rossman shares some tips in training your fascia.

Fascia needs water

The fine fibrous connective tissues can lose their suppleness. Our connective tissue consists largely of water. However, if this tissue remains rigid and immobile, the water can diminish and so does the elasticity of the fibres. Drinking a lot of water does not help. It is the movement that rejuvenates the necessary moisture and suppleness and irrigates the fascia.

Movement is important but not all movements can “move” the fascia. Most sports exercise tend to build muscle and has little effect on the fascia, especially if you always do the same sport with the same movements. Fascia needs a variety of movement. For jogging, this would mean, for example, do not simply doing lapse, but use obstacles, instead of bypassing them, bounce to a tree trunk, climb around, and play.

Fascia training needs to be variable

Fascia training is a combination of swing, bounce, roll … in all directions and as variable as possible. Move differently would be enough as  many people spend most of the day sitting with their backs on the computer (and evenings on the sofa).

Fascial Exercise

Here are some fascial exercises hat you can do in your everyday life.

(1) Stretching the arms

• Stand up, sit hip-width apart
• Pull the left arm upwards and bend to the left
• The left wrist with your right hand and pull the arm further to the left
• Pull the arm upwards and pull it further to the left and back – so you get more pull on the arm, perfect for the fascia now gently bounce: backward, forward, to the side
• Repeat  the other arm
  

(2) Stretching the spine

• First, stretch the arms upwards
• Then reach the floor with the arms
• Change the position of the feet again and again: turn inside, turn outwards, cross left or right or cross over
• Bend or spring easily with the upper body when bending downwards – in all directions

It is important to note that the rocking should be soft and gentle in all exercises, not with swing or pressure. Sometimes small, barely visible movements are enough. The interplay of the back and the fascia leads to less back problems. When bending, fascia is stretched and pulled like a rubber. It is best, therefore, to extend them in all directions, and to set different impulses through the different positions of the feet. And variety is very important for the fascia.

(3) The hand, wrist, forearm

When working on the computer, the “mouse arm” can  be developed.  The result is overloading the tendons ( “tennis elbow”), carpal tunnel syndrome. The best way to do this exercise is to use a mini fascia roller which can fit in handbags and on a desk’s drawer.

• Place the fascial roll on the “mouse hand”
• Roll the fingers on the roll
• Roll over the fingers with light pressure
• Then over the palm of the hand, to the wrist
• Extend the hand upwards and tension
• Then roll over the wrist
• Roll the whole forearm, up to the elbow
• Finally, turn the arm and work the outer side

(4) Thigh, glutes, and lower back

• Place a leg on the roll and slowly work through the thigh
• Roll between hamstring and glutes, roll more intensely where you feel it most or where it hurts the most.
• Always roll on smaller areas, otherwise it’s too strenuous
• Roll about 60 seconds per region, then to the next
• Place the right foot over the left knee and roll the right glutes. For people who sit a lot, this is often painful, the muscles are shortened here and the fascia is glued. This area needs
• Repeat on the other side: place the left foot on the right knee, turn to the left half of the glutes, roll
• After 60 seconds, loosen the position, place the roll in the lower back, and carefully roll on a small area
• On the forearms and roll towards the shoulder belt
• If that is relatively easy, the hands can now also behind the head – as soon as it becomes too strenuous, put the arms on the mat