What is 'fascia’ or ‘connective tissue’?

Fascia forms a web of connective tissue throughout the human body, covering and connecting every single organ, every muscle, tiny muscle fibres and even every nerve. By surrounding the components of the system, fascia unites all portions of the body. A common belief that is wrong is that fascia is only a ‘packaging’ organ that wraps muscle and other structures.

            The way anatomy is taught is to some level antiquated and has not yet integrated the new research. To give an example: “in real bodies, muscles hardly ever transmit their full force directly via tendons into the skeleton, as is usually suggested by our textbook drawings. They rather distribute a large portion of their contractile or tensional forces onto fascial sheets. Therefore the simple question which muscles are participating in a movement becomes obsolete.” (p.XV).

            New research shows us that fascia is capable of significant plasticity because of its irregular shape and distribution and of its high innervations. Along with permeating most structural elements, fascia also plays multiple roles in the body: it is highly protective in nature (p.15); it provides a lubricating function; and it acts as a major organ of communication and proprioception throughout the body. This is because fascia has nearly six times as many sensory nerves than muscular tissue (p.77).  Because of these biomechanical properties, fascia responds to appropriate contact which will then undo what time and life has done, of course as long as the pressure is precise, applied in the proper vector, pace and with a safe presence.

Schleip, R. Fascia: the tensional network of the human body. Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier.

How is it different from massage therapy, chiropractic and other bodywork?

Chiropractic methods lean more towards a ‘fix it’ approach, shorter appointments, and higher velocity manipulation to target the area of complaint. Massage therapy is very effective at alleviating stress, helping with injuries and creating a general relaxation feeling. Because Rolfing® tends to generate these effects, it is frequently misunderstood as a type of deep tissue massage. However, Rolfing’s focus is not on relaxation. Its approach prioritizes postural and movement assessments, testing along the session to make sure the manipulations hold results, and aims to reorganize the body’s structures in their complex relations to each other. One of the method’s strengths is to adapt the work to the uniqueness of the client and to balance the body as a whole. Which generally brings about long lasting results. This is the main reason why we suggest to plan more than one session.