What Is Fascia?
Today we are going to talk about fascia!!
If you’ve had me out to work with your horse, had a conversation with me about bodywork, or even taken a look at my social media, you’ve likely heard me refer to fascia. So what is fascia? Fascia is a fibrous and wet connective tissue that interpenetrates every muscle, organ, and other soft tissues in the body. Fascia covers these internal systems in an uninterrupted web-like fashion, interconnecting all parts of the body together.
https://www.scibodytherapy.com/deep-dive-fascia/
Fascia is a fibrous connective tissue that provides stability and allows for movement and function of our bodies as a whole. Healthy fascia is flexible, smooth, and liquidy. It runs through the body in different planes, providing structure and integrity. Fascia also has an amazing way of adapting to mechanical stress, “remodeling the cellular/tissue structure and mirroring the functional necessity of the environment where the tissue lays” (Bordoni, Mahabadi, Varacallo). Therefore, when a body experiences stress, trauma, repeated misuse, or too little activity, the fascia can become stiff, misaligned, and can adhere different tissue layers together. Restricted fascia can result in biomechanical dysfunction, decreased range of motion, compensation patterns, and pain. Furthermore, since fascia runs through the body in planes, restricted fascia in one area can affect the function of a totally different part of the body.
https://fasciaguide.com/research/fascia-in-horses/
Luckily there are things we can do to help keep our horse’s feeling their best and minimize restrictions in their bodies.
Bodywork helps to reduce restrictions in the fascia— restoring natural posture, improving the function of the soft tissue, increasing range of motion, decreasing pain, and maximizing performance.
Warm up your horses at the walk for at least 15-20 minutes before going into hard work. This is necessary to help prevent soft tissue injuries. Spend time extending and shortening the walk strides. Ask for light flexion in both directions. Throw in some light lateral work.
Allow your horse as much turn out as possible. Horses are made to be moving and grazing all day long. Being stalled for long periods of time can lead to stiffness and restrictions in soft tissue/ fascia.
Fascia is the cornerstone of our bodies, functionality, and health. Make sure you’re doing what you can to keep your horse’s body healthy and functional.
Below are additional resources to help you learn about fascia.