Suddenly, everyone seems terribly worried about their fascia. And I will try anything that promises to improve my ugly thighs.
Social media would have us believe this previously neglected part of the body might explain everything from cellulite and a stubborn belly to stiffness, puffiness, poor posture and even the fact that our faces don’t look quite as pert as they did ten years ago.
The proposed solutions are equally enthusiastic: fascia blasting, foam rolling, scraping, gua sha, massage guns, wooden rollers, rebounding, stretching and increasingly alarming-looking implements with which we’re apparently supposed to attack our thighs.
Does your fascia actually need fixing?
The short answer is: probably not. The slightly longer answer is much more interesting.
First, what actually is fascia?
Fascia is connective tissue that forms a continuous network throughout the body. It surrounds and connects muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels and organs and helps structures move and transmit force. So fascia is real, important and rather fascinating.
What it isn’t is a mysterious layer of bodily clingfilm that becomes clogged with toxins, glues itself together and traps pockets of fat underneath your skin. That is not the impression the Socials give.
Can fixing your fascia flatten your stomach?
This is one of the biggest claims — and unfortunately one of the easiest to misunderstand.
Massage, foam rolling or stretching your abdomen cannot selectively burn abdominal fat. Fat loss requires your body to use stored energy. You cannot instruct it to take that energy specifically from your stomach by massaging the area any more than doing hundreds of sit-ups selectively melts the fat sitting over your abdominal muscles.
So why are there so many dramatic before-and-after photographs?
Because appearance can change without fat disappearing. Massage may temporarily move fluid. Stretching and mobility work can change the way you stand. Releasing muscular tension may improve posture. Simply engaging the abdominal muscles can make a stomach look dramatically flatter
Add different lighting, camera angles and the enormous difference between relaxing your stomach and deliberately holding it in, and a spectacular ten-minute transformation becomes surprisingly easy to manufacture.
If someone genuinely loses several centimetres of abdominal fat during a 15-minute fascia routine, they’ve achieved something considerably more exciting than wellness. They’ve rewritten the laws of physics.
Cellulite is a little more complicated.
This is where fascia influencers aren’t entirely barking up the wrong anatomical tree. Cellulite does involve connective tissue. Fibrous bands connect the skin to deeper tissues. Fat pushes upwards between these bands while the bands pull downwards, producing the familiar dimpled appearance.
Which is also why cellulite isn’t simply a sign that someone is overweight.
Slim women have cellulite. Fit women have cellulite. Young women have cellulite. It’s overwhelmingly normal anatomy. I just wish we found it attractive and it was ‘fashionable’.
Massage and mechanical treatments may temporarily make cellulite appear smoother by affecting fluid, circulation and the way tissues sit. What hasn’t been convincingly demonstrated is that aggressively smashing, scraping or rolling the area permanently destroys cellulite. And bruising isn’t evidence that toxins are leaving your body. It’s usually just a sign that you’ve bruised yourself.
What about “stuck” fascia?
This is another phrase worth treating cautiously. Fascia can certainly change. Connective tissues respond to movement, loading, injury, ageing and inactivity. Scar tissue and genuine adhesions can occur, particularly following surgery or injury.
But the popular idea that an otherwise healthy person’s fascia has become broadly “stuck” and needs physically breaking apart is a considerable oversimplification.
A foam roller isn’t rolling out knots in fascia like someone attacking pastry with a rolling pin. What massage and foam rolling can do is influence the nervous system, alter our perception of stiffness and discomfort and temporarily increase range of motion. Which may explain why it feels so blooming good. And that’s a perfectly legitimate reason to do it.
Does fascia need hydrating?
Another favourite online claim is that drinking more water somehow “hydrates the fascia”. Water is obviously essential to normal tissue function, and connective tissue contains substantial amounts of water.
But drinking three litres instead of two isn’t akin to pouring WD-40 into dry fascia.
If you’re adequately hydrated, obsessively drinking additional water isn’t likely to transform your connective tissue. Movement may actually be the more useful part of the equation.
Regularly moving joints through different ranges, walking, stretching and loading muscles exposes connective tissue to the mechanical forces it’s designed to experience.
In other words, your body rather likes being used.
So what should you actually do for your fascia?
- Walk.
- Strength training
- Stretch if you enjoy stretching.
- Move your body in different directions rather than spending your entire life sitting in one position.
- Dance (yayy).
- Do yoga or Tai Chi.
- Get a massage because it feels wonderful.
- Use a foam roller if you enjoy the sensation and find it helps with stiffness.
- And get up periodically if you spend hours sitting at a desk.
What probably isn’t worth bothering with?
Be sceptical of anything promising to “detox” your fascia, melt fat from specific areas, permanently remove cellulite, dramatically shrink your waist in minutes or
“break apart” fascia through painful manipulation.
Be especially suspicious if bruising, considerable pain or swelling is presented as evidence that toxins, fat or emotional trauma are leaving your body.
Your connective tissue does not require punishment.
So, should you bother fixing your fascia?
Not really.
For most healthy people, the better question isn’t “How do I fix my fascia?” but:“Am I moving enough?” Because much of the sensible advice hidden underneath the fascia trend turns out to be remarkably old-fashioned. Move regularly. Build strength. Maintain mobility. Eat reasonably well. Drink when you’re thirsty. Sleep properly. Have a massage occasionally if you enjoy one.
Your fascia will participate in all of this quite happily without you ever having to think about it. And if ten minutes rolling around on the floor with a foam roller makes your body feel looser and more comfortable? Who am I to stop you?
Just don’t expect your cellulite to pack its bags and leave with the toxins.
