Experts dispel the myths surrounding this vital tissue.
If you’ve spent much time in certain wellness corners of social media, you may have come across concepts such as “fascia flossing” and “fascia stretch therapy” — along with influencers touting the benefits of healthy fascia for flexibility, performance, and even longevity. This begs the question: What exactly is fascia? And should you be incorporating exercises that target it into your routine? Is there even such a thing?
Fascia 101
Let’s start with what fascia is not: It’s not just a wellness fad — in recent years, researchers have found that fascia may “hold the key to tackling chronic pain and immune dysfunction,” according to New Scientist. But this finding merely scratches the surface.
“Fascia is a delicate, web-like tissue that envelops every structure in our bodies, like muscles, bones, organs, and nerves,” says Sumeet Kumar, Ph.D., a geneticist who specializes in genetic predispositions, diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders that affect longevity, such as Parkinson’s Disease. In short, it’s everywhere, and it does a lot.
“Fascia contains collagen cells, stores water, and has adhesives, resulting in elasticity and reducing friction between tissue surfaces. It is considered by many to be the largest innervated organ in the body,” says Ali H. Mesiwala, M.D., a board-certified, fellowship-trained neurosurgeon at DISC Sports & Spine Center (a partner of Red Bull Athlete Performance Center). “Everything in the body is connected, from the skin to the deep cells of our muscles and organs, by [this] fine network of tissue called fascia.”
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Think of fascia like the Wi-Fi that connects all aspects of your digital life, from team Slack messages and emails to your Instagram feed. Without it, your day would feel disconnected. When fascia functions properly and flexibly, the whole body works better, moves faster, and feels better. “Healthy, mobile fascia lets us move effortlessly,” says Kumar. “Conversely, tight, or restricted fascia can trigger pain and stiffness, limiting mobility.”
What “Healthy” Fascia Means for Your Body
Recent research has shed light on fascia’s role in the body — and some smaller studies on improving fascia flexibility are promising, says Kumar:
“New studies reveal that fascia's role extends to numerous other bodily functions, such as pain management (injuries, overuse, or stress can tighten and restrict fascia, causing pain while stretching and massage can enhance fascial mobility and alleviate pain), posture (fascia supports our posture and spine alignment, so strong, healthy fascia can help prevent back pain and other postural issues), immunity (fascia houses immune cells that combat infection and disease, so healthy fascia contributes to overall health and disease prevention), and longevity (fascia maintains our bodies' resilience, and as we age, fascia can stiffen and become less mobile, impacting flexibility, mobility, and overall health. Healthy and mobile fascia improves our quality of life).”
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Fascia Training
So, can we actually train — or even improve — fascia? Fascia training may have a Wikipedia entry, but there’s still much to study and learn before considering it a widely accepted part of training.
“This can be a tricky subject in the sense that Instagram trainers and fitness people might overstate the value of fascia — and also overstate their ability to influence and impact it,” says Michael Crandall, CSCS, PN2, a Tier X Coach at Equinox Hudson Yards. “It’s very important to whole-body movement, but important in the sense that healthy fascia is a great indicator of a well-balanced full-body movement/training/strength program.”
Crandall says that the beauty of fascia lies in its complexity. “Fascia has no clear beginning or end throughout the body … it is an internal web system that goes over, under, in between, throughout, into, etc. It’s a filmy web that intertwines the muscles of your body and even [intertwines] segments of the same muscle,” he says.
But that also means, when it comes to working with clients, there’s no way (currently) for trainers to use fascia as a North Star in a training routine. As Crandall puts it: “I can’t see it, measure it, or touch it.”
A Better Way to Treat Your Fascia
To support your fascia over time, Crandall says it’s less about “targeting” fascia than prioritizing whole-body movement, like running, sprinting, and jumping.
“These movements are a way of flossing, lubricating, and maintaining the health integrity of the fascia,” he says. “We’ve learned over time that this type of training is the most important type of training you can do if overall health is your main priority. Sure, we can isolate muscle groups sometimes, but it’s important for us as a movement-based species to maintain the integrity — the thing that intertwines all of our movements.”
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Dr. Mesiwala says he incorporates “fascia training” in his work with athletes — particularly when addressing injuries. “Fascia training consists of myofascial massage, stretching, elasticity, and proprioception [or the sense of self-movement],” he says. “Through these methods, one can improve movement, reduce pain, and increase flexibility. Fascial training can also help to reduce injuries by making tissue more elastic and less stiff. We utilize these principles with many patients post-surgery as part of their physical therapy and rehabilitation.”
Ultimately, Dr. Mesiwala’s definition of “fascia training” is not much different from Crandall’s. If you want to support your fascia with your ongoing routine, think of it as pursuing mind-body balance. When asked what kinds of techniques someone might introduce for long-term fascia health, Dr. Mesiwala keeps it simple: “Stretching, massage, yoga, foam rolling, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep.”
You read that right: Just like every other aspect of your health, fascia benefits from a good night’s rest.