This weekend I went along to the British Fascia Symposium 2016 in Worcester. There I met people who had travel from far and wide, including the USA, the Cayman Islands, Argentina and Italy. We all went for the same purpose, to learn more about the latest scientific research on fascia.
What is fascia?? Fascia literally covers and joins every single part of us together, from the finest level of detail, our cells, our organs, muscle to our outer most layer, our skin.
Why travel to the symposium?! Well there is an ever increasing body of research into fascia that is gradually changing the basis of medical practice and of movement and manual therapies. Our increasing knowledge of fascia is transforming our understanding of everything to do with the body.
There is increasing interest in the role of fascia in musculoskeletal strain disorders such as low-back instability, fibromyalgia, pelvic pain, and respiratory dysfunction. Additionally, increasing understanding of fascia is advancing therapeutic approaches to wound healing, trauma recovery and repair, and postural strain patterns.
I was lucky enough to attend a workshop run by Gil Hedley, who is renowned for his research in integral anatomy through dissection. Gil not only talked about healthy fascia, he also explained what happens when fascia becomes ‘stuck’. I work with a lot of scar tissue so I was fascinated by the pictures Gil had brought with him showing examples from his laboratory of different types of fascial adhesions that one finds in the human body. He distinguished between ‘normal’ and pathological’ adhesions and reflected on how these adhesions can limit movement and function. To see the different types of fascia and the effects of adhesions beneath the skin was amazing! If you are interested to know more then please follow this link.
The key note speakers at the symposium included Gil Hedley, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Carla Stecco, Anatomy Trains co author, James Earles and Founder of the European College of Bowen Studies, Julian Baker. The speakers were all inspiring and their passion for the subject of fascia really shone through. Roll on the next symposium!