Fascia training - the main thing is that it slips!

Dr. Andrea Bannert has been with since 2013. The doctor of biology and medicine editor initially carried out research in microbiology and is the team's expert on the tiny things: bacteria, viruses, molecules and genes. She also works as a freelancer for Bayerischer Rundfunk and various science magazines and writes fantasy novels and children's stories.

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Fascia training with foam rollers and balls - this should make you relaxed and painless. editor Andrea Bannert tried it out on herself.

Back and forth, back and forth - the firm foam roller feels strange under the soles of my bare feet. It has the diameter of a wine bottle and is called "Black Role". An absolute “in-device”, the current “must-have” among sports aids.

Thanks to such fascia training, the body supposedly becomes more flexible - and it is supposed to relieve pain, promise numerous books on the subject. I want to know what the hype is about, so I registered for a workshop without further ado. However, the exercise doesn't feel particularly spectacular to me.

Amazingly more mobility

After five minutes of relaxed rolling around, the test is put to the test: I stand hip-width apart with my knees stretched out and try to get my hands as far as possible in the direction of my feet. Even if I haven't quite reached it yet, I can now get a few centimeters deeper than on my first attempt before the foot roll exercise. I am amazed. What do the soles of my feet have to do with my upper body?

“Inside, everything is connected to each other like in a network,” explains Kay Bartrow, physiotherapist and fascia specialist, who leads the workshop. The man in his forties with the round face and the sympathetic smile is familiar with the subject of fasciae - after all, he has already written several books on it.

Facia belong to the connective tissue. In the form of collagen and elastin fibers, they spin around muscles, nerves and organs like silvery, shiny sheaths. They connect bones and joints and penetrate everything, even the brain. There are also several fascia layers directly under the skin, like the layers of an onion.

Flooding pleasure

Back to my feet: "When we stimulate the fascia, they align more properly and soak up new fluid like a sponge," says Bartrow. That allows my connective tissue to flow better. In addition to water, the fluid in the connective tissue matrix mainly consists of hyaluronic acid. When the plump layers slide past each other like silk, the movement is effortless.

In addition, the pressure I exert on the fascia when rolling can loosen adhesions. They arise when the body police mend small cracks in the fascia matrix. You can imagine the effect as follows: Instead of silk scarves, coarse linen then rubs against each other - it hooks and jerks.

Fascia killer desk

But how do the cracks in the fascia develop? I can't remember any incident where I injured my upper body. "Connective tissue is involved in at least 70 percent of all musculoskeletal injuries," says Bartrow. This of course included broken bones or herniated discs, but also small damage that one does not even notice. If, for example, a muscle fiber breaks, the connective tissue sheath is destroyed at the same time.

“But fasciae damage is also often caused by long periods of sitting at the computer,” Bartrow surprises me. Caught! Eight hours of continuous typing on the computer - not uncommon for me. As is the case with most Germans - we achieve a full seven hours on the four letters on average. The one-sided posture at the desk means that I practically squeeze my fascia. "You can then no longer soak yourself so well," says Bartrow. If you then move the dried out tissue jerkily, small microtraumas quickly arise. The unpleasant consequences: tiny adhesions, scars and ... pain.

The largest sense organ

“For a long time it was thought that the fasciae were just covering material,” says Bartrow. Just 15 years ago, scientists made a spectacular discovery: We can feel with the fascia. There are six times more nerve endings in them than in the muscles. This makes them the largest sensory organ in our body. In addition to pain, they also transmit information about pressure or posture to the spinal cord and from there to the brain.

Tennis ball in the back

I stand against the wall with a tennis ball in my back. Exercise two: I should apply pressure with my own weight where I feel pain and then slowly move the little ball back and forth. It hurts a lot - but it should. Bartrow calls this "comfort pain". Fortunately, although I am not plagued by chronic back pain, I feel lighter and more flexible after the exercise.

The solution to the riddle?

There is already a technical term for pain that occurs in the fascia: the myofascidal pain syndrome. Perhaps the long-sought explanation for 80 percent of those back pain for which no cause has yet been found.

However, it is not yet clear whether fascia training can also prevent pain. Because fascia research is still in its infancy. "In any case, fascia training will not damage it," says Bartrow. He is happy that the trend is getting people moving and recommends that I try out jumping or dancing. Because resilient movements also keep the fasciae supple. Maybe I'll get a trampoline soon.

Book tip: Kai Bartrow: Blackroll: Fascia training for an all-round good body feeling, Trias Verlag, 2014.

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