Fascia Part 3: Stop The Pain
Pic: Johnnyalive
You now know why you get pain from fascia, how it becomes tight, and what problems it can cause you. If you don’t know, then you haven’t read Part 1 and Part 2.
Loosen Up
There are several general things you can do to prevent and help heal fascia pain. Remember your fascia can be tight all over your body. Even if one area is not the cause of the pain, it will still need attention. Start doing some of these things and be on your way to a pain free life!
- Foam Roll- breaks down adhesions in the tissue, targets trigger points, gives a greater stretch through isolated areas and basically goes a long way to getting your fascia loose and healthy!
- Tennis Ball Work- Gets right into your muscles, and consequently your fascia. Is great for the plater fascia.
- Stretch-Almost doesn’t need to be said. Although stretching is not as effective as soft tissue work for fascia, it is a supplement and needs to be done along with the two practices above.
- Biomechanical Corrections
- Repeat Strain- For eg. If you are sitting all day, your hip flexors will be tight, and you will get tight fascia through your front. This is the same with all repetitive movements, as I have mentioned previously, fascia can and will adapt.
- Footwear- Foot biomechanics affect your whole body, get them checked out.
- Technique- Very similar to repeat strain. If you are lifting and strength training, or even running or walking badly, you are going to cause abnormal stresses through your body and consequently get tight. Correct technique will help prevent and cure tight fascia.
Heal Plantar Fasciitis And Tight Feet
Whether you have plantar fasciitis or you are just tight, you need to do some work through your feet. Tight fascia in your feet causes much more than just plantar faciitis, as you learnt in Part 1 and Part 2. Here are a few things you can do to get that plank of wood underneath your foot somewhat pliable again.
Soft Tissue Work
Soft tissue work is the number one thing you can do to ease your pain. Fascia is pretty thick. Soft tissue work puts extra force right through where you want it.
Do some tennis ball work through your
- Plantar Fascia
- Peroneals
- Calves
Working with the tennis ball on the actual plantar fascia is simply the first and foremost thing you need to be doing. If you are a real sucker for pain, switch to a golf ball!
Foam Roll your
- Peroneals
- Calves
Stretch
Stretching is easy and necessary for fascial pain relief. Although not as effective as soft tissue work, it needs to be done. When you are trying to cure plantar fasciitis or loosen it up, you need to work through your:
- Gastrocnemius
- Soleus
- Plantar Fascia
Plantar Fascia has a direct influence on these two muscles and loosening them up will go a long way to relieving pain and stiffness.
Biomechanical Corrections
A big cause of plantar fasciitis is a dropping arch. See a specialist to find out if you require arch support. Often this simple biomechanical correction will fix the problem, or at least stop it getting worse.
Ice
Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammatory problem. Ice will help.
Get Started and Get Loose
From this series you can understand the role of fascia and how it impacts on your body’s function. Tight fascia can wreak havoc on your body, bind you up, make your muscles tight, and cause you pain. The feet are the main issue in many people, and where much of the problems start. Get them loose and functioning correctly, but also don’t neglect the rest of the fascia. Repetitive movements during the day will leave certain parts of your fascia tighter than others. Start employing these techniques within your workout plan and start to feel the benefits. Your fascia won’t get loose by itself!
Part 1: An Important Piece Of The Pain Puzzle
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5 Responses to “Fascia Part 3: Stop The Pain”
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Lauren -
I love the information and presentation on the site, triggerpoint work, foam rolling and the like is phenomenal stuff when we can understand the hows and whys to use it, you make it very easy to understand those points.
Many thanks for your excellent work.
Thanks! That’s my aim, to explain and make people understand concepts.
Cheers.
I am going to find a tennis ball right now!
Now that I actually understand how it works, I’m much more motivated to do something with my plantar fascia. Thank you!
Hey Lauren - great great post! You are right on the money with Fascia being an important part of the equation that can affect the rest of the body.
There is a lot of new research coming out that links the acupuncture points of the body to different lines of fascia (which goes a long way to explaining why that stuff works so well).
I was lucky enough to have dinner with Thomas Myers (the author of Fascia Trains - new book comes out end of this year and is going to be awesome!) and he was talking about how interconnected everything is and how totally ignored fascia is - really important that anyone exercising has at least an awareness of what fascia is and how crucial it is to respect what it can do for us.
By the way, how long do you think those stretches should be held to really access the fascia? Or would that be just until I can’t stand the tears of pain anymore?
Cheers Lauren
Jamie
Hey Jamie,
I will be getting that book when it comes out. I would hold them until you start to feel a release, probably at least 20 seconds.
Cheers