Fortunately the heathy loading of the collagen matrix can reintroduce healthy collagen. Fascial fibers require crimp to be healthy.

Crimp is the two dimensional lattice like weave. If you think of nylon hosiery, that is kind of what it is.

We have it very naturally when we are children. It is responsible for our springy like motions but the more we don’t use that network, the more we become like couch potatoes, like the person in slide B (at the top of the page), the more we loose that crimp, and we loose the resiliency in the collagen. All the studies have shown that if you introduce the right kind of movement you can begin to rebuild a healthy crimp and get more elasticity and bounce back in your collagen network. This is true in the world of both Adaptive Bodywork manual therapy and of movement therapy like yoga,

Stress generates collagenous barriers that compromise cellular nourishment and tissue quality

In our cellular environment, blood flows along capillaries and constantly delivers nourishment, O2, and MM (neuropeptides) to the local areas. No cells are ever much more than 4 cell widths from a capillary, because of the need to satisfy the diffusion or perfusion requirements of these local cells.

When the body is subjected to tension, fibroblasts create collagen fibers along the lines of stress to support us. These new fibers are also going to form a barrier preventing some of the cells from receiving optimal nutrition etc., from the capillaries, and their cellular function will begin to slow down. These cells won’t be as healthy as they could be. Additionally, as the fluid flow slows because of the blockage, it becomes tougher, harder, more viscous, less watery, and more dehydrated. The ground substance takes on more of a mucous quality, becoming more solid, and that again slows down the flow of food, oxygen, and neuropeptides.

At the other end of this process, the return flow of waste products, C02 and MM, are also slowed down. The waste products can then become stuck in the tissues and dense ground substance, until you squeeze the sponge and allow them to escape. Exercising and flexing your muscles, doing Adaptive bodywork or yoga etc., squeezes the sponge.

If through stretching or bodywork, you release the tension on these tissues, the bands of collagen will slowly be reabsorbed or dissolve. The mucus can then change in a minute by squeezing the sponge and allowing it to expand and fill with fresh liquid.

Metabolites that may have been trapped in these dried tissues may be released back into circulation when you start your movement practice. This may make the movement practitioner feel out of sorts or slightly sick. This is a sign that the liver is dealing with whatever(toxins) have been squeezed out of the tissues. This is a good thing. Keep on going. Continuing your regular movement classes or taking an epsom salt bath will help the process. We want to get back to having an even perfusion of food etc to all the cells.

Fascia is the tissue of posture

Fascia, because of the strain hardening, becomes the tissue of posture.
The fibroblasts will produce more collagen, based on the stresses the tissues are put under, and that is going to densify tissues.

Fascia is a sensory tissue

A recent study from Germany using math, and using what we know about the skin has demonstrated that there is, in the likely hood of one hundred million sensory nerves in your fascial net.

Fascia and proprioception or pain and proprioception, are very much like oil and water.


When we are in pain, and those sensory cells are only calling 911. That’s all we know and we want to avoid moving that area. We want to avoid perturbing the area, because that is going to cause more pain. Over time this can cause that area to become more neurologically dead (sensory motor amnesia), becoming less findable by the brain and the homunculus for the map of the body.

If you increase proprioception, you decrease pain and vice versa

Thus, spatial awareness, proprioception, and motor control are compromised leading to disfunction and movement incompetency.
Interestingly this goes both ways. If you increase proprioception, you decrease pain and vice versa. If you increase pain, you diminish proprioception.

Limited mobility affects the sliding surfaces of the joint articulations in such a way the the proprioceptors lack sufficient information for spatial awareness.

“no pain no gain”, results in compensation

The brain lacking adequate proprioceptive information, creates a pain signal to prevent you from using an area, that may not be safe. This blocks motor control. If we are to persevere, in the “no pain no gain” style, anything we do will result in a compensated, suboptimal movement behavior, or movement incompetency.

That is we will be practicing dysfunctional movement behaviors that will have to be unlearned in the future. Also know as building fitness on dysfunction.

Start your journey to structural well being with a comprehensive 90 minute Adaptive Bodywork Session or make it a project with a 3, 6 or 12-series.

Together we’ll explore what’s holding you back.

Together, we’ll set you on a path to a more balanced and integrated life.

Removing Pain from the Human body by Adaptively Reconfiguring the Connective Tissue Support System…

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Have you got questions?
For more information visit us at: www.adaptivebodywork.com

Are you ready to get started?
Start your journey to structural well being with a comprehensive 90 minute Adaptive Bodywork Session or make it a project with a 3, 6 or 12-series.

Together we’ll explore what’s holding you back.

Together, we’ll set you on a path to a more balanced and integrated life.

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Montreal, Quebec, H1W 2C4, Canada
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