What is Fascia and how does Bowen Therapy affect it?

From our friends at ABT: Part 1 - June 7th, 2009 We offer the pointed musings below on Fascia as a discussion stimulator in Part 1 of our Fascia and Bowen Therapy series. Please post your comments and additions below the key points raised below. * Fascia, a component of connective tissue, is a form of packing material for the body, providing lines of stress/shock absorption and structural integrity. * Fascia envelopes muscles, bones and joints and holds us together and upright. * Fascia supports the body structure giving rise to our shape/form. * Fascia organizes and brings together as well as separates individual structures. * Fascia provides protection for the individual muscles and viscera. * Fascial sheaths also join and bonds separate individual muscles, establishes spatial relationships for function and movement. * It is the collagenous component in the fascia that enables it to change and reorganize. * Collagen is a colloid material capable of changing from solid to fluid form and vice-versa depending on the forces (negative or positive) acting upon it. The piezoelectric component of the Bowen “move” initiates this change, however movement and applying direct force along lines of fascia can also help to facilitate further change. * Chronic or unnatural tensions acting upon our structure can help influence changes towards shortening and hardening the ground-matrix causing sticking or adhesions upon fascial sheaths and muscle shortening. * The Bowen “move” can help to rehydrate fascial components, restoring elasticity. This can have an affect all alone, or as a primer to more direct work in cases that require this, thus causing lasting changes. * Simply by inhibiting motion our fascia; tendons, capsules and ligaments can lost their flexibility * Dehydrated and immobile fascia can adhere to itself and other fascial layers causing collagen fibers to shorten and coil into itself giving rise to trigger points, entraping nerves, blood and lymph vessels thus limiting range of motion through our joints. * Initiating a re-hydration of fascia through Bowen Therapy can unwind many of the negative effects of chronic tension, immobility and stress as well as act as a primer to other work and movement training systems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our workshop on the 21st of June 2009 will include a full treatment from the country's original Bowen Diplomates. If you can find Harold and Dionne at the PPTA, you can find the Manual Medicine Group. See you then and there! yours in the evolution of our field,