"Fascia Tweaks for Fascia Health" Guest Article from Kelly Maynard (aka my little Fascia Nerd)

My curiosity of fascia intertwines with my fascination about vibration plates. Plates improve our fascia by easily increasing blood and lymphatic flow, hydration, and flexibility. They help release tension, reduce adhesions, and boost recovery after therapy/exercise. The little-movements a plate creates stimulate nerves in our fascia, boosting our sensation, proprioception, coordination and overall mobility. It affects the way we move and how it feels when we do.

Today I’m thrilled to be able to share with you an article from Kelly Maynard, who schooled me big time with her take on fascia years ago. How understanding it, and working with care-providers experienced in fascia work has made a tremendous impact on her self care and understanding the role it plays in her diagnosis of Lipolymphedema.

Fascia Tweaks for Fascia Health by Kelly Maynard - Founder of Wildheart Wellness

Fascia is a buzzword these days, but it’s also a little-known part of your body that covers every single surface under your skin. Let’s learn a little bit about fascia today and some tweaks you can do at home to bring balance and more health to your fascia.

Not much has been known about fascia until recently.  For those of us who have some sort of connective tissue disorder, some knowledge about fascia (another name for connective tissue) can make a huge difference in our daily life and quality of life. Fascia is in layers and is made to glide back and forth as we move. Injury, surgery, gravity over time, and chronic conditions cause adhesions, making fascia less flexible, thickened, and restrictive.  Often what we think is joint or muscle pain is actually pain in our fascia. It’s been discovered that fascia surrounds our nerves and has a communication system, and both of these functions are impaired when fascia is “sticky”.  So, what can we do about this?  We’re going to talk about a few at-home practices that can begin to improve the health of your fascia, leading to less inflammation, healthier tissues, and less pain.

First, MOVEMENT!  I don’t mean Cross-Fit or even walking miles per day.  Let’s get an understanding of why moving matters.  Because fascia covers every surface of every nerve, organ, blood vessel…literally EVERYTHING in your body…every time you move or don’t move, you are doing a mini training session on your fascia. We’ll talk about the not moving in a minute, but what kind of movement is important?

Any movement at all. Just move. Walk around. Raise your arms. Flex your toes and fingers and ankles. Swivel your head back and forth and do some swiveling at the waist while you’re at it. Every hour of every day, do some kind of movement. Stop and think about how you’re standing and use good posture when you move. Toes parallel and straight ahead, feet in line with your hip bones (NOT the outer width of your hips), shoulders back.  For some of us, the thing we call “exercise” just doesn’t work for us and we feel guilty.  We don’t need to feel bad or compare ourselves to others. We just need to move.

Let’s talk about not moving. This is so incredibly common when you have pain and every movement hurts. A secret though, is that the less you move, the more it will hurt over time. You will start feeling stiff and achy and other positions will feel unnatural and less comfortable,

If you always cross your right leg over your left, your fascia adapts to that.  If you sit with your head at a certain angle to watch TV, stare at your computer, or read a book, your body strengthens that position. As certain body postures and positions strengthen, others weaken to compensate. So, full range of motion and varying your movements and sitting positions can truly be a small step that makes a huge difference in balancing your body and bringing back the fluid movements you probably once enjoyed.

What are some examples of changing things up?  If your pain limits mobility, make small changes. Sit in a different place so the angle of your body is different, use your non-dominant hand to do repetitive things like brush your hair or drink your coffee, change your sleep position, don’t lock your knees when standing, sit at a different angle to the TV. If you must sit a lot, do it differently! The possibilities are endless when you start analyzing how you sit and stand!

HYDRATE - fascia loves heat and hydration!  Hydration is key for every body function, and fascia is no exception.  Pure, filtered water and electrolytes will give your body and your fascia what it needs so drink up! 

HEAT - There are several ways to add heat to your body.  Cold fascia is frozen, unhealthy fascia.  Many who have lipedema report areas of their bodies being cold to the touch.  This is not just a circulation problem, it’s a fascia problem!

Though opinions vary, more and more people who have lipedema and/or lymphedema are reporting amazing benefits from sauna, especially something easily manageable like a sauna blanket that offers lower temperatures and keeps your head out of the heat.

MOVE - Movement will improve both of these.  Things like whole body vibration, dry brushing, massage and massage guns, fascia therapy (my favorite is Block Therapy), and slow deep belly breathing are fantastic ways to warm up your body at a deeper level. 

As a certified health coach with hundreds of hours of fascia research and personal fascia work, along with feedback from people all over the world, if you have pain your fascia needs love. Learn more and start taking some practical steps to improve fascia health and your quality of life.

Kelly Maynard is a Certified Health & Wellness Coach specializing in helping women with lipedema manage their disease. See Wildheart Wellness for Lipedema on Facebook. 

A sincere thank you Kelly for sharing your wisdom and personal experiences. You’re an invaluable resource for this community. Your support and energy mean the world to me and many others you lift up with your shining optimism - FEELING THE LOVE xoxo

Make your fascia happy with a spot treatment on your vibration plate. Stop beating yourself up about what you’re “supposed to be doing” just take a few minutes to boost that lymph, and your spirit. GET MOVING! See my spot treatment ideas on YouTube.

Private Vibration Plate Session with Deb - Special Offer for February 

Reminder if looking for more personal guidance, consider a private session with Debby and your vibration plate. Book a 30 minute private session this month for $20 USD.

Until next week, keep experimenting with your plate - keep shaking that fascia and everything else!

Debby Pelletier

Vibration Plate Coach/Specialist

P.S. Shopping for a plate or other self care tools? 20% OFF SITE WIDE with LifePro direct in the USA, try my code LYMPH for an extra 10% off.

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