When it comes to chronic pain, anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue, and gut issues, there’s a surprising tool for healing: fascia stretching. Turns out, just a few minutes of daily fascia stretching can work wonders on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, says Erin Tietz, a leading fascia expert and DailyOM course creator.
Interested in learning more? Check out The Parasympathetic Nervous System Fix.
“It can be hard to find a pathway to the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the ‘rest-and-digest’ mechanism,” Tietz says. “Working with our fascia in a very specific way can rewire the brain to create more efficient pathways of accessing the parasympathetic nervous system in order to facilitate healing.” This is due to what’s known as neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to learn a new language of movement and make new connections.
Meet Your Teacher: Erin Tietz
Tietz, a former NFL cheerleader and professional dancer, found fascia stretching herself after a debilitating hamstring injury ended her dance career and left her in excruciating chronic pain. While working as a medical exercise specialist in physical therapy at one of New York’s top hospitals, she tried everything to resolve it, but nothing worked.
It wasn’t until years later, during an activated stretching certification course, when she finally found the missing link in her recovery. “I [modified] some of the work due to a hamstring injury,” she says. “About halfway through day one, through targeted work on my scar tissue, I burst into tears. After years of searching, I was able to bend down and touch my toes. I was completely pain free.”
What Is Fascia?
Fascia is the connective tissue that runs throughout your entire body, wrapping around and throughout your muscles, Tietz says. “Think of it like a massive web, suspending your organs, while integrating the nervous, circulatory, and lymphatic systems. And when it gets tight or bound up, it pulls on and restricts the muscles, causing imbalances that lead to chronic misalignment of the body.”
Helpful Things to Know About Fascia
- Every single nerve, cell, blood vessel, and artery in your body is wrapped in fascia and connected to the fascia in your muscles, around your organs, and underneath your skin. That’s why a healthy fascia (one that Tietz says is “slippery gliding and hydrated”) is purported to offer positive health effects.
- “When you manipulate the fascial system, it is a direct intervention on the nervous system — and vice versa,” Tietz explains. This theoretically creates a more united front and a more seamless flow of energy throughout your entire body.
- Fascia stretching is considered “moderate” movement — one that’s suitable for many bodies and fitness levels, from total beginners to pro athletes. “You can modify everything to make the work easier or more adaptable to you, or you can make it harder,” Tietz says.
- Fascia stretches aren’t the typical stretches you’ve been taught for years. Unlike traditional stretching, fascia stretching involves shortening the muscles and pressing against yourself, a block, or another surface to create a closed-chain neurological loop, which Tietz says gives a groundedness to the nervous system.
- Just 5 to 10 minutes of dedicated fascia stretching a day can make a significant impact on a dysregulated body, Tietz says.
Why Is Fascia Stretching Important?
Here, Tietz describes some of the advantages she has seen her clients experience when starting a fascia stretching routine.
1. May Help Reduce Pain and Improve Sleep
A tight fascia can cause pain and restrict our movement, so working to make it more flexible improves our range of motion and makes us feel better all over. And when pain is reduced, people often sleep better, too — as many of Tietz’s clients report.
Scientists are investigating the potential impact of fascia work on helping reduce some types of chronic pain. For example, one study explored the role of fascia for people with lower back pain. A second study examined the possible implications of fascia interventions in the field of sports medicine.
At this point, there is research to be done on the link between fascia stretching and the gut, but Tietz thinks fascial conditioning may improve gut health. “It’s my belief that through targeted fascia work of the abdomen, primarily visceral fascia (that which suspends the organs), one can improve the internal environment. [That] facilitates ease of movement and better motility through the digestive system.”
2. Promotes Optimal Posture and Alignment
If you were to take a photo of your body’s posture before a fascia stretching class, Tietz says you’d likely be able to identify some asymmetries. “But as we start to manipulate the fascia in these areas where there’s greater nervous system innervation, especially with the parasympathetic nervous system, we start to create that healthier environment of the fascia,” she explains. “We start to access our muscles more optimally — and ideally, this will help shift us into a more optimal posture” and help reduce the potential for neck and back pain, among other possibilities.
3. Enhances Energy While Safely Optimizing Strength and Mobility
In addition to building mobility, fascia work can offer a generally low-impact and safe way to build muscle strength and take your fitness to the next level. Tietz explains, “You’re creating more stability in vulnerable joints and in the spine while improving the fascial health and muscle strength. You’re challenging the neuro-myofascial system to not only just calm down, but also to respond quicker.”
The expert adds that many of her clients discover that when they prioritize working with their fascia, they experience a sense of enhanced freedom in their bodies and more overall vitality.
4. Relieves Stress and Anxiety
When you’re doing fascia stretches, there’s a moment where everything comes into focus, Tietz says. “All of a sudden, you feel, like, boom. You are in the present moment. You are noticing sensations inside of your body and taking the time to observe what’s happening.” She compares the experience to using a weighted blanket. “The muscle contraction is eliciting the same type of response that a weighted blanket provides for people with anxiety and stress. That weighted blanket grounds them; it helps their nervous system feel safe so it can do a better job. And that’s part of what the fascia work is doing. It helps you feel that feeling of ‘I’m here and I can feel myself.’”
5. Supports Healthy Aging
“Fascia stretching reverses the age of your connective tissues from the inside out,” Tietz says. This is because the fascial network has a direct effect on every system in your body. “This work allows your nervous system to conduct energy and information through your body much easier and faster. And then you open the gates for the lymphatics to flow better. Your heart health can improve because you improve circulation by improving the facial system.”
The Bottom Line
For many people, fascia stretching has been life-changing for regulating their parasympathetic nervous system. Tietz says, “People who’ve taken my classes reach out and thank me. They say things like, ‘For the first time in my life, I feel better. I have hope.’ They have hope again because fascia work is different.”
