School of Physical Education and Sports Science
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ARISTOTELIAN UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI School of Physical Education and Sports Science Bachelor's Thesis: "MYOFASCIAL NETWORK IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND TRAINING" Name: Tsourvakas Konstantinos Supervisor: Papadopoulos Panagiotis PhD Thessaloniki, June 2018 1 ABSTRACT Physical activity can lead people, regardless of age, to a healthier and more quality life. Especially nowadays, that most people follow an intense routine, good physical condition is an essential factor to take care of in order to achieve health and well- being. This project refers to the myofascial system of the human body. It is about a scientific review whose purpose is to highlight the importance of self myofascial release (SMR), to quote the process of SMR through the use of specific tools and methods, and the analysis of its effects to the human body. In the first place, the fascial network of the human body is described, along with the properties, the function and the usefulness of the fascia. Subsequently, the assignment focuses on the significance of self myofascial release for the human body and mostly the way it increases and improves the range of motion. In addition, there is a presentation of SMR's techniques and methods with the application of tools such as foam rollers, roller massagers and tennis balls. The assignment ends up with conclusions and suggestions on further improvement of range of motion. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………….………2 Table of Contents ……………………….......………………………………………...3 1. Introduction...………………………………………………………………..……...4 2. The Fascial System………………………………………………..………………..5 2.1 Definition….…………………………………………………..…………………..5 2.2 Structure….……………………………………………………………..…………5 2.3 Function………………………………………………………………..…………22 3. Importance of training fascia …………….....……………………………………..27 3.1 Principles of training fascia....................................................................................27 3.2 Fascia and elastic recoil.........................................................................................31 4. Fascia Training…………………………………………………………………….33 4.1 Effect of Yoga in fascia training………………..………………………………..33 4.2 Fascia and yoga training………………………………………………………….34 4.3 Fascia and functional training……………………………………………..……..39 4.4 Fascia and plyo training.........................................................................................42 5. The importance of Self Myofascial Release…………………….………………..46 5.1 Definition………………………………………………………………………...46 5.2 Utility……………………………………………………….……………………46 5.3 Benefits………………………………………………………………………….48 6. Tecniques and Methods of Self Myofascial Release……………………………..50 6.1 Foam roller………………………………………………………………………50 6.2 Tennis ball……………………………………………………………………….56 6.3 Roller massager……………………………………………….………………….60 7. Conclusion…………………………………………………..……………………..64 References……………………………………………………..……………………..65 3 1. INTRODUCTION Due to new research results in the past few years, interest in the fascia of the human body has increased. Fascia is virtually inseparable from all structures in the body and acts to create continuity amongst tissues to enhance function and support. In the past fascia was difficult to be studied. As a result, ambiguities were aroused in terminology, which have only recently been addressed. The review of the available literature has lead in deep fascia investigation and the handling of issues related to terminology, descriptions and clinical relevance of fascia. The Fascia Research Society states, “Fascia is the most pervasive, but perhaps least understood network of the human body.” It is a fact, that until recently, the body was considered to be composed of, literally, skin and bones, which supported internal systems such as muscles, organs and the fluids that make up over 60% of the body. Nevertheless, there is also something that keeps all the water and fluid in the body from pooling down. Thomas W. Meyers, of Anatomy Trains, poses that “Individual muscles acting on bones across joints’ simply does not adequately explain human stability and movement.” The answer lies in fascia. Fascia has gone from being something insignificant to being the current biological phenomenon that is receiving great attention from body workers, athletes, medical professionals, alternative practitioners and researchers. In fact, fascia could be the answer to a lot of questions about structure, movement, stability, pain and healing. 4 2. THE FASCIAL SYSTEM 2.1 Definition Fascia is a web of connective tissue formed in bands that wraps around all the internal parts of the body from head to toe. It allows the muscles to move freely alongside other structures and reduces friction. It can be found immediately beneath the skin, around muscles, groups of muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels, organs and cells. (“Understanding fascia: the bands that bind us”, August 3, (2016), link: https://deeprecovery.com/understanding-fascia/) Fascia is made up of fibrous connective tissue containing closely packed bundles of collagen fibers oriented in a wavy pattern parallel to the direction of pull, just like ligaments, aponeuroses, and tendons,. It is consequently flexible and able to resist great unidirectional tension forces until the wavy pattern of fibers has been straightened out by the pulling force. These collagen fibers are produced by fibroblasts located within the fascia. In other words, fascia is body’s connective tissue network, a biological fabric that binds cells all together in their proper placement. 2.2 Structure According to the layer, fascia can be classified as superficial fascia, deep fascia and visceral or parietal fascia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia) Superficial fascia Superficial fascia is the lower layer of the skin in nearly all of the regions of the body, which primarily determines body’s shape. It consists mainly of loose areolar, and fatty adipose connective tissue and it is also present on the face, over the upper portion of the sternocleidomastoid, at the nape of the neck, and overlying the breastbone. Apart from the face, superfascial fascia is found at many other locations where it fills otherwise unoccupied space. It surrounds organs and glands, neurovascular bundles, and it serves as a storage medium of fat and as a protective padding to cushion and insulate. HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia" It is remarkable that after pregnancy and weight loss, the superficial fascia slowly reverts to its original level of tension. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia) 5 Visceral fascia Visceral fascia (also called subserous fascia) suspends the organs within their cavities and covers them with layers of connective tissue membranes. Each of the organs is wrapped in a double layer of fascia; these layers are separated by a thin serous membrane. • The outer wall of the organ is known as the parietal layer • The skin of the organ is known as the visceral layer. The organs have specialized names for their visceral fasciae. For example, in the brain, they are known as meninges in the heart they are known as pericardia, in the lungs they are known as pleurae and in the abdomen they are known as peritonea. Visceral fascia is less extensible than superficial fascia. Due to its restraining role of the organs, it needs to maintain its tense. If it is too lax, it contributes to organ protrusion, whereas if it is hypertonic, it restricts proper organ motility. Deep fascia Deep fascia is a layer of dense fibrous connective tissue which surrounds individual muscles, and also divide muscles’ groups into fascial sections. This fascia has a high density of elastin fibre that determines its extensibility or resilience. Deep fascia was originally considered to be essentially non vascular. However, more recent investigations confirmed a significant amount of thin blood vessels. Deep fascia is also supplied with sensory receptors.HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia" Examples of deep fascia are fascia lata, fascia cruris, brachial fascia, plantar fascia, thoracolumbar fascia and Buck's fascia.HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia"HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia"HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia) Every region of the body has a wide range of different fascial types. The thigh is an example of a body region which contains all four fascial categories: Illiotibial band (Linking), perimysium of the quadriceps femoris muscle (Fascicular), fascia lata (Compression), and subcutaneous tissue (Separating). 6 I. Linking Fascia The linking category is predominantly dense connective tissue with the presence of collagen type I. This includes fasciae of muscles, fasciae of regions (head & neck, trunk, limbs), aponeuroses, tendinous arches and neurovascular sheaths. This category is subdivided into dynamic and passive divisions. The dynamic division includes major fascial groups more significantly related to movement and joint stability. It is composed of fasciae of muscles (investing layer, fascia of individual muscle), and fasciae of the trunk. The passive division is acted on by other extra muscular tissues to maintain continuity throughout the body or form pouches. The passive division incorporates fasciae of muscles (muscle sheaths), fasciae of the head and neck, fasciae of limbs, aponeuroses, tendinous arches, and retinaculae. The passive linking fasciae can only transmit force when they are stretched and loaded. On the other hand, dynamic fasciae can theoretically contract more autonomously