Ashley Black, the inventor of the FasciaBlaster, has given her professional life over to the study of the role fascia plays in the human body. Ashley’s discoveries have led to many breakthroughs in our ability to self-manipulate the fascia layer of our body to manage pain, temper the appearance of cellulite, regenerate connective tissue and skin cells, produce collagen, and positively affect our overall physical health. Black’s 90-day peer-reviewed study of the FasciaBlaster in association with the Applied Science & Performance Institute (ASPI) was published in Cogent Medicine Journal.
The FasciaBlaster toolset has been the only proven outpatient method to reduce the look of cellulite on a person and has since been proven to regenerate and reform irritated connective tissue cells, helping a person to alleviate general pain in almost all parts of the body temporarily while producing collagen and increasing metabolic rates. All of this is possible from a self-massage tool you can use at home. Here, Ashley Black walks me through the science of fascia mechanics to understand fascia adaptation.
***It’s worthy to note that since the article was written and I was shown the science behind the FasciaBlaster, I have not stopped FasciaBlasting and have seen some amazing changes in only a few short, very consistent weeks of using Ashley Black’s invention, but read on and let the science do the talking.
What is Fascia?
The fascia system is made up of multiple layers of connective tissue that lie just beneath the skin and cover almost every inch of the human body. Think of it as an intricate spider web. The fascia tissue in a human’s body maintains several different functions needed for survival including keeping all of the body’s muscles and organs in place and acting as a highway sending your blood to every part of the body from your heart. The fascia, also known as connective tissue, is important in the body’s ability to adapt to changes. Unfortunately, when fascia is in a less than ideal position, the ability to perform movement and a full range of motion is limited.
Fascia’s Role in Function
When the body is in alignment, a person’s physical performance is maximized. Alignment is when all body parts are in a position to move optimally, and the joints have the ability to move within an optimal range. Proper posture plays a major role in body alignment and range of motion as well as executing more complex movements, such as aerobic exercise or playing sports. Poor posture will only lead to poor alignment, which can hinder functionality during motion. Muscles learn to cope with bad alignment and overcompensate to perform a specific movement. Long term, compensation develops into improper execution of movement and inaccurate muscle firing. The body continues to move in this compensated form and can put a person at increased risk for injury and limited range of motion during specific movements. One way your body learns to adapt to this situation is by increasing the density of fascia to prevent over movement and injury. Thick fascia, or scar tissue, often hinders adequate muscle movement and makes your body’s functionality decrease. At this point, the body requires some reprogramming within the brain and muscles to realign and function properly once again.
This guide will explain specific steps one can take to train new movement patterns and rewire muscle memory. This process is important to prevent injury, maximize the range of motion, and optimally align the body.
The First Step: Realign
The first step in this process is quite simple. The goal is to realign the body and reinforce proper posture. This allows the body to adjust for proper posture prior to adding in functional movement. These realignment practices should be performed in multiple postures including sitting, standing, and lying down. The key to this practice is alignment without movement. One should remain on this step until the posture is realigned and can be maintained without movement. Small adjustments eventually develop into new muscle memory and neural signals adjust to the changing alignment.
The Second Step: Strengthen
The next step takes the new alignment that your body has learned and adds movement into the process. In this step, movements are still minimal and are localized to single joints. Movement is performed within a single movement plane, such as leg extensions. If one experiences other muscles activating when isolating a specific muscle group this is a signal that there is muscle compensation occurring. Single joint movements limit the ability of other muscle groups to compensate and allow the nervous system to adjust to the new movement patterns. Single-plane exercises should be mastered prior to attempting multiplane movements. Realignment should always be revisited while executing this step as well.
The Third Step: Progress
The third stage adds in more complex movements. These complex movements should still be performed in a single plane of movement, however, these can now be multi-joint movements. These movements could include actions similar to squats or running. It is recommended to remain in the sagittal plane before moving on to different planes of motion. Many multi-joint exercises are effective in retraining your brain, even walking. However, you will reap more benefits while performing multi-joint impact exercises. Once again, these exercises and movements should be mastered prior to incorporating the most complex exercises.
The Final Step to Fascia Retraining
The final step of this process is the most difficult and the most complex. This step incorporates both multi-joint movements and motion in multiple planes. In this stage, one can really challenge the body and reach new levels in regard to exercise intensity and complexity. However, it is important to remember that building foundational skills prior to increasing complexity is key. If the foundation is off, the fascia will once again become dysfunctional and impair exercise and movement functionality.
Creating healthy fascia can be a daunting and overwhelming prospect for some. It does take time and good awareness to listen to your body and retrieve signals as to when you are moving in the right direction. Ashley Black has supplied you with an amazing tool in the FasciaBlaster that will help you on your myofascial journey. If you find yourself experiencing more frequent bouts with the pain while engaging in the exercises, contact your doctor or chiropractor. You can also go to ashleyblackguru.com and send Ashley’s team a note. They are wonderful about getting back to customers about their inquiries.
Ashley Black and the FasciaBlaster has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. I think you owe it to yourself to spend a little time with your fascia today.