How the Fascia works
We now know that crystals store memory. This is what is used in our watches and computers. Fascia remembers.
Damaged fascia
The memory of any accidents we may have had, poor postural habits and any physical and emotional trauma we have experienced can be stored and set in the connective tissue by means of these crystals. Gene Dobkin of Bowen Neural Touch writes "connective tissue does not contract and relax as does muscle, but under prolonged tension, it will dehydrate and shrink up to 15% - 20%...
Tight Fascia
Tight fascia affects the whole organism. Structural imbalance causes overall and specific increased rates of nervous stimulation.
These cause increased muscle tonicity, trigger points and somatic-visceral referrals into the organs.
Thus the body overall, and especailly certain systems, will be tight and ichemic (reduction in blood supply)...
Superficial fascia has a tensile strength of 2,000 pounds per square inch. It can entrap more nerve endings and blood vessels than any other tissue. By Hilton's law of physiology, this will have a direct effect on the underlying muscles and joint proprioceptors.
Bone spurs can be caused when chronic tension through tendons pulls the periostium incrementally off the bone cortex. Calcium is sent to the site as an antipyretic, building up bony deposits.
Shortening of the muscles and connective tissue around and below the rib cage can collapse the diaphragm around its hiati. If the esophagus is compressed it can cause hiatal hernia; the aorta, increased bloold pressure or anurism; and the vena cava, variscosity in the lower limbs..."
The Importance of the Fascia
Senior UK Bowen instructor John Wilks talks extensively in his book, The Bowen Technique, The Inside Story, about the importance of fascia. He writes
"The efficacy of the treatment depends on impulses travelling along the lines of fascia so if the fascia is dehydrated, cut (as in after an accident or operation) or fixatrophic, then impulses will not travel so well.
It is known that Bowen has a profound effect on fascia in terms of encouraging fluid into an area that was previously dry or inertial...
Generally someone whose system is fluid will respond much more quickly to the work and will need less treatments, both in terms of number of sessions and also number of procedures or moves.
Hence babies need only minimal work to achieve profound change because their systems are generally so fluid and open...
Hydration is controlled by the hypothalamus and the body will prioritize so that essential organs will remain hydrated. Connective tissue (including fascia and membrane) will be one of the first to dehydrate leading to adhesions and fixotrophia.
If your client is suffering from a constantly dry mouth or other mucus membranes, it is a sure sign that they are dangerously dehydrated. Similarily, headaches can be caused by dehydration of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord which then tighten and put pressure on the nervous tissue. This is what happens in hangovers...
Some very interesting recent research has also shown that muscles will relax immediately when a client drinks water."