Fascia Friday - Putting It All Together

Today’s Fascia Friday topic starts with a quote:

Movement becomes habit, which becomes posture, which becomes structure.

~Thomas Myers (Author of Anatomy Trains)

Thomas Myers is the author of Anatomy Trains - the discussion points for the last few weeks. This simple quote is referring to the process by which our bodies work. Think of a time where you had an injury (maybe a sprained ankle, for instance). Remember how you moved while it was injured? More importantly - remember how you had to ‘re-learn” to walk once it was fully healed? That’s what Thomas Myers is talking about.

When we move in a dysfunctional way, we are utilizing improper movement patterns. A movement pattern is a sequence of movements of several muscles that create a desired action, like turning a doorknob. When there is dysfunction in movement patterns that we repeat over and over, we create and reinforce a habit. This habit begins to govern our movements in such a way that it controls our posture - think about how your posture is affected if you have to sit for most of the day.

Back to the last part of the quote about structure. When you hold your body in a certain position (aka posture), you body will adapt by lengthening or shortening tissues to maintain you in that position. Yes…if you sit for a prolonged period of time…your body actually removes tissue from your hip flexor muscles since they are usually shortened!

The big takeaway from this quote is to maintain your awareness about how you move and your posture to ensure that your body’s structure is functional and not full of dysfunction. Regular movement, proper nutrition (for the building blocks) and manual therapy all work together to ensure that your body structure is optimal.