Fascia

Anything But Mid is hosted by Amy Edwards and Whitney Stropp. Neither host is a doctor and nothing here is medical advice. Lightly cleaned for readability.

Whitney: I'm Whitney.

Amy: I'm Amy. And this is midlife, but you're anything but mid.

Whitney: Oh, man. We did so good when we weren't recording.

Amy: I know. That's, I think that's the first time we tried to say it at the same time.

Whitney: Yeah, so.

Amy: Well, yeah. It, it was. Usually we know who's doing it.

Whitney: Yeah, anyway.

Amy: Usually, usually we cue each other. I wanted to check in with my DHEA update of my face breakouts. So I looked it up and yes, DHEA can cause acne because of like the hormones and more oil in your skin. And this happens because your estrogen levels are dropping and it creates a hormone imbalance and the male hormones, the androgens, are more active, which triggers extra oil production, clogged pores, hair. It's just so weird because it's like on my cheek.

Whitney: Only on one.

Amy: Only on one cheek. That's why I've what been like, am I laying on something? Am I doing something? Anyway. It's lessened. It seems to be healing. It takes forever for sa- a blemish to heal. It turns into a red dot that lasts for months. Anyway, whatever. I just wanted to say like I looked it up and I'm still thinking those are tied together. But anyway.

Whitney: I, I don't disagree with you, but you also have to take into consideration, you've done a couple of cool peels or something. You, you know.

Amy: Yeah, but this has been over a year.

Whitney: I know, but I'm saying while you're trying to get this to heal when you're doing things that are irritating your skin, it's going to

Amy: Oh. Yeah, you're right. You're right.

Whitney: irritate that as well. So.

Amy: Yeah, I'm, I'm just trying to be so careful with it. I've switched to a super gentle cleanser. I've like, I don't know, it's just like. And now I'm like, is it menopause? You know? Like is are the are these

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: are these levels out of balance because of menopause and that's causing it, too? And yes, so I looked that up and yes, menopause can cause some breakouts, too. So.

Whitney: Dude, you yeah, it menopause throws everything out of whack.

Amy: Got a symptom? Could be menopause, perimenopause, you know.

Whitney: That's right. Yeah, that's the thing. It's like every- you're like, could this be menopause? Yes. Well then this is happening. Is that menopause? Uh-huh.

Amy: Yes. Uh-huh, that, too.

Whitney: Yeah, it's everything. It's the kitchen sink. So, enjoy. Welcome. Welcome to menopause.

Amy: Okay. Yeah, do you have any updates for me today? Anything you want to share?

Whitney: Well, I, yes, I so I have a Korean friend who likes to do whatever, you know, is the latest in Korea. This isn't This isn't, let me get my

Amy: Cool.

Whitney: let me get my notes on it because it's fascinating. So,

Amy: What is this thing? It's a little, small, round

Whitney: So, she's Yes. So, this is a the the This is the packaging.

Amy: gadget. Oh, it's the packaging. Okay. Well, it's awfully pretty.

Whitney: It's the packaging for this supplement that she wanted me to try. It's called, I'm going to pronounce it

Amy: It's a little gold cylinder.

Whitney: incorrectly,

Amy: Very pretty.

Whitney: gongjindan gongjindan. Anyway, I'm sure I'm pronouncing that incorrectly. But it was something that um it's traditional Korean medicine and it is an an energy elixir. And it was historically reserved for Korean um emperors. I already ate it. So,

Amy: There was only one in here?

Whitney: there is one huge ball. A hundred dollars.

Amy: One huge ball, a hundred dollars, comes in this cute, little tube.

Whitney: One huge Korean herb ball called gongjindan.

Amy: Uh-huh. Do you only have to take it once and then you're done?

Whitney: No. What what the the way that Yes and no. You can use it as needed or you could do it every day. But it's a hundred dollars.

Amy: What? So you took it. When?

Whitney: So I halfed it a couple days ago and I took half and it was the most disgusting thing, and you have to chew it.

Amy: Ew.

Whitney: And it's a ball of herbs. And I'm going to tell you what's in there. I- It had a smoky taste. Talk about like needing water, and you have to chew it up, and then you're supposed to drink warm water afterwards. But it has musk or agar agarwood in it, which is where that smoky thing, I think, where I got that taste. That's highly prized aromatics used to enhance circulation and mental alertness. So, I was like, oh.

Amy: Huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm.

Whitney: Deer antler velvet, which is used for deep stamina, stamina recovery, and immune support. Korean red ginseng and angelica root. It boosts energy, endurance, and blood flow, and cornelian cherry. It's for liver and kidney support. And you can take it like when you're super jet lagged, is when she said she will do it, or like she was in Korea. Her mom was having a medical emergency. She flew out to Korea, is laying the way they do intensive care in Korea, you there has to be one dedicated family member that is with the intensive care patient the entire time, and they sleep on a cot. And they teach you how to do certain things to your person. What? No, you have the medical degree. You do it.

Amy: You do it. It's very

Whitney: It's very stressful because you can't leave the hospital.

Amy: Yeah, I wouldn't say.

Whitney: So, you're sleeping in there on a tiny cot 24/7. Anyway, her friend gave her these herbs to help her. She ate the whole thing

Amy: Oh, my gosh. Mm-hmm.

Whitney: and she immediately got this warm feeling and a rush, you know, a flush. And then she said she had energy all day long. Yeah. It is horribly disgusting to chew, but it does work if you take the whole thing. If you take half of

Amy: But you halfed it, and then you ate half one time and half in another?

Whitney: I split it with somebody else.

Amy: Oh, you split it with

Whitney: We each took half.

Amy: Smart.

Whitney: And

Amy: When did you do that?

Whitney: a a couple days ago. And I didn't feel much of a difference. She did say it's for when you are extremely tired, like and if you already have a good level of energy, then you might not notice as much. And then we halfed it. So,

Amy: Yeah, right.

Whitney: you know, I think that I think you've got to do the whole thing. And you have to eat it on a chew it slowly, which is like torture,

Amy: Ew.

Whitney: on an empty stomach.

Whitney: She videoed. She asked me to video myself eating it, so maybe I'll post it. But

Amy: Wow. Okay. Did you? Oh, please do.

Whitney: I haven't posted it, but maybe I will. But it it was just so interesting that we're taking all these little supplements

Amy: Please do. I want to see.

Whitney: and the Koreans are just putting it all in a big ball and charging a hundred bucks. Oh, and it's gold-leafed, like it they're trying to make it look beautiful. You know, they put it in this beautiful, little Yeah. Each pill comes in this little gold container, which now I'm like, what can I put in there?

Amy: Yeah. There's a little tissue in here. It's plastic, I will say. I thought it was going to be

Whitney: Yes. All right. But there's gold leaf around the actual ball of herbs.

Amy: Right. Okay.

Whitney: But yeah, it was interesting. So, you know, I don't I She claims that it helped tremendously, and I think if you're really low level

Amy: It's Wow.

Whitney: energy, then. So maybe when I'm going to go to Korea at some point.

Amy: I want to, too. A friend's turning 60 this year, and I was like, maybe we should go. And I don't know if we will or not, but

Whitney: Oh, you should. Yeah.

Whitney: Anyway, that's that's my latest update on some sort of a supplement, longevity

Amy: You can hire guides that will help you navigate Korea. So, they'll help you navigate like the beauty industry of it, because they will overcharge like white women from America.

Amy: So, you need you have to hire a guide. I know someone who did and got a hair transplant, actually, and was telling me like

Whitney: Interesting.

Amy: he he got a guide and like all the things he did and researched it a ton. But it was so much cheaper still.

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah. She would be my guide, but I bet she would agree.

Amy: Oh, she would be great. She would be great.

Whitney: Yeah, she would agree that you you want to go in and speak Korean and do all the things. But she loves their system over there. Just quickly, when you you go into one building and you get your colonoscopy and your CT and your this and your that and your pap smear and you do it all in one day. And then you leave there with a little disc with all your information.

Amy: Yeah. Makes Sounds efficient.

Whitney: Yeah, it's very efficient.

Amy: I want efficiency.

Whitney: And she said it's cheap. It's like I I can't remember now. I'm terrible with numbers. I want to say all of that like everything was like three grand, and you have like they do all the procedures and they've got all the stuff and all the doctors are talking to each other and you just leave with your information and you're cured.

Amy: This is a total sidebar, but I feel like my true calling I feel like I've missed my true calling.

Whitney: Korean? You should have been a Korean?

Amy: No. I should have Maybe, actually. I did grow up with a Korean population in Killeen. But, yeah, big big Korean population. Yes, I know. My best friend in first grade only spoke Korean. So,

Whitney: I did not know that. Interesting.

Amy: yeah, I feel like my true calling was to be an efficiency expert. I would have been a good I mean so Virgo of me, but I like think about the most efficient way to do things all the time.

Whitney: Ooh, I love it. I just heard something on an Instagram reel. I I saved it, so I don't really remember everything. But it was basically talking about how we need to learn how to efficiently use our energy. And then you're not going to have the it it will be it'll be the new anti-aging solution if you just know how to efficiently use your energy.

Amy: Ooh. Okay, I'm going to think on that.

Whitney: Then you won't be stressed.

Amy: I'm going to ponder that.

Whitney: Yeah, ponder it. I'll send you the link. I I I saved it, so I'll send it to you.

Amy: The old book Cheaper by the Dozen, I don't know if you ever read the original book.

Whitney: No, I didn't.

Amy: Oh, my god, it's hilarious.

Whitney: I just watched the movie.

Amy: No, no, no. The the book is so good cuz it's true story, and

Whitney: Oh, it's a true story?

Amy: it's true story, and the two parents, the Gilbreths, they were efficiency experts. They were a couple, and they were efficiency experts, and they would go to these big industries and big companies and they would help them run their businesses more efficiently.

Whitney: And they had eight children, or how many?

Amy: They had 12.

Whitney: 12.

Amy: Because they said they come cheaper by the dozen, and they considered that more efficient. And so, they just are so funny. The parents are so funny, and the kids are also funny, and anyway, I just remember reading that at a young age and thinking like, that's a job? And I remember thinking like, how do things run more efficiency more efficiently and like always like tuning in.

Whitney: Well, that's something AI is definitely going to take over.

Amy: We'll see. I'm still annoyed. Like I can't Anyway, yes, here.

Whitney: Definitely. What? You're annoyed?

Amy: Yeah, with AI? Yeah, yeah. It's cuz it's wrong all the time. It is fucking wrong.

Whitney: It is You do have to constantly check it, I know.

Amy: Oh, my god. I I We asked it something about mahjong tiles the other day, and it was like

Whitney: And it was wrong about mahjong?

Amy: I was like, how many of each number, and and it was like, "There are three of each number." And I was like, "That's just completely wrong."

Whitney: And then did you say, "This is completely wrong," and he went, "Oh, you're correct. I was completely wrong."

Amy: "There are three." You know, and then it says it wrong again. It like It doubles down, and so, anyway, I'm not a big fan. I don't think it's taking anybody's jobs too much lately.

Whitney: Oh, that's Yeah, but anyway, whatever.

Amy: Yeah, but anyway, whatever. We I digress. Let's get into fascia.

Whitney: Yes, let's get into fascia.

Amy: We need to get into fascia. So I'm doing this fascia because you have talked about fascia on several episodes. I believe collagen, you might have talked about fascia.

Whitney: Yes. Yes.

Amy: And I own a FasciaBlaster. Do you?

Whitney: I do not. It sounds painful.

Amy: I'm so surprised. It was really big maybe 7 or 8 years ago.

Whitney: No, I don't have it. Is it like a massage thing, like a

Amy: Maybe 10 years ago. The Ashley Black FasciaBlaster. Yeah, yeah. Oh, damn, I should I should have had it here with me. I meant to. Anyway, I'll put a picture of it in here. So, we do these things like I'll do the FasciaBlaster, I have for years, but we don't even

Whitney: Okay. You have for years?

Amy: Yeah, it's still in my bathroom. But we do these things, but we don't even really know what they're for, necessarily, you know?

Whitney: Yeah, it's just the latest trend. You're like, oh, I like that.

Amy: Yeah, like, "Oh, this reduces cellulite. Okay." And I have, too, had plantar fasciitis, fasciitis, and I was like, "Oh, my god, that's fascia." And so, I wanted to understand it more. And of course, it's tied to inflammation, right? Plantar fasciitis is. So, we're going to cover this in five things to know, and then we're going to talk a little bit of fascia blasting at the end.

Whitney: Mhm. Oh. You never put that together. Of course. Okay.

Amy: All right? So here we're diving into fascia. Fascia is the band of thin, fibrous connective tissue that wraps around and supports every structure in your body.

Whitney: Let's go. Well, when I said bags, everything's in a bag, that's that's fascia.

Amy: Yeah. Fascia bags.

Whitney: Fascia bag They're fascia bags, like fashion bags.

Amy: Oh, my god. I love your fascia bag.

Whitney: Luxury fascia bags.

Amy: So, scientists initially thought fascia only provided support to your organs, your muscles, and your bones, but the definition has expanded to include the tissue that surrounds all your cells, all your nerves, your joints, your tissues, your tendons, your ligaments throughout your whole body. Which is just freaking crazy.

Whitney: That's a lot of fascia.

Amy: It's a lot. It is it is like the biggest sensory organ in your body, which is crazy, right?

Whitney: That is crazy.

Amy: Okay. So, they learned that fascia is a part of a system-wide network that provides form and function to literally every part of your body. And it's a continuous layer of tissue that's flexible and able to resist tension. And it's really weird. So I'm so glad we're talking about it, because the more I learn, the more I was like, what?

Whitney: The more fascinated you were?

Amy: Perfect. Yes. Oh, my god, let the puns continue. So it's a stringy, white substance, sorta, made mostly of collagen, which collagen we have covered. Listen to our collagen episode because it's super interesting. It's a type of protein that provides strength and flexibility, and fascia is soft, loose, and made up of multiple layers. A liquid called hyaluronan is between each layer. I practiced that.

Whitney: Oh, wow, I'm impressed. Hyaluron- hyaluronan?

Amy: Hyaluronan. It's also known as hyaluronic acid. It's a natural sugar molecule found throughout your body's connective, epithelial, and neural- I don't know what epithelial is, neural tissues, and it acts as a powerful lubricant and moisture-holder. It helps keep your skin hydrating, joints cushioned, and tissues repaired. We love hyaluronic.

Whitney: Yeah, we do. Yes.

Amy: Okay? I am going to be calling it I I should just probably hy-

Whitney: Just call it hyaluronic.

Amy: Hyaluronan is too hard. Let's just say hyaluronic, okay? Okay?

Whitney: Okay. Yeah. Yes.

Amy: Then we know what we're talking about. I'm not going to mention that much, but you get the idea. It helps your fascia fascia stra- fascia.

Whitney: Fascia.

Amy: Fascia. Fascia, darling. Stretch as you move. Inflammation and trauma can dry up your hyaluronic stuff and damage your fascia. We don't want that. We want it hydrated. When your fascia tightens, it can restrict the movement of your muscles and tissues causing pain and other health conditions. Fascia provides structure and support throughout your body. It holds your muscles together, which allows them to contract and stretch. And it provides a smooth surface for your muscles, joints, and organs to slide against each other, hence your bags, your sexy fascia bags, against each other without creating any friction or tears. It contains muscle-like fibers called myofibrils fibrils, myofibrils, that allow it to contract and adjust its own tension. More on that in just a few minutes. It also stabilizes your body structures and gives your body strength. It separates your muscles and eases muscle tension, and helps with joint stability and movement. Like it helps you stand, like in your pelvis, it'll help you balance and stand.

Whitney: Keep balance. Yeah.

Amy: Which is so weird, we don't think about our fascia doing that, but it is.

Whitney: I know. That is weird.

Amy: It's so crazy and important.

Whitney: I know that you can go to a massage like they can massage your fascia, and it's not It's painful. Yeah.

Amy: We're going to talk about that. It can be, but it doesn't necessarily need to be. And it depends on what state your fascia is in. Yeah.

Whitney: What you're needing. Yeah.

Amy: Yeah, so it also like joint stability, movement, and it improves your circulation. Which, like, again, that's massage, right? Like, I think so much of massage we think of muscles, but so much of it is really about our fascia. It provides an environment that enables all your body systems to work together, which is called myofascial release, which we've heard of.

Whitney: Yeah, that's Yes, I've had that before, yeah.

Amy: Myofascial release, which myo myo means muscle. Fascial, of course, refers to our fascia, right? The tough, connective tissue wrapping the muscle. Not necessarily tough, it can be, you know, released to be not tough. So, the release means that stretching and loosening the tightness or tension, which I I'm going to talk a little bit more about myofascial release in just a few.

Whitney: Okay, good.

Amy: Cuz we've all heard of that, but I didn't really know I didn't know myo meant muscle.

Whitney: No, didn't either.

Amy: But it's basically separating that like, it's still attached to your muscles.

Whitney: It's kneading it. You're like kneading it like to keep it soft and supple.

Amy: Yeah. But it's like It's letting go in a way that it can function more properly.

Whitney: Mhm. Mhm.

Amy: So, fascia is similar to tendons and ligaments because they're all mostly made of collagen, but here's what the difference is. Tendons join your muscles to your bones. You knew that. Tendons join your muscle to your bones. What do ligaments do, then? They join one bone to another.

Whitney: One bone to another. Yeah.

Amy: So, tendons are joining your muscles to your bones, ligaments are joining your bone to bone, and fascia wraps around your muscles and other body parts.

Whitney: Bone to bone.

Amy: So, that's like the difference, but it's all collagen-based.

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah, I know. Collagen is so important.

Amy: Dude, I've got I've got to boost my collagen. I've got to boost it. So, okay. So, examples of fascia include there's so there's something called thoracolumbar thoracolumbar, something like that. You hear lumbar in there, right? So, it surrounds your back muscles and puts them in little compartments.

Whitney: Yeah. Mhm.

Amy: Isn't that crazy? And then, there's there's so there's all different little groups of it, too, that it's working together. And like there's a fascia lata, which sounds like latte, but

Whitney: A latte, I know. I was like

Amy: Yeah, it provides that the bounce to your pelvis that I was talking about when you're walking, running, standing, blah, blah, blah. Plantar fascia, plantar fascia, that's the one in your foot, of course, and this is weird. I thought this was weird. But in younger people, it's related to the Achilles tendon, but then it lets go of your Achilles tendon and they separate as you age and the connection decreases to a point that, in like elderly people, there's no connecting fibers to your Achilles.

Whitney: Mhm. Ah.

Amy: Isn't that weird?

Whitney: Well, then that's going to impact your balance.

Amy: I would think so. I stretch my Achilles all the time.

Whitney: You do?

Amy: I do. Is that weird?

Whitney: I don't even think about my Achilles.

Amy: You don't? I stretch my feet and my Achilles religiously when I work out. Like I'll like I'll start in a ball on my toes and really stretch and and stretch my Achilles and stuff a ton.

Whitney: But really, are you doing like doing ankle work?

Amy: Not exactly. I feel like I'm stretching my feet. But that which is actually really good for your fascia, too, which I don't know So I don't know why I have plantar fasciitis issues.

Whitney: I know. I do, too. I have it, too.

Amy: That doesn't track. It seems like I should, right?

Whitney: But I Yeah, but isn't that Oh, well. Okay, we're

Amy: Isn't that what?

Whitney: Is Isn't that where like things come up on the bottom of your feet?

Amy: It's inflammation of your fascia.

Whitney: But then they they've cut it out of me before when I go to the podiatrist.

Amy: Plantar fasci- What? What did you have cut out?

Whitney: I don't know. I thought it was plantar fascia.

Amy: Wow. I wonder if it was like a piece of fascia.

Whitney: Like it comes up and it's like a little it it's like a ball like a little knot, yeah.

Amy: Like a knot? Yeah, yeah. Did you have to have surgery?

Whitney: I wouldn't call it surgery, but I went to the podiatrist and he cut it out.

Amy: Sounds like surgery. He cut open your body.

Whitney: But I wasn't True, it was surgical.

Amy: Okay. Yikes.

Whitney: Okay. Anyway.

Amy: Okay. So anyway, there's four different types of fascia in your body, okay? Superficial, deep, visceral, and parietal. I don't know how to pronounce that one. Pari- parietal, okay.

Whitney: Parietal. Okay.

Amy: Superficial is the outermost layer directly under all your skin. So when we fascia blast, I'm pretty sure that's what we're hitting. Layers of membranes loosely packed, interwoven collagen and elastic fibers make up this layer. Okay? It's thicker in your chest and back, in your torso, and it's thinner in your arms and legs. And it kind of made me wonder about, as we age, when our skin feels thinner, I wonder if it's really our skin. I wonder if it's more of our fascia, which I'm going to look into, cuz that's weird, right?

Whitney: Mhm. Okay.

Amy: So, it it

Whitney: Well, it's all collagen-based. I mean

Amy: It's all collagen-based.

Whitney: the reason is something to do with not enough collagen.

Amy: And then that then that does that go back to estrogen?

Whitney: Probably. Menopause.

Amy: Oh, fucking A. Okay. Deep fascia surrounds your musculoskeletal system, and it covers your muscles, your bones, your tendons, cartilage, nerves, blood vessels, all that stuff. It's thicker than the superficial, and there's two types: aponeurotic, which is like a thicker one that separates more easily from your muscles, and that's like what the plantar fascia is, which I accidentally stumbled upon a at a foot that they had taken the skin off of, and it was like

Whitney: Oh, no. Oh, no.

Amy: it was dissected. I can't unsee that. Okay. Anyway, then there's epimysial, epimysial fascia, which is thinner and just more tightly connected to your muscles. But whatever, it's all deep, okay? Then there's visceral, that's what surrounds your organs: your lungs, your abdomen, your heart. And then there's this one, parietal.

Whitney: Okay. Parietal.

Amy: Don't say it like that. And then it lines the walls of like some of your body cavities, like your colon and stuff.

Whitney: Oh, man, I'm going to have to uncross my legs.

Amy: Why?

Whitney: It's just getting a little woo- woozy in here talking about it.

Amy: For real?

Whitney: Yeah. When I start to think about what's going on inside my body, sometimes I just have to lay down.

Amy: I had no idea. Oh, my gosh.

Whitney: Yeah, usually it's like when we talk about blood or something, but just this. My my knees start to tingle, and I have it's like I have to like uncross.

Amy: Oh, you get it in your knees? When you see someone get hurt,

Whitney: No, we've talked about this. Yours is your butt, mine's my boobs.

Amy: Oh yeah, where do you get it? Oh, right, that's so weird.

Whitney: No, this is specific to ooh, I'm thinking about my body. Yeah.

Amy: Body stuff. Wow.

Whitney: And anyway, all right, so.

Amy: Well, we're pretty much done with that.

Whitney: Oh, okay, good, cuz I can't.

Amy: Okay? Here's your five things to know about fascia. Okay. Somebody's phone is making a noise.

Whitney: I know, it's mine. Which makes no sense, because I've got it on

Amy: Doesn't make any sense. It doesn't work right.

Whitney: It doesn't work.

Amy: And I've tried to get Justin's like, "You don't pick up when I call." And I'm like, "I literally have it set, so it will ring and it doesn't." Okay, anyway.

Whitney: I don't know. I had mine on Do Not Disturb, and then it's still

Amy: And then it's disturbing.

Whitney: Anyhoo. Well, that was a good reset, cuz now I I'm Good, reset. Yeah, that's right. It's a reset.

Amy: Okay, five things to know, okay?

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: Number one, it's an interconnected web. It's not isolated parts. So this is all like connected to each other, it's not like each one is doing its own thing. Your body is not just a collection of separate muscles attached to bones, right? Fascia links muscles together in a It links everything together in a continuous chain. And because of this, force generated in one part of your body can spread through the fascial network to affect distant joints or tissues. So if you have pain somewhere, it's not necessarily related to that area. It could be somewhere else.

Whitney: Mhm. Well, and I was even thinking like, oh, I wonder if that's why cancer can go from organ to organ.

Amy: I wonder.

Whitney: Anyway. Okay.

Amy: I mean, absolutely.

Whitney: Yeah, it is crazy to imagine that everything is fully connected. Anyway.

Amy: Yeah, it is. But it's so representative of life, because we forget how connected we are and we feel separate. And our bodies are just a representation of how connected everything is.

Whitney: It is. Mhm.

Amy: So, like when I Well, actually, I was going to mention this in a minute. But it's active and dynamic, okay? It's not just the wrapper. It is actually constantly changing and can adapt its stiffness. And it contains these muscle fibers, these muscle-like fibers, not muscle fibers, muscle-like fibers, that allow it to contract and adjust its own tension, which means it directly influences muscle stiffness and your body posture.

Whitney: Yeah, that makes sense. The body is pretty damn incredible.

Amy: It does. It really it blows my mind all the time.

Whitney: It's crazy.

Amy: Okay, it has nerves. I mentioned this before, right? It's packed with nerve endings. It plays a massive role in you like how your body parts are in space, and then also sensing internal body conditions and transmitting pain signals. That's like your fascia doing that. What? Why do we not know this, right? Okay. So, it's also weird because it's both fluid-based and it's like elastic. So it relies on this hyaluronic like we talked about, but it's like thick and stretchy and kind of springy at the same time. So, it responds best to slow, gentle pressure over time. So when you're doing like a myofascial release, it's like slow and gentle. It's not fast, right? You need the like low load, long duration pressure to help release tight fascial tissue.

Whitney: Mhm. Oh, interesting.

Amy: Which is interesting, too, with the FasciaBlaster, because blast, you know? Like they she like rubs it really fast. But there's a lot of controversy about that, and I don't think that's a good thing. I think maybe a little bit slower and more relaxed, which I'm going to talk about, too.

Whitney: More intentional.

Amy: Okay. You can exercise it. This is number five. You can exercise it. It It's this flexible, elastic network, and so specific types of movement can help train and condition it.

Whitney: Okay. Oh.

Amy: I know. So, like

Whitney: Like what?

Amy: fascial fitness exercises focus mostly on like bouncy, elastic recoil movements and stretching pathways. To keep it like healthy and pliable, which looks like a lot of stretching and bouncing.

Whitney: Okay. We talked about bouncing, you know, to strengthen your muscles.

Amy: We did. Yeah.

Whitney: You just go down on your heels multiple times

Amy: This is this helps your fascia. That's going to help your fascia, too.

Whitney: or just jump. Yeah, interesting. Okay, cool.

Amy: Super interesting, right? Okay. So, that's the five things to know, and then let's talk a little bit about hands-on therapies like physical therapy, massage, myofascial release, osteopathy, and gua sha. Gua sha, which you think about your lymphatic system. And I didn't really dive into how your lymphatic system connects with your fascia, but

Whitney: Well, when you were talking about the way to massage it, it reminded me of the lymphatic massages that you'll get. It's very light and very intentional, and

Amy: Me, too. And that's all about fluid movement and flushing things out with your lymphatic system. And you know what? That's probably got some fascia around it.

Whitney: Mhm. Yeah. Well, you said it's everywhere.

Amy: Probably is, right? Right. So,

Whitney: We're not doctors.

Amy: and really like what you're doing kind of the same thing with this fascia, because it's so fluid-based that sustained manual pressure compresses the tissue, pushes out the stagnant fluid, and when the pressure is released, fresh fluid and nutrients rush back in.

Whitney: Oh, wow.

Amy: I know. And then it rehydrates your tissue and restores its sliding mechanism. And so, it's it's got all these weird like viscoelastic properties, they call it, which is is basically that like liquid and elasticity. Can you tell I'm kind of jazzed about fascia?

Whitney: Yeah, I can. You're definitely energized.

Amy: I was so fascinated checking all this out. Like, I'm into it. So, so I'm so glad I did it cuz I You know what else, too? I think I didn't expect it to be exciting.

Whitney: Get into it. Yeah.

Amy: And so, We didn't have any idea what what it was. No, I didn't.

Whitney: Except for you were blasting it every night.

Amy: Precisely. I did it very sporadically. So, therapists, you know, can use light to moderate pressure, some times where they'll hold it longer. And like that feels so good because it can be like up to 90 seconds, right? Or longer. But that signals the fascial collagen fibers to relax and elongate. You know? And and then it can also relate to your nervous system because your fascia has tons of sympathetic nervous nerve endings, as we mentioned, and sensory receptors. And so, that physical contact and sustained pressure sends calming signals to your nervous system and that can cause the specialized cells within the fascia, myofibroblasts, to drop their tension, which is really nice, right?

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: So, anyway, I just thought, you know, it's worth it to really take it slow. And if you're noticing things in your body, do that myofascial release, which I I keep a foam roller like downstairs in my living room, like a short one, and I'll just lay around and kind of like like

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah.

Amy: use that.

Whitney: Yeah, I hate to do that. It's so painful.

Amy: It can be. That's why I think you have to lighten up a little bit. Don't Don't push yourself too hard because, like I said, it can be the lighter stuff that gives your body that chance to relax, and then you can go a little bit deeper. But it's going to be really good for you. Like I have a spot on my hip that I know is related actually to my knee, but I'm constantly having to like work on the fascia around that. So, I always think of it as my muscles, though, and it's really not.

Whitney: But it's important to do. Yeah. Mhm. Mhm. Yeah, it's the fascia.

Amy: It's really not. So, like, you know, releasing something in your calf or hip can relieve tension in your lower back or shoulder pain. Isn't that crazy?

Whitney: That is.

Amy: Because it's it's all this network. So, even if you're not feel even if you're feeling pain in one place, working on other parts of your body is going to impact those other spaces that you feel pain. Super interesting. And rolfing? You heard of rolfing?

Whitney: Oh, I have heard of rolfing, but now I can't remember what it was.

Amy: Well, it's it's the same kind of osteopathic therapy, so it's going to do like slower fascial release. And it's going to interact with your muscles and stuff, so it's pretty cool. Okay, so I think I've covered all that, slow sustained pressure. When a muscle contracts, only about 70% of its force travels straight down to the tendon. So, the remaining 30% spreads through your fascia. So, it's like, you know, super connected and worth taking care of. So, all right, let's talk a little bit about Well, I was particularly interested in plantar fascia. So, you've had that?

Whitney: I mean, I thought.

Amy: What? Was it hurting?

Whitney: Is it like a planters wart?

Amy: No.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: No, a wart is very, very different.

Whitney: This was something and I swear it said plantar fasciitis or whatever. But it had to be, I don't know.

Amy: Interesting.

Whitney: I don't know.

Amy: Interesting.

Whitney: I have a No, I'm not saying that anymore. I have a great memory.

Amy: Oh, okay. Well.

Whitney: But I'm not recalling this particular moment.

Amy: Well, I was pretty interested in that, but I'm kind of going to skip that. I want to get

Whitney: Whatever. I want to get to the microblasting, or whatever.

Amy: I do, too. I do, too. Okay, so there was this thing about 10 years ago called the Ashley Black FasciaBlaster. I can't believe you haven't heard of it. I was sure you were because you're so into all the things.

Whitney: Yeah, I don't know.

Amy: Anyway, so I've got my FasciaBlaster here.

Whitney: Oh, I've seen these.

Amy: Yeah, yeah, you've seen these. So, this is I I probably bought it in 2016, '17. I think you move it you don't dig, like, you don't dig. You more like rub in circles like like that, you know?

Whitney: I feel like I would be bruised.

Amy: You People did get bruised, and at first, that was like she was like, "Yes! You want to be bruised." And I have bruised myself before. But now, there's been like lawsuits.

Whitney: Oh, really?

Amy: She like deletes comments and stuff if anybody gets bruised. Yeah.

Whitney: Oh, really?

Amy: So, I think it's changed a lot over time.

Whitney: So, she's still around.

Amy: She is still around. And so, there were some Reddit threads and so the the what I found that I thought was the most interesting and made the most sense was they were comparing it to cupping or gua sha and how like how with cupping, you know, you can have active marks. And you're just massaging your neck with it right now. Okay.

Whitney: Yes. I don't know how to use this.

Amy: And so, this person said this was from Reddit, "I'm a therapist. The tools do essentially do what manual techniques from therapists do, but you can use them on yourself, and they do break up adhesions more efficiently. The bruising

Whitney: Is it like this?

Amy: is Yes, yeah, pretty much. "The bruising is widely considered a normal part of the process, and if you've ever seen cupping done, you notice very distinct bruising. When healthy tissue is constricted by fascial adhesion," meaning your fascia is like too stuck to your muscles, "it doesn't perfuse with blood as healthy tissue would, and so vigorous manual therapy works in conditions like" And I've done like the things like a cellulite treatment where they had that roller thing that used to roll across your body and it's a lot like that. Like, it hurt.

Whitney: Well, do you use this with like an oil or something? Like I feel like

Amy: Not really.

Whitney: Oof.

Amy: I know. At least, you know what, I wasn't really good at it. I wasn't that good at it, but I would do it I would just do it before I got in the shower, and just rub around a little bit, kind of get things moving. I just felt like it was improving circulation.

Whitney: Yeah. I mean, it can't hurt. Well, it can hurt, cuz it can bruise.

Amy: It can hurt, yeah.

Whitney: But I do think it's prob- it's got some benefits even if you don't know how to use it properly.

Amy: Well, this therapist just said that you know, fascia blasting is a fancy term for things therapists have done for decades. "I personally use the basic tool, the ProBlaster and the nugget." I guess those are like the newer ones.

Whitney: Okay. Yeah.

Amy: And so, another reviewer said that they use it in the sauna, which I thought was really interesting. "I get in the sauna and I blast" I blast. "my face, scalp, behind my ears, down my neck" They may use a smaller one. There must be smaller ones. "down my neck and the heat of the infrared sauna helps my sinuses and eustachian tubes open, and fascia blasting helps with the drainage." They also said it cured their shin splints, cured plantar fasciitis. So, there's a lot of claims with this thing, but I don't know. Are there benefits to fascia blasting? Well, people do say it reduces your cellulite, firms your skin, lessens your joint muscle pain, and all that, increases circulation, right? But it's all anecdotal, and there's really only been one 2019 study, and guess who did it?

Whitney: Ashley?

Amy: Ashley Black. So, we really can't trust I'm not even going to cover it. We can't really trust that. So,

Whitney: Yeah. Right.

Amy: anyway, though, I mean like I I I felt like everyone was doing it years ago. I remember

Whitney: I can't believe you still have it.

Amy: I I, you know what? I kind of like it. I kind of thought it made a difference, and I would just like when I when I would go through phases, I would just like rub it across my tummy and stuff like that.

Whitney: Uh-huh. But you do it in a circle?

Amy: I imagined, well you know, mind-body connection.

Whitney: Oh, see? Yes. You are the placebo.

Amy: So I imagined my fascia like getting happier. What do you think of that? But I remember like um one day I was talking to AJ Vallejo, who's my producer and good friend, and um he said something about the FasciaBlaster, and he was using it every day. And I was like, "What?" I was like, "Is everyone secretly running home and fascia blasting every day?" And he was like, "I think they are."

Whitney: Yeah, I know. No. I did not know. But as we keep talking about it and that plantar fla- f- what's it called?

Amy: You Fasciitis?

Whitney: Fasciitis? Yeah, that's different than the planters warts that get that get cut out. That's more about a tightening or like your your foot is not is not

Amy: Yes. Well, itis is it's an inflammation of your fascia.

Whitney: Yeah, and I think it's when you're when it's super tight and then it does weird things to your feet and it's painful.

Amy: Yeah. It's so painful. It hurts so bad.

Whitney: So are planters warts, by the way, but

Amy: I've had it.

Whitney: totally different things.

Amy: But very different. All right.

Whitney: I don't know why everything's plantar down there. Plantar.

Amy: Maybe it has to do with the Plantar's warts only on your feet?

Whitney: Yeah, I Oh, I don't know.

Amy: Oh, okay. Well, anyway.

Whitney: Oops. We're not doctors.

Amy: You know what? All this does is just create a new rabbit hole every time we do these. But anyway, I um I'm going to get my FasciaBlaster back out. I I like it, but I do understand like don't go too hard. You don't have to bruise yourself. I think going easier is is the key and like and just like really thinking about um focusing on your fascia. Like like think about it being happier.

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah. Think about it. Intention.

Amy: You know? But I do feel like my legs looked like a little more toned and stuff, but it's the same as massage, it's not that different. And like even like I I know like the difference. It's weird to think that there's fascia in your face, right? But like I know the difference when I'm regularly massaging my face, and I thought it was more about the muscle, but

Whitney: Sure. And you think it's muscle, but it's probably both.

Amy: It's it's both. It's both. And even just if you're exercising the muscles, think about 30% of that is going to be fascia-based, so. So anyway, I just thought this was like super freaking fascinating, and thanks for thanks for sitting down with me on this one.

Whitney: Yeah, it is. Thanks for teaching us about it. I'm excited. I'm going to

Amy: What's your final takeaway? What do you think?

Whitney: I I mean, I should probably be paying more attention to my fascia.

Amy: Well, it's everywhere. You probably should. But

Whitney: Yeah. And and you're right. I do think that the massage I mean, just like your muscle, but that's what you get to before the muscle, so.

Amy: Yeah. We have not done an episode on hyaluronic acid, but I might because I'm really, really interested in it. I love it. I I have basic hyaluronic and you know,

Whitney: Yeah, it's every- Well, I did I did talk about it and it it it can absorb like three times its weight or something, so it's just important.

Amy: Trippy. Yeah, yeah. So I might do that because I'm really concerned, too. I have a friend who said all of a sudden her skin was crepey, and she was saying it was about estrogen or something. So I'm kind of I'm thinking these are all related, so I want to dive into that, so. If there's anything that you want to hear us talk about, please let us know. We would be more than happy to take suggestions and

Whitney: Yeah, cool. We would like to remind you that we're not doctors or scientists and all of this is our own research and opinion.

Amy: So, Errors may abound.

Whitney: That's right. And as always, we do what we want.

Amy: Boom.

Whitney: Boom.