Fascia has become a popular word in health and movement spaces, but what does it actually mean?

In this episode, I explore why definitions matter and why fascia is not a fixed concept. How we define fascia shapes the questions we ask in research, the way clinicians think about the body, and how we explain pain, healing, and recovery to the people we serve.

I walk through the key definitions that have influenced my own thinking, starting with the traditional structural perspective found in Gray’s Anatomy, moving into the widely accepted definition from the Fascia Research Society that reframed fascia as a three-dimensional environment, and then exploring the function-focused definition proposed by John Sharkey and Mark Flannigan.

The heart of the episode focuses on a 2024 update to fascial nomenclature by Bordoni and colleagues, which challenges long-held assumptions by grounding the fascial system in embryology. This work expands the fascial continuum beyond solid connective tissues, emphasizing how tissues that develop together, function together, and communicate together cannot be fully understood when separated conceptually. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.53995

Rather than offering a final answer, this episode highlights fascia as a living, adaptive continuum and invites a wider view based on embryology.

As our science evolves, our language and perspective must evolve with it.

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