An important fibrous tissue called fascia covers, connects and protects almost every other tissue in the human body. Fascia is becoming well-known as a possible source of muscle, spine, and joint pain, and it’s arranged in fabric-like sheets around your muscles, bones, organs, and joints. This “structural fabric” also surrounds all nerve tissue and contains hundreds of millions of its own nerve endings. More than just causing aches and pains, restrictions in fascia can cause numerous symptoms expressed through the nervous system. 

The brain and spinal cord have their own fascia, called the meninges. This fascia seals in the cerebrospinal fluid that cushions the central nervous system. Nerves to the rest of the body exit through the meninges and are covered with a fascia called the perineural sheath, with more layers of fascia inside the nerves. Most types of fascia can stiffen due to trauma, which can become relatively permanent without treatment. Stiffness in meningeal and nerve fascia can be caused by car accidents, falls, sports injuries, or repetitive stress.   

In my practice, I have seen stiffness in the nervous system fascia cause a wide range of problems. From tension in the spinal meninges caused by whiplash, I have seen resulting neuropathy in the feet, poor balance, sciatica, and leg weakness. With head injuries causing stiffening of the skull fascia, it’s not unusual to see nausea, vertigo, poor mental focus, insomnia or hand tingles. Carpal tunnel syndrome, meralgia paresthetica (upper thigh numbness) and other types of numbness or tingles can also be due to restriction in a single nerve. 

Stiff or restricted fascia can be treated by stimulating it to relax and release its tension. Fascia therapies like Residual Strain Therapy (RST) use gentle pressures from the surface of the body to release deep tissues like the meninges and peripheral nerve tissue. If symptoms are caused by the fascia, they will improve when it is released. Of course, a thorough examination is  necessary to determine if symptoms are caused by fascia restriction, and permanent injury or other causes must be considered as well. Below are some examples of cases seen in our clinic, with names and some other details changed for privacy: 

Neuropathy 

Bill sought help for nearly constant numbness and tingles in all five fingers on his left hand. This had been occurring for six months, but it had begun to worsen and interrupt his sleep at night. An examination showed stiffness of the meninges in his neck and spine, likely due to a car accident three years prior. These restrictions were treated, along with several more in the muscles and joint fascia. Bill’s symptoms resolved, so he could finally experience lasting pain relief. 

Lisette chose to undergo RST treatment for her meralgia paresthetica. This painful condition is caused by issues in a nerve that runs forward over the pelvic bone and down the thigh. With this condition, tingles and numbness in the thigh usually worsen when standing or walking, and Lisette’s case was no exception. Her pain limited her to walking shorter distances for over a year. Medication and physical therapy had not helped her symptoms either. 

To treat this problem, we released fascia restrictions causing the muscle tensions that pinched the nerve. But to help Lisette achieve more sustainable relief, we also had to treat the fascia of the nerve itself in the area where it was being pinched. She is now able to walk much longer distances with minimal, infrequent pain.  

Head Trauma 

Amblyopia (or “lazy eye”) can slow a young child down. Brianna was in high spirits when we first saw her, but she exhibited relatively slow movements, and was less active than most typical three-year-olds. An examination showed weakness in her left arm, as well as weak head rotation and inability to track an object well with her left eye.  

Brianna had stiff fascia on the left side of her skull. Her parents could not recall a head injury, but Brianna’s birth was difficult, with a long labor and forceps delivery. Treatment of the stiffened fascia with gentle manual therapy was successful. Brianna’s muscles strengthened, and her eye tracking improved to almost normal. This improved vision also gave her the confidence to move about with the energy and quickness of a healthy child her age. 

When it comes to vertigo, conventional medical treatments often focus on evaluating the inner ear as a likely cause—and that is important to consider. However, most of our position sense comes from the tens of millions of pressure and tension sensitive nerve endings in our fascia. In my experience, this is a major source of vertigo.  

Just a week before writing this article, George came into our office with complaints of a recent spinning sensation and nausea when lying down at night. His main reason for scheduling an appointment with us was to treat chronic neck pain, but he was pleased when an RST release of his meningeal fascia and neck muscle fascia also alleviated his vertigo. With continued treatment, his vertigo symptoms were resolved altogether. 

Severe concussions can result in symptoms that continue for several years after the initial head injury. Sometimes the underlying cause is stiffened fascia of the meninges, caused by the original impact. Sarah came to our office for help with intense migraine headaches that she felt were related to being knocked unconscious by an impact several years prior.  

She also experienced cognitive decline, with difficulty concentrating, remembering information, and performing complex tasks. She was pleasantly surprised when treatment of cranial meningeal stiffness not only relieved her migraines, but also improved her mental clarity, so she could handle mentally intensive work and recall more details.   

The Gut 

In addition to nerve endings for position sense, fascia has millions of nerve endings that are part of the sympathetic nervous system. Disturbance of these nerves by fascia restrictions can disturb gut function and cause symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, constipation, or intestinal pain.  

This is common with restrictions around the abdomen, lower rib cage, pelvis, and spine. Ingrid recently came to see us for chronic low back pain. While she was satisfied with her continually improving back pain, she was also pleased with the fact that she no longer needs to take medication for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). She hasn’t experienced IBS symptoms since her third treatment to release fascia restriction from her pelvis and low back muscles.  

A careful and expert evaluation is necessary to find the cause of neurological symptoms, and fascia restriction is just one of many potential causes of issues like neuropathy, vertigo, IBS, and post-concussion syndromes. However, fascia treatment is worth exploring as a solution for these types of conditions. Fascia therapies like RST are safe and non-invasive—and as you can see based on these stories, the results often have wide-reaching success.  

Dr. Eric Winder has been practicing chiropractic for 28 years. His practice, located at 7246 South Beneva Road in Sarasota, emphasizes relieving pain and restoring alignment and motion with gentle fascia release therapies. For more information, call 941-957-8390 or visit https://gentlebay.com/