365 Ways #55–stretching only works if

#55–You can stretch until the cows come home, but until the fascial system is released, your flexibility will be limited. Your fascial system is like an intricate webbing which encompasses your whole body. Working in conjunction with tendons, ligaments, and muscles as well as your nervous and articular systems, fascia works as one part of the kinetic chain to literally connect your pinky toes (5th metatarsals for you docs reading this) to your eye lashes. Trauma in the form of impact, overuse, or even emotional injury can bind the fascia, not allowing it to move freely. With these restrictions come compensations. And with these compensations come injury or pain. Self-myofascial release on a foam roller is like having a massage therapist that you can take anywhere—not as skilled, perhaps, but you also don’t have to tip her.