Fascia and muscles interact in the living organism in different ways, depend-ing on the load on this complex. In an energy conservation mode, the fascia elements are stretched and then recoiled without a strong muscle contrac-tion. In a power amplification mode, the fascia is stretched by a rapid concen-tric muscle contraction and subsequent recoil. In a power attenuation mode, kinetic energy is
... [Show full abstract] actively damped by the fascia.
The ground substance has an enormous water-binding capacity, which is limited by the pre-stretching of the local collagen fiber network. The behavior is like that of a sponge. Dehydration and rehydration follow mechanical load. If the load is high enough, supercompensation could occur with a higher hy-dration rate than before. A large proportion of ground substance water in fas-cial tissue act like a crystalline "designer fluid". Coating elastin fibers with this fluid may play an important role in aging.
The fascia is also a sensory organ. There are approximately 250 million nerve endings in the fascial network, which make fascia the richest sensory organ in our body. Likewise, the deep layer of the thoracolumbar fascia is be-lieved to play an important role in the development of non-specific low back pain. Its chronic irritation may even lead to sensitization at the spinal level.
