Definition
Connective tissue can be found in almost every part of the body. It encloses the organs, muscles and cavities of the body. You can imagine it like a very thin, tight skin, which is, however, quite tear-resistant and hard-wearing.
It is also called fascia. The fasciae are responsible for the mobility of the body. All fasciae of the body are directly or indirectly connected to each other and hold all the structures of the body in place.
However, they also allow the different layers to move against each other to allow free movement. For various reasons, however, the connective tissue can be very tense and strained and as a result can also become sticky. This leads to pain during movement. Since all fasciae are connected to each other, adhesions are not only noticeable in the affected area, but often also in other parts of the body.
Causes
The connective tissue can become sticky if it is too heavily or incorrectly loaded. This causes the fibres, which are actually arranged parallel, to twist and then stick together. The incorrect strain is often triggered by psychological stress, which leads to a permanent tension of the entire body.
Relaxed postures due to chronic pain or after operations are also frequent causes. Another possible cause is lack of exercise. Here, the stretchable fibres of the fascia are gradually replaced by less stretchable ones, which leads to stiffness of the body.
The adhesions of the connective tissue can pinch nerves and cause pain. Since older people have a much lower water content in their bodies than young people and the fasciae also consist of water, older people more often have problems with the fasciae. The elasticity of the connective tissue is significantly lower in them.
Symptoms
Through adhesions of the connective tissue, the body’s mobility is severely restricted, as the flexibility of the structures is no longer given. In addition, the constriction of blood vessels or nerves can lead to severe pain. However, since not only the muscles but also the organs are surrounded by connective tissue, this can also lead to pain.
If the connective tissue is so strongly stuck together that the affected organ can no longer be adequately supplied with nutrients, this leads to a reduction in its ability to function. Depending on which organ is affected, this can lead to heart problems, breathing difficulties or digestive problems. Circulatory disorders or neurological deficits are also possible symptoms.
If the connective tissue shows adhesions, this can be very painful. Various structures of the body can become constricted and thus their function can be impaired. If, for example, the fascia of a muscle is affected, the muscle’s movement may be restricted and blood vessels and nerves running in the immediate vicinity may also be affected.
As a rule, the affected person experiences this as a flat pain and often cannot localise it exactly. Especially in the case of back pain, it is often the fascia that are the cause of the back pain. Patients with back pain often complain of unspecific pain and if no exact cause can be found, the intervertebral disc is blamed for the pain.
However, it is often the fascia that cause the pain. Due to a lack of movement, as is the case with most people due to many sedentary activities, the fasciae become sticky and lead to severe pain. Patients who have undergone surgery for their back pain often experience pain again after a year at the latest. Here, fascial training to loosen the fascia can prove helpful. If there are problems with the connective tissue, however, this cannot be detected by imaging techniques, which makes it difficult to make a diagnosis.
All articles in this series:
