Where stiffness comes from

Thoracolumbar fascia: Why Stiffness Starts in Your Fascia (and How to Expand Your Circle of Potential)

We blame age for stiffness. We say, “Of course I’m stiff — I’m getting old!” But the truth is, stiffness is less about birthdays and more about biology. It begins when we stop moving, and it takes root in the tissue designed to keep us stable: fascia.

In this post, I’ll explore what fascia really is, why the thoracolumbar fascia is ground zero for stiffness, and how to explore what I call the “Circle of Potential.”

What fascia really is

Fascia is the body’s largest type of connective tissue. It’s made largely of collagen, a rope-like protein that is produced in endless supply by fibroblast cells. Under the microscope, collagen bundles form triple-helix strands, unbelievably strong for their size.

Fascia surrounds, connects and penetrates muscles. It wraps bones, blood vessels, and organs. It doesn’t justhold us together but communicates and transmits force, balances movement, and responds to the loads we place on it.

When we move, fascia glides, fluids circulate and tissues hydrate. When we stop moving, fascia has the potential to become harder and densify. Collagen fibres thicken and cross-link, reducing slide and elasticity, which is the birth of stiffness.

The thoracolumbar fascia: where stiffness begins

One area is particularly vulnerable: the thoracolumbar fascia TLF. This is a multi layered sheet of connective tissue across the lower back and trunk. It has three layers that are defined, but the fibres of the TLF extend in an infinite number of directions and combinations, creating an enormous degree of stability in the region we refer to as the trunk.

TLF inks the latissimus dorsi (broad back muscles), glutes, abdominal wall, and even the diaphragm, and can be thought of as a central hub where stability and mobility must co-exist. Without its tension and capacity to bear and transmit load, walking upright or even sitting would be impossible. This is then where the conundrum arises. The TLF contains all the ingredients (collagen fibres) to offer us this vital degree of stability we need. But by extension these are also the ingredients that can quickly produce stiffness.

Too much sitting still, too little rotation and a general lack of regular movement in and through this area, and this already collagen rich area will obey what is being asked of it. Hydration decreases and the tissues quickly become denser and thicker, creating stiffness. Load it too quickly and the myriad of nerves in this area will produce enormous pain.

The circle of potential

Here’s a simple way to explore the idea of how our own potential is self limiting.

Standing up tall, reach your arms overhead as far as you can. Hold them up there while you take one deep breath and then reach higher.

Did you reach further? Most people do!

That extra reach wasn’t magic. Rather it was you tapping into what I refer to as the “Circle of Potential”. This is the difference between your operational maximum (what you normally use) and your functional maximum (what you’re actually capable of).

The problem is, unless we regularly explore that outer circle, it will shrink. When it does so, our body remodels itself to fit the smaller range. “Use it or lose it” isn’t a cliché but rather is the biology of collagen. This has very little to do with ageing, but more to do with how we age. Collagen is produced constantly until the day we die, and when our movements become limited, through injury, illness or simple lack of use, the collagen will always be there to step in.

Stiffness is not inevitable

I’ve seen older cadavers with thickened fascia layers all the time in the dissection lab. Knees and hips wrapped in dense collagen bands, thickened crural tissue that creates a dense white stocking around the leg. Tissue that hasn’t glided for years.

But I’ve also seen people like. my friend “Little Mo,” who still skiis energetically at the age of 82. Her fascia hasn’t thickened, simply because she’s kept moving, loading, and by extension hydrating tissues with every rotation and stride. Stiffness is not a function of age — it’s a function of neglect

Why this matters, especially for therapists

For manual and movement therapists, fascia is not an abstract principle shrouded in biology, but is at the root of what we are working with every day. We can't change fascia with our hands or 'release' it in the way some people seem to think. But we can help people to increase or maintain their range, affect function and pain and maintain mobility.

Whether you’re working with a client with chronic back pain, helping them with their breathing, or guiding them through a yoga or Pilates session, you are helping to hydrate the tissues that surround every organ in the body.

Understanding fascia and in my experience seeing it first hand transforms practice. It gives therapists the confidence to know why certain interventions work and when they don’t and gives practitioners an X-ray vision into the human form.

Conclusions

Fascia doesn’t care how old you are. It cares how much you move.

If you want to keep your Circle of Potential wide open both for yourself, and for your clients. Keep loading, keep rotating, keep exploring and keep moving however it best suits you to do so!

And if you want to truly understand what fascia looks like, feels like, and how it functions, join me in the lab or in a workshop. Because once you see it, you’ll never treat or move the same way again.