Fascia is a connective tissue network that surrounds and supports structures throughout the body. When healthy, it helps tissues move and glide smoothly. But everyday factors such as prolonged sitting, repetitive movement, stress, injury, surgery, and inadequate movement can contribute to areas of tightness and restriction.

In this Health & Wellness Series presentation, physical therapist Tina Sferra, MSPT, introduces the fundamentals of fascia and trigger points. Drawing from more than two decades of experience in manual therapy, Pilates, dance medicine, and myofascial techniques, she explains how recognizing tension in the body can help you become more intentional about movement, recovery, and self-care.

Understanding Fascia

Fascia is a fibrous connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones, organs, blood vessels, nerves, and other structures throughout the body.

Tina explains how healthy fascia supports stability while allowing tissues to slide and move, and how restrictions in this connective tissue can influence mobility and comfort.

What Are Trigger Points?

Trigger points are areas of tension commonly experienced as tight or tender “knots.” Tina connects these areas to the deeper layers of the myofascial system and explains why she approaches the body as an interconnected kinetic chain rather than a collection of isolated muscles.

This perspective can help explain why tension in one area may influence movement or discomfort somewhere else in the body.

What Can Affect Your Fascia?

Daily habits can influence how the body feels and moves. Tina discusses factors including sedentary behavior, repetitive movements, posture and body mechanics, stress, injury, surgery, hydration, and physical activity.

She also explores the importance of movement, stretching, heat, Pilates, yoga, foam rolling, and other approaches for supporting mobility and caring for the fascia.

Listening to Your Body

One of Tina’s central messages is to pay attention to smaller signs of tension before they become more disruptive.

Rather than thinking only about recovering from an injury, she encourages members to think about “recovering from your day”—recognizing what sitting, working, exercising, and everyday life have asked of the body and developing consistent habits to care for it.

Taking an Active Role in Recovery

Tina introduces self-trigger point release as a practical tool members can learn to use as part of their own self-care routine. She discusses how simple tools, including massage balls, can be used to work with areas of muscular tension while emphasizing the importance of listening to the body and avoiding painful or overly aggressive techniques.

This first class provides the educational foundation for Part 2, where Tina guides members through hands-on self-trigger point release techniques and shows how to begin putting these principles into practice.

‍