The fascial system is like your body's internet - a communication network that connects everything. (Really. Everything.) [But somehow this paragraph stopped being about communication networks and became about fluids…. Need a para about speed of communication in fascia, neuroreceptors, embryology…]
It's woven together with your blood vessels, the tubes that drain swelling, and your immune system. When fascia gets tight and stuck, it's not just movement that suffers. The fluid highways throughout your body get squeezed too. Think of it like stepping on a garden hose - everything downstream [and upstream?] gets affected. Your lymph system (which cleans up cellular trash and fights infection) relies on fascia to help pump fluid around. When fascia can't move freely, waste builds up and inflammation spreads to places that seem totally unrelated. A tight area around your first rib doesn't just affect your neck and arms - it can mess up drainage throughout your whole upper body. Medical school teaches these systems as separate subjects, but your body built them as one integrated network.