Move It or Lose It: Gil Hedley's The Fuzz

Nature's Version of The Fuzz: Moss and Rock, Fish Creek - August 2024

Ever notice that some mornings you don’t exactly roll out of bed? You might hobble, slide, or ask your partner to hire a crane. As you move through the morning, although the initial foray to the kitchen took ten minutes, you begin setting PRs so that by the time you’re ready to hit the shower, you’re doing laps around the house in less than 30 seconds. 

Why is that? Why do we start out so stiff and subsequently loosen up so nicely? It’s because of The Fuzz.

Gil Hedley famously dubbed the build-up between our tissues The Fuzz. When we are still for long periods of time (as when sleeping), The Fuzz accumulates, resulting in stickiness and limited mobility between our tissues which normally slide smoothly. Daily stretching can address The Fuzz. However, when we are injured and don’t use the affected body part for a couple of days, The Fuzz builds up until we may need help from a physical therapist or massage therapist to restore range of motion.

This is one reason why Essentrics® leaves you feeling more mobile and energized. You are warming and stretching the body’s tissues so that they slide, you can move more easily - and you have done away with The Fuzz for the day. This is also why massage can help decrease pain and improve range of motion - manually working the tissues eliminates The Fuzz.

I’ve included Gil Hedley’s amazing video The Fuzz Speech here. The Fuzz Speech is one of my very favorite videos because he does such an excellent job of explaining this concept. 
Word of warning: the video includes shots of cadaver tissue to illustrate his point. 

​Originally published July 28 2022