Muscle-Activating Sportswear

"An athlete doesn’t see a healthy day" goes the saying and unfortunately it is a true story for many, including Marika Heiskanen, the inventor and founder of Fasciawear. Getting results requires putting in those practice hours and this can take a toll on the body. For Marika, the mishap happened during a dance practice where her Achilles tendon was ruptured during a landing from an aptitude jump—this not only ruined her dreams of competing in national championships in dancing but also kept her away from running for more than year.

Today, Vaskia Oy, a sportswear company specializing in functional clothing for runners, announced the worldwide launch of its patented sportswear innovation 'Fasciawear.' Fasciawear is the first sportswear in the world that helps activate core muscles, keep good posture and find optimal movement patterns. In simple terms, it guides you to move right and helps prevent injuries or recovery from them.

After the unfortunate injury, Marika was herself faced with the long and painful recovery process. As a physiotherapist, she knew what to expect but found out that doing all the necessary recovery exercises can be very demanding and difficult. After long recovery process when Marika was again able to pick up her running practice came the idea of a sportswear that would support and guide the body during movement helping the person to use their body in an optimal way. The idea was born on running trails in Oulu.

Fasciawear’s patented solution is based on an innovation where the body’s natural pre-tension and compression of the fascia network is enhanced by the Fasciawear outfit. In Fasciawear, Marika combines her knowledge of the fasciae and vast experience in ergonomics, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and treating musculoskeletal problems to create a totally new sportswear concept, which actively guides and support the athlete’s body during movement. This improves performance as energy is not wasted in the wrong direction and it reduces strain on the joints and muscles to help avoid injuries, pain and ache after training and speeds up recovery.

Of the innovation, Fasciawear founder and innovator Marika Heiskanen says, “We have a unique offering for runners, none of the other sportswear provides same kind of support and guidance to your body as our outfit.” Marika, a keen runner herself, continues, “As a physiotherapist, I want help people learn optimal way to use their body. But the physiotherapist cannot always be there, so the idea was to make product you can easily wear yourself. Fasciawear will help you to keep good posture and joint alignment during exercise, which makes you run faster and also reduces strain on your muscles and joints. This means better performance, less joint & muscle pain after training and faster recovery time.”