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Epimysial fascia, on the other hand, covers and interpenetrates individual muscles, defining their form and volume. Thinner than aponeurotic fascia, epimysial fascia is far less dense and more film-like. On some of FR:EIA's muscles, it is not visible at all because of its sheerness. You can see it as a slight clouding to the right gluteus maximus and right trapezius, however. And it is very clear to see where it has been ref lected away from the left gluteus maximus, exposing the bright red muscle fibers beneath. The Layers Between the Layers Between the superficial and deep fascia and always making appearances between muscles, we find the loose areolar connective tissue. It is non-uniform, ubiquitous, and rich in water-loving hyaluronan, made of both loose collagen fibers and well-hydrated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Gil Hedley, founder of Integral Anatomy, often refers to this tissue as "the fascia's fascia," or "perifascia" in the areas where it is found near its dense regular connective tissue sibling, deep fascia. This loose connective tissue facilitates differentiated movement, serves as a lubricant in healthy tissue, and creates frictionless spaces for vessels and nerves to travel. When inf lammation occurs, loose connective tissue serves as a transport system, carrying cytokines and repair cells along its watery pathways. 2 If you look closely, you can see areas where this ephemeral tissue has been captured in FR:EIA's permanent form between her superficial and deep fascia—a sight of delight for fascia enthusiasts and anatomy nerds everywhere. "Movement that reflects our whole-body continuity must involve the connection of structures, deep to superficial and superficial to deep, as well as proximal to distal and distal to proximal." —Elizabeth Larkam, Mill Valley, California: Team FR:EIA dissector, movement professional, therapist, educator, and author of Fascia in Motion FORCE TRANSMISSION Fascia is more than just a covering or wrapping. When muscles contract, fascia is always in the story, so much so that it almost makes you wonder if our classical origin/insertion models need a little updating. You are probably familiar with this muscle story: Muscular contraction transmits force through the tendon to the bone, which makes a movement. But how well do you know this myofascial story? Muscular contraction tensions the fascia within the muscle, transmitting force to a variety of possible locations, including tendon, bone, and other fascia, and even other muscles via more fascia for the purposes of stabilization, movement, or sensory perception and neuromuscular coordination. There's a lot going on. This more complete picture of how muscles move us includes something called myofascial expansions. In Carla Stecco's groundbreaking book, Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial System, she defines a myofascial expansion as a "connection that originates from a skeletal muscle, or from its tendon, that inserts into the aponeurotic fascia." 3 Most muscles have myofascial expansions with consistent and precise organization. When muscles contract, they not only move bones, but they also stretch the deep fascia via the myofascial expansions. When myofascial expansions show a clear path of force transmission in motion, we call them myofascial chains, or slings. You can see some well-recognized examples of myofascial chains on FR:EIA, including the posterior oblique sling and the superficial back line. 4 32 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k s e p te m b e r/o c to b e r 2 0 2 2 CRISSCROSS On the surface of the thoracolumbar fascia, you can easily see the collagen fibers on an oblique axis, which flow in continuity with the latissimus dorsi and the contralateral gluteus maximus. Both of these muscles have fibers that insert directly into the thoracolumbar fascia, creating a line of force transmission. 1. Latissimus dorsi and its deep fascia 2. Thoracolumbar fascia 3. Deep fascia of the gluteus maximus 4. Gluteus maximus 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 3