Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/70065
FASCIA By far the most numerous nerve endings are the free or interstitial nerve endings that permeate fascial fibers and sheets like pea tendrils. They are found nearly everywhere, including the periosteum and even within bone, which of course only deforms a little in normal movement. These are also reporting on fascial stretch and seem to be capable of detecting rapid, as well as sustained, pressure changes. Some of these have a lower threshold and are more sensitive than others. Stimulation of these receptors results in vasodilation and increased tissue fluid flow. These fibers also seem to be the primary source for fascial pain. These endings seem to distribute themselves according to local needs and conditions, not according to some genetic plan. (Or, more properly, the genetics allows the endings to be modified to fit the local need.) Where there is a lot of sustained pressure, pacinian corpuscles will form; where there is a lot of shear, Ruffini endings will abound. Where exactly this is occurring will vary from person to person and so will their distribution of these endings. Add in the muscle and epithelial cells, and we are back to our whole human being, starting from the scaffolding of the extracellular matrix. In a living being, we really need to think of the whole locomotor complex as the neuromyofascial web, as all of these tissues are so intimately interwoven in both structure and function. Studying this complex—something massage therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and movement trainers of all types are doing right now—requires first and foremost an understanding that our supposedly "inert" fascial network is part of the living person—awake, alive, and participating in the second- by-second negotiation of stability and the precise calibration of movement. Cultivate the sense of your own fascial network lying just below the surface of your consciousness—it is your richest sense organ. And cultivate your touch for different qualities and conditions of the fascial layers lying just below the surface of your clients' skin— in the future it will be the main tissue our hands-on methods address. Trains. He studied with Drs. Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, and Buckminster Fuller, and has practiced integrative bodywork for more than 30 years in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He incorporates many movement and manual disciplines in his work. For more information on his courses, visit www.anatomytrains.com NOTES 1. A. Rokszin et al., "Visual Pathways Serving Motion Detection in the Mammalian Brain," Sensors 10 (2010): 3218–3242. 2. R. Schleip, "Fascial Plasticity—A New Neurobiological Explanation," Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 7, no. 1 (2003): 11-19 and 7, no. 2 (2003): 104-116. 3. E. Kandel, Essentials of Neuroscience and Behaviour (New York: Appleton and Lange, 1995). 4. J.C. Guimberteau, Strolling Under the Skin (Paris: Elsevier, 2004). Video available at www.anatomytrains.com. 5. W. Fourie, "The Fascia Lata of the Thigh—More Than a Stocking," in Fascia Research II: Basic Science and Implications for Conventional and Complementary Health Care (Munich: Elsevier GmbH, 2009). 6. J. Oschman, Energy Medicine (Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2000). 7. G. Gabbiani et al., "Granulation Tissue as a Contractile Organ," Journal of Experimental Medicine 135 (1972): 719–734. 8. K. Leitzell, "The Other Brain Cells: New Roles for Glia," Scientific American (June 2008). 9. A. Koob, "The Root of Thought: What Do Glial Cells Do?" Scientific American (October 2009); C. Pert, Molecules of Emotion (New York: Scribner, 1997). 10. K. Koizumi and C. Brooks, "The Integration of Autonomic System Reactions," Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Experimental Pharmacology 67: 1–68. Thomas Myers is the founder of Anatomy connect with your colleagues on massageprofessionals.com 57