ANATOMY TRAINS

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ANATOMY

ANATOMY TRAINS -

EARLY DISSECTIVE EVIDENCE

By To m Myers, so ft tissue practitio ner

Figure 1: Superfi cial back line

Here we see the fascial `grain o n the back side o f the bo dy - fro m

the to es to the bro w ridge in o ne co ntinual band o f fascia. Yo u

can see the plantar fascia at the bo tto m, and ho w it is utterly

co ntinuo us with the fas-

Bro w rid g e

Epic ranial fasc ia

Oc c ipital rid g e

Splenio s capitis

cial co vering traversing aro und the heel to the Achilles tendo n. Yo u can see ho w the lo wer tendo ns o f the hamstring intertwine fascially with

the upper tendo ns of the

gastro cnemii, fo rming a

Erec to r spinae

Se misp inalis

`square kno t'. The sho rt head o f the

biceps and sciatic nerve

were fo lded o ut to be

Tho rac o lumbar fasc ia

easily identified, and yo u can see ho w the ham-

strings lead seamlessly

into the sac ro tubero us

Sac ral fasc ia Sc iatic nerve

ligament ( the superficial part at least) .

Hamstring s

Ac hilles tendo n

Sac ro tubero us lig ame nt

Fasc ia o ver isc hial tubero sity

Fasc ial interfac e between hamstring tendo ns and g astro c nemius heads

Fasc ia o ver heel

Plantar fasc ia

The sac ral fasc ia and erecto r spinae had to be cut away fro m the underlying bo nes, but there was no difficulty in dissecting o ut the co nnectio n between these muscles and the epicranial fascia to the bro w ridge abo ve the eye. This lo ng fascial piece may have individual muscles within it, but it also acts as a single unit, co nveying the tensio n o r strain in o ne part do wn o r up to ano ther, co ntributing to an o verall feel, shape, and pattern to this Superficial Back Line.

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So me readers may be familiar with the Anato my Trains Myo fascial Meridians idea. Briefly, all o ur muscles have been analysed as if they were separate units within the bo dy. This idea - that there is a separate unit like the biceps, the pso as, the latissimus - is so pervasive, that it is hard to think in any o ther way. But in fact all the muscle tissue is embedded within the single, ubiquito us fascial webbing o f the extracellular matrix ( ECM) . The fibres o f the ECM, especially within the myo fascia where tensile pulls are regular and stro ng, are arranged alo ng the same `grain' as the muscle fibers. The muscle may end at the attachment po int, but the fascia co ntinues alo ng its way thro ugh the ECM, linking up to o ther muscles in chains - a bit like a set o f sausage links. The Anato my Trains co ncept maps o ut these sets o f sausage links within the bo dy - fo llo wing the grain o f muscle and fascia to see what links with what. The idea is that, especially in po stural habitus and lo ng- term sequelae fro m injury, strain co mmunicates alo ng these lo ngitudinal lines fro m o ne muscle to ano ther. This view leads to new strategies fo r reso lving lo ng- term pro blems by wo rking o n the strain pattern at so me distance fro m the site o f injury o r pain.

Since the Anato my Trains bo o k was published, so me peo ple have asked whether the bo dy really demo nstrates the fascial co nnectio n theo rised in the bo o k. I am therefo re excited to present fo r the first time, a few o f the pho to s fro m a recent dissectio n in which we attempted to dissect po rtio ns o f myo fascial co ntinuity fro m three preserved cadavers. The results were startling in their no velty and reassuring in ho w they co nfirmed mo st o f what the bo o k presents. In February 2006, we went to the Labo rato ries fo r Anato mical Enlighten- ment, under the directio n o f To dd Garcia, alo ng with several o f his assistants and abo ut a do zen bo dywo rk practitio ners. Over 5 days o f feverish activity and co o perative wo rk, we transfo rmed the gift o f the three bo dies - we thank the do no rs so very much - into a set o f anato mical images no t seen in 500 years o f Western anato mical study. These images and mo re will be appearing in the seco nd editio n o f the Anato my Trains bo o k, due o ut in 2008.

So , welco me to the first do cumentary evidence o f the `anato my o f co nnectio n'. These are just a few o f the many striking figures we to o k o f the Anato my Trains lines; many mo re will appear in the future editio ns o f the bo o k, and so me mo re are available o n o ur website.

The questio n: Are there really these myo fascial co ntinuities in the bo dy? This can no w be answered firmly in the affirmative: Yes, they are real, and palpable and dissectable. The reality o f the Anato my Trains is no w pro ven.

There is a seco nd questio n that canno t be answered in an embalmed cadaver, which is: What is the nature and extent o f co mmunicatio n alo ng these lines? Are they co mmunicating bio me-

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MYOFACIAL LINKS

Sp le n ius capitis and c ervic is

Sc alene musc le s

Ext e rnal o blique

Glut e us maximus

Ilio tibial trac t

Sterno c leido masto id ( sternal head)

Rib s Interc o stals Stain fro m bile in gall b ladde r

Figure 2: Lateral line

In this pho to graph, we see the lateral line - starting with the two pero neals ( no w called fibularii) at the bo tto m, co nnected fascially o ver the fibular head to the ilio tibial tract. It was no surprise to co nnect this into the gluteals and tenso r fasciae latae, but it was a co mplete surprise ho w easy it was to co nnect these gluteal fasciae with all the abdo minal layers, including, as yo u see here, the external and internal o blique. The ribs were clipped to co ntinue the line up the side via the external and internal interco stals.

At the to p o f the ribs, yo u see the small triangle o f the scalenes, no t technically part o f this line, but included nevertheless because o f their clear fascial co ntinuity. At the to p o f the picture, yo u see the chevro n co mbining the splenii in the back with the sternal head o f the sterno cleido masto id ( SCM) in fro nt. This part is separate in this picture o nly because these are bo th muscle that o riginate o n the sagittal midline, and the rest o f the Lateral line is mo re to the side.

I nt e rnal o blique

Glut e us me d ius

Tenso r fasc iae latae

Figure 3 : Lat eral line on skelet on

Here is this dissec tio n laid o ut o n a c lassro o m skeleto n, arranged as if walking . Yo u c an see the ro le these linked muscles and fascia wo uld play in stabilizing the bo dy in reg ular o r athletic ac tivity.

Fasc ia o ver fibular head

Pero neal ( fibularii) musc le s

Figure 2 16

Pero neus lo ng us & brevis tendo ns

Figure 3

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ANATOMY

Figure 4: Leg and `jump rope'

Here we see the lo wer part o f the so - called `Spiral line'. There is a lo ng fascial lo o p that co nnects the fro nt o f the pelvis to the back o f the pelvis via the arch o f the fo o t. This line starts o ut fro m the anterio r superio r iliac spine with the tenso r fasciae latae, which feeds into the ilio tibial tract, which is co nnected fascially and very stro ngly to the tibialis anterio r. The tibialis runs do wn to the weakest po int o f the arch - the first metatarsal- cuneifo rm jo int, where it is always sho wn attaching. Ho wever, we were able to dissect a clear and stro ng attachment to the pero neus lo ngus tendo n that co mes at the jo int fro m the lateral side. Thus this `jump ro pe' co ntinues its

co nnectio n up the o utside o f the calf to the fibular head, and right o n into the lateral hamstring, the biceps femo ris. Again, this is a stro ng and distinct co nnectio n; no thing wimpy abo ut it. This o f co urse, brings us to the back o f the pelvis at the ischial tubero sity.

Thus we have a palpable, visible, dissectable bit o f evidence o f the clinically o bservable co nnectio n between pelvic angle and arch suppo rt.

Bic eps femo ris

Tenso r fasc iae latae

Ilio tibial trac t

Lat e ral kne e fasc ia

Sc alp fasc ia Sternal fasc ia

Sterno c leido masto id

CUT MADE BY EMBALMER

Pero neus lo ngus

Tib ialis anterio r

Fasc ia o ver sterno - c ho ndral rib s

Rec tus abdo minis

Figure 4

Figure 5

Pubic bo ne

Figure 5: Front line chest

In theo ry, theo ry and prac tic e are the same. In prac tic e, o f c o urse, they are quite different. And so , reliably, no t everything went ac c o rding the theo ry. Here is a dissec tio n o f the upper part o f the supe rfic ial fro nt line. The re c tus is be lo w, c o nne c te d do wn to the pubic bo ne, and then firmly to the 5th rib. The SCMs are at the to p, linked ac ro ss the bac k o f the head with a sec tio n o f the epic ranial fasc ia. Onc e ag ain, the linkage between the two SCMs has rarely if ever been seen o r written abo ut. To gether, they fo rm a po werful pull do wn and fo rward o n the head, whic h c an c reate strain o n the lambdo idal suture. ( The c ut thro ug h o ne SCM was made by the embalmer, no t in the dissec tio n. ) The pro blem c o mes in the middle, ac ro ss the sternum and ribs. In the bo o k, the c o nnec tio n here is listed as the sternalis musc le and the sterno - c ho ndral fasc ia. In the c adaver we used to dissec t this, ho wever, there

was little to no sternalis, and the fasc ia that c o vered the ribs did no t dissec t o ut as a separable layer, with the result that after ho urs o f painstaking labo ur, it still lo o ks like a bit o f lac e. The fasc ia running up the surfac e o f the sternum is c lear eno ug h, but no up the c artilag ino us part o f the ribs.

In the bio mec hanic al sense, this is a no n- pro blem: the rec tus c an still c o mmunic ate to the SCM via the bo nes, c reating the po stural patterns desc ribed in the bo o k. The c o nundrum is that in my ro le as a so matic therapist I c an feel suc h a layer under my hands when I am wo rking alo ng side the sternum to free the breathing and rib c age ro tatio n. It bo thers me when I c anno t find so mething I c an feel - so this disparity remains unreso lved by o ur first dissec tive fo ray.

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MYOFACIAL LINKS

Trap e zius Delto id

Lat e ral intermusc ular septum

Extenso r g ro up

Extenso r retinac ulum

Figure 6

Figure 6: Arm line and skel et on

Here we see the Superficial back arm line, draped o n a classro o m skeleto n. The unbro ken co nnectio n between the trapezius and delto id is clear, and fro m the delto id via the intermuscular septum do wn to the extenso r gro up and the back o f the hand. So many arm injuries, co nditio ns and sympto ms rely o n these types o f co nnectio ns there are fo ur arm lines; this is just o ne. Mapping these co nnectio ns will allo w current and future therapists to be mo re pre c ise as the y rang e o ut beyo nd the site of pain in search o f relief.

Figure 7 : Deep f ront line

Finally, this strange sea c reature is ac tually a dissec tio n o f yo ur c o re - o r Deep fro nt line, as we term it. The deep po sterio r c o mpartment, with its three tendo ns to the to es and fo o t, is the po wer sec tio n, and this c o nnec ts direc tly via the po pliteus and the bac k fo the knee c apsule to the adduc to rs. The adduc to rs are a large musc le g ro up, fl anked by stro ng fasc ial intermusc ular septa, whic h co nnect seamlessly to the pso as co mplex ( pso as, iliacus, pectineus, and the quadratus lumbo rum) .

The pso as and quadratus c o nnec t seamlessly to the diaphrag m ( remember, there are no bo nes in this spec imen) , so that tug s we put o n either o f these musc les put visible strain immediately in the diaphrag m. The diaphrag m is intimately attac hed to the peric ardium o f the heart, whic h then passes up with the thro at and vo ic ebo x, o n up to that final, impo rtant, mo st fo rward musc le o f the c o re, the to ngue.

This striking c reature lives within yo u, and inc ludes - tho ug h no t pic tures here, yo ur transversus abdo minis and yo ur pelvic fl o o r.

To ng ue Larynx

Heart ( in peric ardium) Diaphrag matic c rura

Pec tineus Adduc to r lo ngus

Adduc to r hiatus

Po pliteus

Deep po sterio r c o mpartment Quadratus plantae

Flexo r dig ito rum lo ngus

Omo lyo id musc le Lung Diaphrag m

Pso as majo r & mino r Quadratus lumbo rum I liac us Me d ial intermusc ular septum

Po sterio r knee c apsule

Tib ialis po sterio r

Flexo r h alluc is lo ngus

Figure 7

chanically, alo ng the fascial fabric? Are they co mmunicating electro nically, alo ng the fascial membranes? Or are they simply co mmunicating neuro lo gically, to the muscles invo lved? We suspect that the answer is: all three and maybe mo re. Further research, ho wever, is necessary to determine the answer to this intriguing and fundamental questio n.

We ho pe to mo ve in this directio n by do ing a fresh- tissue dissectio n within this next year. We also ho pe that so me o f the co mmunicatio n questio ns will be elucidated at the first internatio nal Fascial Research Co nference, to be held in Bo sto n Mass, USA in Octo ber o f 2007 ( http:/ / fascia2007.co m) .

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Fo r mo re info rmatio n visit o ur ne wly re vampe d we b site Anato and lo o k o ut fo r the 2nd editio n o f the Anato my Trains bo o k due o ut in.....XXXXX

THE AUTHOR To m Mye rs studie d with Ida Ro lf, Mo she Fe lde nkrais, and Buc kminster Fuller, and has prac tic ed integ rative bo dywo rk in variety o f c linic al setting s. He is autho r o f the wo rld- reno wned Anato my Trains c o nc ept and lec tures all o ver the wo rld to a variety o f manual and mo vement- based pro fessio ns.

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