Fascia is able to contract in a smooth muscle-like manner and thereby influence musculoskeletal mechanics
Three articles on PainSci cite Schleip 2006: 1. The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain 2. Trigger Point Doubts 3. Does Fascia Matter?
PainSci commentary on Schleip 2006: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
This research established that there are muscle cells in fascia. The finding is relatively straightforward. What makes it interesting is that they concluded that fascial contractions are “strong enough to influence low back stability and other aspects of human biomechanics.” This conclusion seems suspiciously consistent with the interests of the organizations that funded the study.
The data they present clearly shows that fascial contractions are orders of magnitude weaker than what the same mass of muscle tissue can produce. Weak fascial contractions strike me as being scientifically fascinating but clinically boring. I analyze this paper in detail in the article: Does Fascia Matter?.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Inciting events associated with lumbar disc herniation. Suri 2010 Spine J.
- Prediction of an extruded fragment in lumbar disc patients from clinical presentations. Pople 1994 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- Characteristics of patients with low back and leg pain seeking treatment in primary care: baseline results from the ATLAS cohort study. Konstantinou 2015 BMC Musculoskelet Disord.
- Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision in reducing risk of mental health problems and promoting well-being in adolescence: the MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial. Kuyken 2022 Evid Based Ment Health.
- Is there a relationship between throbbing pain and arterial pulsations? Mirza 2012 J Neurosci.