Fascial lines are concerned most chiefly with gross motor movement. The complexities of running, jumping, throwing and/or rotating. These gross motor movements form the foundation of so many of our desired motions which we use in sports and on a daily basis. Who doesn’t want to run with the children in the park, or play on the jungle gym. In sports it’s even more the case as we tend to squat, deadlift, thrust, pull and push our way through a myriad of pre ordained workouts. Achieving symmetry with these movements is vital and this is where fascial lines play a huge role in making sure we stabilise load and movement EVENLY across the body. The smallest change in one element can deeply effect anothers movement so these gross motor movements that need comlex co-ordination of soft tissues are heavily influence by these fascial lines.
The Deep Lines of fascia in the body make up an intricate and foundational platform for much of our movement that occurs through our legs and torso. The deft co-ordination of all different connective tissues and timed sequencing of muscles firing in synchronicity is all dependent on this system to hold ourselves and enable an efficient utilisation of power and torque to enable complex movements.
THE DEEP FRONT LINE (DFL) - perhaps the most important aspect of this line that lies deep inside the body is the connection that it has to the myofascial ‘core’. The DFL is wedged in between other lines that we have already identified; those being the Lateral Line, the superficial dorsal and front planes and the Spiral Line. The DFL starts at the underside (plantar) side of the foot, passes up the calf and medial hamstring and then splits at the sacrum into the hip pelvis and lumbar vertebrae whilst a smaller branch feeds into the pelvic floor and then returns to the lumbar vertebrae. Perhaps most distinctively, the DFL then passes through the diaphragm to the chest and thoracic viscera (organs) and then onto the cranium (skull). The importance of the diaphragm connection hints at one of the big influences of this line and that is the connection between our breath and our gait.
Owing to the nature of the way the DFL wraps around the stabilising muscles of the hip and this creates a relationship between hips and breathing. This stabilisation of the legs and the hip creates a vitally fundamental support network for our movement in locomotion whilst supporting the front of the lumbar spine. This line also links directly to the neck and balances the head on top of the spine. So you can see it holds a lot of influence of the intricate balancing act of pelvis, lumbar, thoracic and cervical spinal movement. All this in co-ordination with our breath and moving framework that is important to how we move in exercise and when we are under strain for our Cardiovascular system.
The DFL is the primary foundation line of the body. It serves as the supporting network for:
arches
gluteals
core
SacroIliac Joint (SIJ)
pelvic floor
oblique chains and balance.
It really does serve as a co-ordinated framework that balances us and makes us stable. These 6 chains are all very interdependent and the strength of each chain is augmented or amplified by the influence of the other 5. Confusing? Perhaps but when you consider the links here you can begin to see how issues in the arches of your feet, can contribute to overuse of your hips and this influences your torso and even your breathing! If you can think of it as an interconnected web of support and framing and when one element is pulled on the web, there is a corresponding association in all the other systems. In this way the DFL is linking smaller stabilising muscles together and this can help to create explanations of issues that can be troublesome and keep returning.
One such issue is Osteitis Pubis. The inflammation of the pubic symphesis (one of the two main joints of the pelvic girdle) and even degeneration of the adductors and a troubling condition that creates pain and issues with locomotion and often with athletes involved in powerful sprinting and moving actions. Looking at the DFL in relation to Osteitis Pubis sees how many of the supporting systems that need to be targeted to help alleviate this overloading of such a vital joint. For example, the gluteals are not part of the DFL but the small lateral rotators are and these are difficult to often get firing if you are trying to isolate and target individual muscles. Training all 6 of the supporting systems as mentioned above is vital to treating this condition in athletic terms. it gives you an idea of how the fascial lines can be used in both assessment and targeting how to treat an injury that can often present as chronic and seemingly ‘unfixable’.
FUNCTIONAL LINES - whilst these lines are not as intrinsically networked as the DFL, they form a foundation fo support for movement and connect the body in an X shape across the torso, linking the base of the arm lines in the axilla (armpit) to the opposing side lateral pelvis and legs. They are 2 seperate lines with one crossing the front body in an elongated ‘vest’ pattern and the posterior one crossing like a big X at the back. This line helps to stabilise the body in motion moreso than standing as structural support. They provide stabilisation and counterweight in forces that require opposing stabilisation such as a baseball pitch or tennis serve as well as recruiting power from an opposing side to generate force in a swinging arm.
Of course understanding the various fascial lines and their intricate relationship is not an easy task and does take a great degree of commitment and understanding when you decide to start analysing the relationships and networks. But in the complex nature of presenting symptomology that can be faced when dealing with so many movements and the complexity of movement that the human body is capable of, you can begin to see how using these systems can often help with those issues that are perhaps inexplicable or that require more than just a regulatory single consult approach. The complexity is part of the magic and when you can link these chains and networks together, you can begin to piece together seemingly innocuous injuries that are all presenting in one big line and link to each other. It can be a wonderful ‘light bulb’ moment when such a diagnosis is made by a practitioner who understands and works with these supportive frameworks.
So never think that two or three niggles or injuries are not related, because as differing or as far apart as they may seem, they can be quite simply connected and identified along these fascial line networks.
