Fascia, Function, and Medical Applications is essential reading for medical and allied health practitioners who want to bring scientific insights of the importance of fascia to human health into their clinical practices. Fascia – the biodynamic tissue that connects every muscle, bone, organ, and nerve in the body – is fast becoming the latest trend in healthcare and allied health modalities. This book is edited by David Lesondak, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, author of the international bestseller Fascia: What it is and why it matters, and Angeli Maun Akey, MD, international physician educator and board certified in both internal and integrative medicine. It contains contributions from a team of top researchers and expert practitioners including physicians, clinicians, therapists, dissectors, and surgeons. Fully illustrated in color, this book presents the latest scientific knowledge of fascia and explains insights into problems like chronic pain and myriad musculoskeletal symptoms that may not respond to conventional treatments. It gives practitioners the information they need to make better decisions to improve the health of patients often without pharmaceuticals or surgeries. FEATURES • Provides comprehensive overview of how fascia, as a tissue and a system, affects various body functions and systems, from musculoskeletal disorders to nervous system, circulatory, and auto-immune function. • A section devoted to medical applications highlights a comprehensive and critical overview of various fascial therapies. • Gives practitioners the knowledge they need to refer or add as an adjunct therapy to their department or rehabilitation team. This is a cutting-edge, practical guide that will appeal to researchers, physicians, and clinicians alike.

This book is the product of an important collaboration between clinicians of the manual therapies and scientists in several disciplines that grew out of the three recent International Fascia Research Congresses (Boston, Amsterdam, and Vancouver). The book editors, Thomas Findley MD PhD, Robert Schleip PhD, Peter Huijing PhD and Leon Chaitow DO, were major organizers of these congresses and used their extensive experience to select chapters and contributors for this book. This volume therefore brings together contributors from diverse backgrounds who share the desire to bridge the gap between theory and practice in our current knowledge of the fascia and goes beyond the 2007, 2009 and 2012 congresses to define the state-of-the-art, from both the clinical and scientific perspective. Prepared by over 100 specialists and researchers from throughout the world, Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body will be ideal for all professionals who have an interest in fascia and human movement - physiotherapists, osteopathic physicians, osteopaths, chiropractors, structural integration practitioners, manual therapists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, yoga or Pilates instructors, exercise scientists and personal trainers - as well as physicians involved with musculoskeletal medicine, pain management and rehabilitation, and basic scientists working in the field. - Reflects the efforts of almost 100 scientists and clinicians from throughout the world - Offers comprehensive coverage ranging from anatomy and physiology, clinical conditions and associated therapies, to recently developed research techniques - Explores the role of fascia as a bodywide communication system - Presents the latest information available on myofascial force transmission which helps establish a scientific basis for given clinical experiences - Explores the importance of fascia as a sensory organ - for example, its important proprioceptive and nociceptive functions which have implications for the generation of low back pain - Describes new imaging methods which confirm the connectivity of organs and tissues - Designed to organize relevant information for professionals involved in the therapeutic manipulation of the body's connective tissue matrix (fascia) as well as for scientists involved in basic science research - Reflects the increasing need for information about the properties of fascia, particularly for osteopaths, massage therapists, physiotherapists and other complementary health care professionals - Offers new insights on the fascial related foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridians and the fascial effects of acupuncture

Principally based on dissections of hundreds of un-embalmed human cadavers over the past decade, Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial System presents a new vision of the human fascial system using anatomical and histological photographs along with microscopic analysis and biomechanical evaluation. Prof. Carla Stecco – orthopaedic surgeon and professor of anatomy and sport activities – brings together the research of a multi-specialist team of researchers and clinicians consisting of anatomists, biomechanical engineers, physiotherapists, osteopaths and plastic surgeons. In this Atlas Prof. Stecco presents for the first time a global view of fasciae and the actual connections that describe the myofascial kinetic chains. These descriptions help to explain how fascia plays a part in myofascial dysfunction and disease as well as how it may alter muscle function and disturb proprioceptive input. Prof. Stecco also highlights the continuity of the fascial planes, explaining the function of the fasciae and their connection between muscles, nerves and blood vessels. This understanding will help guide the practitioner in selecting the proper technique for a specific fascial problem with a view to enhancing manual therapy methods. Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial System opens with the first chapter classifying connective tissue and explaining its composition in terms of percentages of fibres, cells and extracellular matrix. The second chapter goes on to describe the general characteristics of the superficial fascia from a macroscopic and microscopic point of view; while the third analyzes the deep fascia in the same manner. The subsequent five chapters describe the fasciae from a topographical perspective. In this part of the Atlas, common anatomical terminology is used throughout to refer to the various fasciae but it also stresses the continuity of fasciae between the different bodily regions. - Over 300 unique photographs which show fascia on fresh (not embalmed) cadavers - Demonstrates the composition, form and function of the fascial system - Highlights the role of the deep fascia for proprioception and peripheral motor coordination - Companion website – www.atlasfascial.com – with videos showing how fascia connects with ligaments

Dr. Angeli Maun Akey and Dr. Kathleen O’Neil-Smith have used their experience to bring a living resource to life. This concise primer provides the 3-essential ingredients for coping with our current health challenge—information, analysis, and practical steps forward. Starting with a summary of COVID-19, they outline practical information about the virus and how our bodies respond to infection. Dr. Akey and Dr. O’Neil-Smith synthesize the latest breaking medical science into a fun, easy to read format, using vivid analogies. Adding a cherry on top, they combine their work with online resources so that it remains up to date with the latest medical research!

Transform your health with this cutting-edge guide to fascia—your body's ‘hidden organ’—as a leading chiropractor and pain management specialist offers holistic and professional treatments for chronic pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, and more At the #1 pain management clinic in New York City, director Dr. Daniel Fenster has improved thousands of lives through holistic and integrative therapies. His experience has revealed to him that treating the fascia—your long-ignored, unappreciated, “hidden organ” that weaves around and through every single structure in your body—is crucial for both physical and mental health. Within these pages, Dr. Fenster will reveal all you need to know about fascia, including: • The 8 “villains” that hurt your fascia and how to combat them • A “free your fascia” quiz to assess what therapies are right for you • 20 recipes to nourish your fascia • Simple at-home exercises and DIY therapies for releasing and optimizing your fascia • Advice for working with professionals and the most powerful tools in fascial manipulation Exclusive to this book are interviews between Dr. Fenster and ten of the leading-edge fascia researchers and experts. By “freeing your fascia,” you'll feel stronger, healthier, and happier—from head to toe!

Pain is an epidemic. It prevents you from performing at your best because it robs you of concentration, power, and peace of mind. But most pain is preventable and treatable, and healing is within your grasp. Hundreds of thousands of people around the globe have taken life “by the balls” and circumvented a dismal future of painkillers, surgeries, and hopelessness by using Jill Miller’s groundbreaking Roll Model Method. The Roll Model gives you the tools to change the course of your life in less than 5 minutes a day. You are a fully equipped self-healing organism, and this book will guide you through easy-to-perform self-massage techniques that will erase pain and improve your performance in whatever activities you pursue. The Roll Model teaches you how to improve the quality of your life no matter your size, shape, or condition. Within these pages you will find: • Inspiring stories of people just like you who have altered the course of their lives by using the Roll Model Method • Accessible explanations of how and why this system works based on the science of your body and the physiological effects of rolling • Step-by-step rolling techniques to help awaken your body’s resilience from head to toe so that you have more energy, less stress, and greater performance Whether you’re living with constant discomfort, seeking to improve your mobility, or trying to avoid medication and surgery, this book provides empowering and effective solutions for becoming your own best Roll Model.

A bestseller (over 80,000 copies sold) in a second, updated edition. Learn fascial exercises to improve mobility and flexibility, avoid and treat pain, and improve sports performance. In this second edition of his best-selling guide to fascial fitness, fascia researcher and Rolfing therapist Dr. Robert Schleip shows you a series of practical exercises that you can easily build into your day-to-day routine. He introduces the most recent scientific findings from the world of fascial research, and explains which methods and equipment are most effective for fascial health (as well as which ones do more harm than good!). These new findings are already changing the shape of physiotherapy and the methods of treatment and recovery we use today, and will continue to do so in the future. Physiotherapists, sports scientists, and doctors agree that if we want to stay flexible, energetic and pain-free in our day-to-day lives and sporting pursuits, we need to look after our connective tissue - our 'fascia'. There has been a great deal of research into this over the last few years, all of which shows that the fascia around our muscles plays a huge role in keeping us fit, healthy, flexible, and feeling good. This versatile tissue transfers energy to the muscles, communicates with the nervous system, acts as a sensory organ, helps to protect and regenerate our internal organs, and provides the foundations for a healthy physique. We used to think it was our muscles doing all the work, but now we know the connective tissue plays a big part, too. It responds to stress and other stimuli, and when it gets matted or sticks together, it can cause pain and mobility problems. That's why it's so important to train our fascia - and just 10 minutes, twice a week is all it takes!

Myofascial Release, Second Edition, provides comprehensive training for hands-on therapists of all disciplines and at all levels to expand their practices. This scientifically grounded whole-body approach presents an overview of the entire fascial matrix

The emerging science of biotensegrity provides a fresh context for rethinking our understanding of human movement, but its complexities can be formidable. Biotensegrity: The Structural Basis of Life, Second edition - now with full color illustrations throughout - explores and explains the concept of biotensegrity and provides an understanding and appreciation of anatomy and physiology in the light of the latest research findings. The reader learns that biotensegrity is an evolving science which gives researchers, teachers, and practitioners across a wide range of specialisms, including bodyworkers and movement teachers, a deeper understanding of the structure and function of the human body. They are then able to develop clinical practice and skills in light of this understanding, leading to more effective therapeutic approaches, with the aim of improved client outcomes. The second edition provides expanded coverage of the developmental and therapeutic aspects of biotensegrity. Coverage now includes: A more thorough look at life's internal processes Closed kinematic chains as the new biomechanics Embryological development as an evolutionary process The human body as a constantly evolving system based on a set of unchanging principles Emergence, heterarchies, soft-matter and small-world networks A deeper look at what constitutes the therapeutic process