06/12/2024
I have observed that the word " FASCIA " has been increasingly adopted in recent years within TCM, seemingly to align with the language and preferences of the international scientific community. This trend is quite disappointing, as it risks diluting traditional concepts and overcomplicating ideas that were already holistic and effective without such terminology.
Consider this :
If fascia is part of a connective tissue continuum, creating a distinct clinical term like "fascia" in manual therapy can be unnecessary and even misleading. Here's a deeper breakdown of the issue:
1. Fascia as Part of a Whole
- Continuity of Structures: The interconnectedness of fascia with muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones means that any physical manipulation inherently involves all these structures. There is no practical way to isolate fascia in manual therapy, as it responds collectively with the surrounding tissues.
- Clinical Implications: From a biomechanical perspective, applying pressure to a muscle or bone naturally affects the fascia, and vice versa. The claim of "fascia-specific" treatment in manual therapy lacks a firm scientific basis because the body doesn’t distinguish between layers during such interventions.
2. The Redundancy of the Concept
- Historical Practices: Long before the term "fascia" gained popularity, manual therapists, osteopaths, and TCM practitioners were already addressing fascia without explicitly naming it. The effects achieved were based on holistic approaches to the body, not isolating specific tissue types.
- Marketing Gimmick?: The rise of "fascia-specific" therapy can sometimes be attributed to marketing within modern manual therapy. Labeling fascia as a unique focus area creates an illusion of novelty, which can attract clients and practitioners even if it doesn’t offer additional clinical value.
3. Impossible Isolation
- Biomechanical Interdependence: Any force applied to the body affects a wide range of tissues, including skin, muscles, fascia, tendons, and nerves. The physical and functional overlap makes it impossible to target fascia in isolation.
- Physiological Complexity: Fascia is richly innervated and involved in force transmission, but so are the surrounding tissues. Attempting to single out fascia clinically ignores the reality of this integrated system.
4. A Holistic View
- Instead of focusing on fascia as a separate entity, manual therapy could benefit from emphasizing the interconnected functional networks of tissues. This approach aligns more closely with how the body actually operates and avoids oversimplification.
- In TCM, the traditional idea of 筋 (jīn)—encompassing sinews, tendons, and networks—already captures this holistic view without needing to carve out fascia as a distinct concept.
Conclusion :
Fascia is part of a continuum, and distinguishing it as a standalone focus in manual therapy or clinical practice often serves no practical purpose. Manual therapy inherently involves fascia because it is inseparably linked to the muscles and bones being manipulated. Instead of creating unnecessary distinctions, the focus should remain on treating the body as a unified, dynamic system.
Edited by Marco Lee 2024
