Research.
Every peer-reviewed study on fascia in one place — graded for strength of evidence, summarised in plain language for clinicians, researchers, and curious patients.
We grade studies from A to 1A+++ using the Fascia Research Database rubric — 1A+++ is the strongest.
Fascia Is Able to Actively Contract and May Thereby Influence Musculoskeletal Dynamics: A Histochemical and Mechanographic Investigation
This study investigated whether fascia can actively contract, challenging the traditional view of it as a passive tissue. Researchers examined human and rat fascial samples for the presence of contractile cells called m…
A Primitive Trait in Two Breeds of Equus Caballus Revealed by Comparative Anatomy of the Distal Limb
This comparative anatomy study investigated the lower limbs of 574 equids, including 18 horse breeds, donkeys, zebras, and Przewalski's horses. Researchers looked for two specific ligamentous structures that are remnant…
The Other Side of the Fascia: The SmoothMuscle Part 1
This theoretical article challenges the standard definition of fascia. Traditionally, fascia is considered connective tissue originating from two embryonic layers, the mesoderm and ectoderm. The authors propose expandin…
The Other Side of the Fascia: Visceral Fascia, Part 2
This editorial, part two of a series, argues for including certain internal organs (viscera) within the definition of fascia. From an osteopathic perspective, the authors suggest that understanding these organs as fasci…
Sensitivity of the fasciae to sex hormone levels: Modulation of collagen-I, collagen-III and fibrillin production
Women experience myofascial pain more often than men, and evidence suggests fascia can be influenced by sex hormones. In this lab study, researchers examined how cells from human fascia lata responded to various levels…
The fascial breath
This narrative review proposes a new way of understanding the diaphragm muscle, moving beyond a purely mechanical view. The authors argue that the diaphragm is not just covered by fascia but is fundamentally a fascial t…
Role of fasciae in nonspecific low back pain
Research increasingly links the thoracolumbar fascia to non-specific low back pain. This small case study explored the idea that pain could originate elsewhere in the body's continuous fascial network. Five patients wit…
Bone Tissue is an Integral Part of the Fascial System
This review article proposes that bone tissue should be considered an integral part of the fascial system, a departure from the current definition. The authors support this by highlighting the shared embryological origi…
The Awareness of the Fascial System
In this theoretical article, the authors propose a new way of looking at the fascial system, drawing on concepts from quantum physics. They suggest that fascial cells can sense, remember, and even anticipate mechanical…
The Equine Hindlimb Proximal Suspensory Ligament: an Assessment of Health and Function by Means of Its Damping Harmonic Oscillator Properties, Measured Using an Acoustic Myography System: a New Modality Study
This study in horses explored a new method called acoustic myography (AMG) to help diagnose injuries in the proximal suspensory ligament (PSL) of the hindlimb. Researchers used a device to record sound signals from the…
The Fasciacytes- A New Cell Devoted To Fascial Gliding Regulation
Researchers have identified a new type of cell within fascia, which they have named "fasciacytes." This study presents evidence that these specialized cells are responsible for producing hyaluronan, a key component of t…
From mechanobiology to developmentally inspired engineering
This review article, based on a lecture, explores the field of mechanobiology, which studies the central role of physical forces in development and physiology. The author reviews 40 years of his laboratory's foundationa…
Stretching Reduces Tumor Growth in a Mouse Breast Cancer Model
In this mouse study, researchers investigated the effect of daily stretching on breast cancer tumors. Mice with implanted tumor cells were divided into two groups, with one group receiving gentle stretching for 10 minut…
Effect of Stretching on Thoracolumbar Fascia Injury and Movement Restriction in a Porcine Model
In this animal study on pigs, researchers investigated the effect of stretching on the thoracolumbar fascia after injury and movement restriction. An injury combined with restricted movement led to reduced fascial mobil…
Equine Manual Therapies in Sport Horse Practice
Manual therapies can provide diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for assessing and managing neuromuscular coordination and strength in sport horses. This review describes various techniques, including active and passi…
Emotions in Motion: Myofascial Interoception
In this perspective piece, the authors argue that the myofascial system is closely linked to our emotional state. They suggest that manual treatment not only affects the body physically but also activates the interocept…
STRETCHING IMPACTS INFLAMMATION RESOLUTION IN CONNECTIVE TISSUE
In this animal study, researchers investigated the effect of stretching on acute inflammation in the connective tissue of rats. After inducing local inflammation in the rats' backs, one group was subjected to twice-dail…
Expression of the endocannabinoid receptors in human fascial tissue
Researchers investigated whether human fascia contains cannabinoid receptors, which are part of the body's endocannabinoid system. Taking small tissue samples from volunteers during orthopedic surgery, they analyzed the…
Hormone receptor expression in human fascial tissue
Adult women tend to experience more myofascial pain than men, and this study explored a possible hormonal link. Researchers examined fascial tissue from eight female volunteers, looking for receptors for the hormones es…
Fascia and Primo Vascular System
In this review article, the authors explore the idea that the body's network of fascia may be the physical structure corresponding to acupuncture meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They also discuss the pr…
Electron microscopy of human fascia lata: focus on telocytes
This study used an electron microscope to examine the types of cells present in the fascia lata, a sheet of connective tissue in the thigh. For the first time, researchers confirmed the existence of a specific cell type…
Gymnastic Training and Dynamic Mobilization Exercises Improve Stride Quality and Increase Epaxial Muscle Size in Therapy Horses
This study on therapy horses investigated how specific exercises affect stride and back muscles. Over three months, nine horses were divided into three groups: a control group, one doing dynamic mobilization exercises,…
The Medium of Haptic Perception: A Tensegrity Hypothesis
In this theoretical paper, the authors propose a new hypothesis for how our sense of touch, or haptic perception, works. Unlike other senses that have a clear medium (like air for sound), the haptic system lacks one. Th…
Crosstalk between fibroblasts and inflammatory cells
This narrative review describes how fibroblasts, traditionally seen as passive cells that produce extracellular matrix, are increasingly understood as active key players in the immune system. The authors provide an over…
Hyaluronan: Biosynthesis and signaling
This 2014 narrative review discusses hyaluronan (HA), a key component of the extracellular matrix. Beyond its structural role in tissue hydration and architecture, HA is an active signaling molecule. The authors highlig…
Peripheral Mechanisms Contributing to Spasticity and Implications for Treatment
This narrative review explores how changes in connective tissue might contribute to spasticity following a central nervous system injury. The authors suggest that the initial injury can alter the turnover of hyaluronic…
Painful Connections: Densification Versus Fibrosis of Fascia
In this review article, the authors describe two types of fascial changes that can cause pain: densification and fibrosis. Densification is described as a reversible alteration in the viscosity of the loose connective t…
Fascial Components of the Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) involves muscle pain and other symptoms linked to trigger points, but the role of fascia is often overlooked. This review summarizes recent research into the biology of fascia to better un…
Stress and Matrix-Responsive Cytoskeletal Remodeling in Fibroblasts
In loose connective tissue, fibroblasts change shape in response to static stretch, which helps the tissue relax. This study investigated whether this response depends on the cell itself or its surrounding environment,…
History of Bioelectrical Study and the Electrophysiology of the Primo Vascular System
This review paper summarizes the history of research on the bioelectrical properties of the primo vascular system (PVS), also known as the Bonghan system. This system has been proposed as a novel circulatory system in t…
Cytoskeletal remodeling of connective tissue fibroblasts in response to static stretch is dependent on matrix material properties
This study investigated how fibroblasts, the cells within connective tissue, change shape in response to static stretching. Researchers compared fibroblasts in loose (areolar) and dense connective tissues, as well as ce…
Stretching of the Back Improves Gait, Mechanical Sensitivity and Connective Tissue Inflammation in a Rodent Model
In this rodent study, researchers investigated how stretching affects inflammation in the connective tissue of the low back. They first induced local inflammation, which resulted in altered gait, increased mechanical se…
Reduced thoracolumbar fascia shear strain in human chronic low back pain
Researchers used ultrasound to investigate the movement between layers of the thoracolumbar fascia, a large sheet of connective tissue in the lower back. They compared a group of people with chronic low back pain to a g…
Tissue stretch induces nuclear remodeling in connective tissue fibroblasts
In a study on mice, researchers investigated how stretching connective tissue affects the nuclei of fibroblast cells. The results showed that when tissue samples were stretched for 30 minutes, the shape of the cell nucl…
Cannabinoids inhibit fibrogenesis in diffuse systemic sclerosis fibroblasts
Systemic sclerosis is a disease characterized by excessive fibrosis, or scarring, in tissues. In this laboratory study, researchers investigated the effect of a synthetic cannabinoid on fibroblasts (connective tissue ce…
Expression of the endocannabinoid system in fibroblasts and myofascial tissues
This narrative review investigates the endocannabinoid (eCB) system, a network in the body similar to the endorphin system that helps regulate pain and inflammation. Using a bioinformatics approach to analyze existing d…
Charge transfer in the living matrix
This theoretical paper describes the "living matrix" as the body's continuous network of connective tissue. The author proposes that this matrix functions as a body-wide reservoir of electrical charge, which may be cruc…
Tissue Stretch Decreases Soluble TGF-β1 and Type-1 Procollagen in Mouse Subcutaneous Connective Tissue: Evidence From Ex Vivo and In Vivo Models
This study on mice investigated how brief, static stretching affects connective tissue healing after an injury. Researchers used two models: tissue samples cultured outside the body (ex vivo) and live mice with minor su…
Hyaluronan in Tissue Injury and Repair
This 2007 review article explores the complex role of hyaluronan (HA), a component of the extracellular matrix, in tissue injury and repair. The authors describe how HA's function depends on its size: while the large, n…
Cellular mechanotransduction: putting all the pieces together again
This review discusses how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, a process called mechanotransduction. While many individual molecules involved in this process have been identified, it is less clear how they work…
The Common Compensatory Pattern: Its Origin and Relationship to the Postural Model
As only the title of this paper is available, we cannot summarize its contents in detail. The title suggests the article explores a concept known as the 'Common Compensatory Pattern'. The author likely discusses the ori…
Hyaluronan and its catabolic products in tissue injury and repair
This narrative review explores the role of hyaluronan (HA), a common component of connective tissue, in the body's response to injury. In healthy tissues, HA exists as a large molecule that helps maintain structural int…