Research.
Every peer-reviewed study on fascia in one place — graded for strength of evidence, summarised in plain language for clinicians, researchers, and curious readers.
We grade studies from A to 1A+++ using the Fascia Research Database rubric — 1A+++ is the strongest.
Researchers behind the studies- C2015
Proteoglycan form and function: A comprehensive nomenclature of proteoglycans
Renato V Iozzo, Liliana SchaeferIn this review article, the authors propose a new, comprehensive classification system for proteoglycans, a group of molecules important to connective tissue structure and function. The classification is based on three…
GlycosaminoglycanAngiogenesisProteoglycanCancer growthGrowth factor modulation - A++2015
Fruit, vegetable and vitamin C intakes and plasma vitamin C: cross-sectional associations with insulin resistance and glycaemia in 9-10 year-old children
A S Donin, J E Dent, C M Nightingale, N Sattar, C G Owen, A R Rudnicka, M R Perkin, A M Stephen, S A Jebb, D G Cook, P…This cross-sectional study of over 2000 children in the UK examined the relationship between vitamin C and risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that higher levels of vitamin C in the blood were associated…
Vitamin Cinsulin resistensglycaemiadiabetes type 2 - A+2015
Changes in electrical pain threshold of fascia and muscle after initial and secondary bouts of elbow flexor eccentric exercise
Wing Yin Lau, Anthony J. Blazevich, Michael J. Newton, Sam Shi Xuan Wu, Kazunori NosakaThis study investigated how pain sensitivity changes in fascia and muscle after strenuous eccentric exercise. Ten young men performed two bouts of maximal eccentric elbow curls, four weeks apart. After the first session…
pressure pain thresholdmuscle damageRepeated bout effectDelayed onset muscle sorenessVisual analogue scale - A2015
A multidisciplinary approach to scars: a narrative review
Emiliano Zanier, Bruno BordoniThis narrative review examines complementary and alternative medicine approaches to treating scar tissue. The authors survey literature on osteopathy, naturopathy, and manual therapies like physiotherapy. They also disc…
fasciaosteopathyscarwoundcomplementary and alternative medicine - B2015
Manual therapies and hypoalgesia: What are the mechanisms?
Leon ChaitowThis is a title-only entry, and its contents have not yet been summarized. The title suggests the article explores the possible mechanisms behind hypoalgesia, or a decreased sensitivity to pain, following manual therapi…
Editorial - A2015
Innervation Changes Induced by Inflammation of the Thoracolumbar Fascia
U Hoheisel, J Rosner, S MenseThis animal study investigated how inflammation affects the nerves in the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) of rats. Researchers induced inflammation in the TLF and compared its nerve fiber density to that of healthy fascia. W…
inflammationfasciafasciitisfascia innervationsympathetic fibers - A2015
Evidence for the existence of nociceptors in rat thoracolumbar fascia
S Mense, U HoheiselThis animal study on rats investigated the presence of pain-sensing nerve fibers (nociceptors) in the thoracolumbar fascia. Researchers compared normal fascia with tissue in which they had induced inflammation. The resu…
inflammationfasciafasciitisnon-specific low back painfascia nociceptors - A++2015
Size Matters: Molecular Weight Specificity of Hyaluronan Effects in Cell Biology
Jaime M Cyphert, Carol S Trempus, Stavros GarantziotisThis narrative review summarizes current knowledge about hyaluronan, a molecule whose biological effects are dependent on its size. Unlike many other molecules, hyaluronan's signaling properties are determined not by ch…
hyaluronanCell signalingmolecular size - A+++2015
Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatics
Antoine Louveau, Igor Smirnov, Timothy J Keyes, Jacob D Eccles, Sherin J Rouhani, J David Peske, Noel C Derecki, David…The central nervous system (CNS) was long thought to lack a conventional lymphatic drainage system. In this study, however, researchers discovered functional lymphatic vessels within the meninges, the membranes surround…
lymphatic vesselsCentral nervous system - A+2015
A unifying neuro-fasciagenic model of somatic dysfunction - Underlying mechanisms and treatment - Part II
Paolo TozziThis review paper proposes a new, unifying "neuro-fasciagenic" model for understanding somatic dysfunction. The author argues for a shift in perspective, moving from a purely neurological explanation to one where fascia…
fasciaManual Therapysomatic dysfunctionfascial dysfunctionfascial mechanisms - A2015
The content and size of hyaluronan in biological fluids and tissues
Mary K Cowman, Hong-Gee Lee, Kathryn L Schwertfeger, James B McCarthy,, Eva A TurleyHyaluronan is a simple sugar polymer found throughout the body's tissues and fluids. It is typically produced as a very large, high-molecular-mass molecule. This narrative review notes that during processes like inflamm…
hyaluronanfasciaquantificationassaymolecular mass - B2015
Hyaluronan Regulates Bone Morphogenetic Protein-7- dependent Prevention and Reversal of Myofibroblast Phenotype
Adam C Midgley, Lucy Duggal, Robert Jenkins, Vincent Hascall, Robert Steadman, Aled O Phillips, Soma MeranThis study on human lung fibroblasts investigated how a protein called BMP7 might counteract fibrosis. Researchers found that BMP7 can prevent and even reverse the formation of myofibroblasts, which are cells that contr…
hyaluronanMyofibroblastTGF-beta1