Fascia Research II: Second International Fascia Research Congress

It is with pleasure that I introduce background materials to the Second International Fascia Research Congress, to be held October 26 – 30, 2009, at Vrije Universiteit (VU), Amsterdam, Netherlands. This conference is sponsored by the faculty of Movement Sciences of VU, a leading research university. The submitted abstracts are posted at the congress website, http://www.fasciacongress. org/2009. The key speakers are all new for 2009, although almost half the key presenters from 2007 will be returning with shorter presentations (Langevin, Solomonow, Mense, Standley, Bove, Huijing), and Guimberteau will have a new video presentation of fascia images obtained during human surgery. The conference proceedings book Fascia Research II includes full-text articles that form an important basis for the scientific study of fascia. Huijing is a muscle physiologist who has for many years been studying the connections between muscles and fascia. He has recently developed an interest in the clinical practice relating to fascia and has guided the selection of these papers; some of this information has not been widely published. Van der Wal presents his new findings on connective tissue architecture from his doctoral dissertation of 20 years ago (to appear in the next issue of International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork). Other papers come from widely disparate scientific disciplines. Purslow, one of the key speakers and an author of one of the papers in the congress proceedings book, is a food scientist whose connective tissue studies are sometimes seen by other disciplines. The organizers of the first Fascia Research Congress (Boston 2007) based their invitation for this next congress on a broad interpretation of the term “fascia”: “Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue system that permeates the human body. The scope of our definition of and interest in fascia extends to all fibrous connective tissues, including aponeuroses, ligaments, tendons, retinaculae, joint capsules, organ and vessel tunics, the epineurium, the meninges, the periostea, and all the endomysial and intermuscular fibers of the myofasciae. ” This broad definition offers several important advantages. Rather than having to draw most often arbitrary demarcation lines between joint capsules and their intimately involved ligaments and tendons (as well as interconnected aponeuroses, retinacula, and intramuscular fasciae), fascial tissues are seen as one interconnected tensional network that adapts its fiber arrangement, length, and density according to local tensional demands. This terminology fits to the Latin root of the term “fascia” (bundle, bandage, strap, unification, binding together) and is also synonymous with the non-professional’s understanding of the term “connective tissue. ” The purpose of this editorial is to share with you information that I have learned from the papers to appear in Fascia Research II, from my perspective as both a clinician and a researcher. First, I will share key findings from anatomy regarding connective tissue architecture and how joint motion mechanically affects nerves. (1,2) The biomechanics of these connections and the potential applications for human surgery is the second area in which papers are presented. (3–6) The spotlight then moves to the cellular and histologic levels,(7–10) looking in detail at how individual cells respond to mechanical forces. (11,12)