Myofascial Efficiency in Bipedalism: Progression of the Dynamic Body in Evolution and Environment
Authors: Nemetz Laurice D. 
Published: December 2020

Much attention has been given to the autapomorphic pelvis in discussions of human bipedalism. A recent issue of the Anatomical Record (April 2017) was devoted to new insights and relevant discoveries through new fossil evidence on its structure (Morgan et al., 2015) to debates on how obstetrics (Moffett, 2017) may have shaped it thus far. However, bony structures are, of course, only one part of the equation in considering the changes in human evolution. Myofascial efficiency increased as humans developed, allowing for caloric efficiency. Fascia, the lonely stepchild of the anatomical world, has begun to garner larger interest in its role in whole body functioning and has an importance in overall patterning in the evolution of body structure. Activities such as dance may have developed as a means to practice movement needed in daily life via training multi‐vector and elastic recoil properties of fascia. In the 1960s Irmgard Bartenieff along with Alan Lomax and Forrestine Paulay explored the relationship of dance to culture and environment in movement preferences in both work and dance through their choreometrics project (Jablonko, 2001).

The rise of agriculture is often cited as the advent of sedentism. However, recent studies have shown that our Neolithic forebears had much more stimulus for bone and muscle growth than our elite athletes of today, through even the daily tasks of gathering and grinding grain (Macintosh et al., 2017). How much loaded movement and diverse movement possibilities are needed in the current limited movement culture is a relevant question. In looking at myofascial anatomy, tightening of both superficial front and back lines result in the head forward position, an anatomical response that allows the eyes to face out to the horizon to watch for danger (Myers, 2014). While the position is a reaction to immediate stress, continued movement with this posture puts the body under further strain. Currently, the demands of our technologically heavy culture have created the same stressed posture, with a distinct head forward position. Modern humans have developed issues in the functionality of the body and often blame physical difficulties on lack of time to exercise as well as dietary concerns. New research, such as Lauren Friedrich's graduate Harvard thesis (2016), looks into architectural design that can continue to challenge and enhance human movement by focusing on healthy perturbations in spatial environments.

In conclusion, the results of this research suggest that in studying the evolution of bipedalism, the missing link may indeed be the myofascial system and its drive for dynamic and multi‐vectored movement for a healthy body. Dance appears to be a natural response in expression of the human experience, and as a means to practice that movement. Life in the technological age, along with less exposure to diverse movements and less social movement interaction may be at the heart of the modern human's anatomical challenge. Future generations may well need to conserve natural spaces to walk in, support more movement and dance, or design more interactive building spaces as a way to cope with a body that evolved to move. Ultimately anatomy is ever changing in response to our body patterning, and looking at our evolutionary development through myofascia as well as our bony structures may give us insight into where we came from and we are, or would like to be, going.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.