Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jul 8;11(7):668.
doi: 10.3390/life11070668.

Fascia Mobility, Proprioception, and Myofascial Pain

Helene M Langevin  1
Affiliations
Review

Fascia Mobility, Proprioception, and Myofascial Pain

Helene M Langevin. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

The network of fasciae is an important part of the musculoskeletal system that is often overlooked. Fascia mobility, especially along shear planes separating muscles, is critical for musculoskeletal function and may play an important, but little studied, role in proprioception. Fasciae, especially the deep epimysium and aponeuroses, have recently been recognized as highly innervated with small diameter fibers that can transmit nociceptive signals, especially in the presence of inflammation. Patients with connective tissue hyper- and hypo-mobility disorders suffer in large number from musculoskeletal pain, and many have abnormal proprioception. The relationships among fascia mobility, proprioception, and myofascial pain are largely unstudied, but a better understanding of these areas could result in improved care for many patients with musculoskeletal pain.

Keywords: connective tissue; fascia; fascia mobility; interoception; myofascial pain; proprioception.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Types of strain resulting from normal and shear forces.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship between stiffness and shear strain.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hypothetical model relating fascia mobility, proprioception, and myofascial pain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stecco C., Porzionato A., Lancerotto L., Stecco A., Macchi V., Day J.A., De Caro R. Histological study of the deep fasciae of the limbs. J. Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 2008;12:225–230. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2008.04.041. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Langevin H.M., Huijing P.A. Communicating about fascia: History, pitfalls, and recommendations. Int. J. Ther. Massage Bodyw. 2009;2:3–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Langevin H.M., Fox J.R., Koptiuch C., Badger G.J., Greenan-Naumann A.C., Bouffard N.A., Konofagou E.E., Lee W.-N., Triano J.J., Henry S.M. Reduced thoracolumbar fascia shear strain in human chronic low back pain. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 2011;12:203. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-12-203. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Skootsky S.A., Jaeger B., Oye R.K. Prevalence of myofascial pain in general internal medicine practice. West. J. Med. 1989;151:157–160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fricton J. Myofascial pain: Mechanisms to management. Oral. Maxillofac. Surg. Clin. N. Am. 2016;28:289–311. doi: 10.1016/j.coms.2016.03.010. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources