The Endless Web: Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality

132 Pages·1996·5.42 MB·English

by  R. Louis Schultz

The Endless Web
Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality
R. Louis Schultz, Ph.D. and Rosemary Feitis, D.O.
Illustrations by Diana Salles
Photographs by Ronald Thompson
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Copyright © 1996 by R. Louis Schultz and Rosemary
Feitis. All rights reserved. No portion of this book,
except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise—without the written per
mission of the publisher. For information contact
North Atlantic Books.
Published by
North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712
Cover drawing of a child by Diana Salles
Cover ard book design by Andrea DuFlon
Printed in Canada
The Endless Web is sponsored by the Society for the
Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit edu
cational corporation whose goals are to develop an
educational and crosscultural perspective linking
various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nur
ture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities,
and healing; and to publish and distribute literature
on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.
ISBN 13: 978-1-55643-228-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schultz, R. Louis (Richard Louis), 1927-
The endless web : fascial anatomy and
physical reality / by R. Louis Schultz and
Rosemary Feitis; illustrations by Diana Salles ;
photographs by Ronald Thompson,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55643-228-3 (paper)
1. Manipulation (Therapeutics) 2. Fascia
(Anatomy). 3. Rolfing. I. Feitis, Rosemary.
II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Fascia. 2. Manipulation, Orthopedic.
3. Human Body. 4. Holistic Health. WE 500
S387e 1996]
RD736.M25S38 1996
615.8'2—dc20
North Atlantic Books are available through most DNLM/DLC
bookstores. For further information, visit our web for Library of Congress 96-31550
site at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800- CIP
733-3000.
8 9 10 11 12 TRANS 12 11 10 09 08
Dedicated to Ida P. Rolf
A promise fulfilled—with love
Our thanks go to Sean Hellier
for his computer production on
the manuscript, without which
the physical book would not exist
Contents
Introduction vii
Part I Early Development Pre- and Post-Birth
1 Embryology: Introduction to Connective Tissue 3
2 Early Embryological Development 6
3 Factors in the Growth of the Embryo 11
4 Development of Mesodermal Tissues 13
5 Embryonic Limitations and Early Structural
Organization 15
Part II Connective Tissue Body
6 The Effect of the Birth Process 21
7 Developmental Transitions in the Newborn
and Young Child 23
8 Myofascial Structures: The Spine as an Example
of "Living Anatomy" 27
9 Movement and Gravity 34
10 Body Contour 40
11 Emotions and the Fascial Web: Body Awareness
and Response Patterns 46
Part III Body Retinaculae (Bands/Straps)
12 The Chest Band: Implications for Movement
and Behavior 53
13 The Inguinal Band and the Structure and Function
of the Vertebral Column in Relation to the Bands 61
14 The Eye Band and Chin Band 68
15 The Collar Band, Umbilical Band, and Groin Band 73
Part IV Anatomy and Function
16 Proprioception: Internal Body Awareness 83
17 Upper Body 85
18 Axial Skeleton 93
19 Pelvis and Upper Legs 98
20 The System of Horizontal and Vertical Myofascial
Structures 106
vi      THE ENDLESS WEB 
21 Reciprocity of Movement 109 
22 Joints 114 

Part V       Practical Application 
23 Doing Bodywork Based on the Connective 
Tissue Concept 119 
Evaluation 119 
First Intervention 120 
How to Go Deeper 123 
How to Touch 124 
How to Make It Last 126 
Illustration Index 127 
Subject Index 129 
About the Authors 131
Introduction
The muscle-bone concept presented in standard anatomical description gives
a purely mechanical model of movement. It separates movement into dis
crete functions, failing to give a picture of the seamless integration seen in a
living body. When one part moves, the body as a whole responds. Function
ally, the only tissue that can mediate such responsiveness is the connective
tissue. This is the heart of the concept that we are proposing in this book.
Including an understanding of fascia/connective tissue in the evaluation of
movement gives an more accurate picture of the physical reality of the body.
The connective tissue concept we discuss accounts for much of the success
of Rolfing. This is a concept that was original and unique with Dr. Rolf at the
time she was developing her method of working with bodies. She started in
the late 1930s. At that time and up into the 1950s, received wisdom stated
that soft tissue could not hold a change. Myofascia per se was not even con
sidered as a determinant of structure. Bone-setting (osteopathy, chiropractic)
was the only treatment for structure that was then considered effective.
Today, many forms of bodywork include a soft tissue technique.
This is one of the two ideas about bodywork that Dr. Rolf established
through her work. Her other seminal idea has to do with the concept of
gravity as it acts on the physical body—the stress lines through the body
that ideally establish and reinforce physical structure. This, too, is imple
mented through the connective tissue component. In fact, the centrality of
connective tissue to Rolfing and our attempt to understand connective tissue
has been the impetus for this book.
The way bodies change during Rolfing is not satisfactorily explained by
any of the usual descriptions of physical makeup. Traditional anatomical
attitudes about connective tissue do not give us a living picture of the
dynamics involved in the changes we see in our work. What has interested
us is the body's apparently great capacity for structural change at any age.
We are confronted daily with very wide deviations from standard anatomical
description in people who function perfectly well. People look very different
even though they are made of the same component parts. We have come to
the working hypothesis that this variability is a function of certain properties
of the connective tissue best illustrated by its development from embryonic
mesoderm into mature tissue. Our ideas and concepts have come directly out
of our experience as Rolfers—a combined total of more than forty-five years.
People tend to approve and disapprove of their bodies piecemeal. It's rare
for them to look at themselves and say they're all bad or all good. Rather, it's
"My belly sticks out," "I've always had knock knees," "My left foot is bigger
than my right foot." On those occasions when they are feeling good about
themselves, they like the shape of their head or the set of their shoulders.
Women say they look good in those shoes, while men say, "That cut of
jacket brings out the best in my shoulders."
viii THE ENDLESS WEB
Not only do they see themselves this way, they also have the same impres
sion of others. For many, certain parts of the body are more attractive: "I'm
a leg man," or "I like men with big shoulders." In our national culture, it
seems to be accepted that one's business, economic, social, and sexual suc
cesses are less if one is fat. A man fears that if his pelvis moves when walk
ing, running, or other kinds of movement, the whole world will question his
sexual preferences. A woman's broad shoulders are taken as a sign of aggres
sion and masculinity.
Most of inner-body awareness is also piecemeal, and generally negative:
"I have an upset stomach," "My knee hurts," "My neck is stiff," "My nose is
stuffed." More than likely this is a carry-over from the Puritan notion that it
is unseemly to speak well of oneself. When I brag, I am conceited, which is
bad. This gets internalized so that when I feel good about myself, good about
my body, I end up feeling guilty.
Even when the aim is to improve the physical self, the focus is on one
thing at a time. A man will do push-ups and lift weights to broaden his
shoulders; a woman will do leg lifts to slim down her legs and hips. Yet
those hips or those shoulders are an expression of everything else in that
body. They're the result not only of its structure, but also and reciprocally
of how everything else in that body is used.
This kind of connectedness is easy to understand in impact injuries.
When I stub my toe, the injury resonates through my whole body, all the
way to my head, whether I notice it or not. The pain in the toe makes me
not want to stand on it, and my whole body shifts in order to avoid feeling
weight on the painful part. I walk lightly on the side that hurts, more heav
ily on the side that doesn't. If I'm not aware of doing this, my tendency is
to keep the shift in weight to one side long after the toe is no longer painful.
The painful side has contracted away from the source of pain and is short
ened. This is especially true if the toe was broken, and the pain has persisted
for a long time. The compensation (shortening and deviation) becomes a
permanent part of structure.
An even more obvious example is a broken arm or leg. Even after the
cast is removed, there is the physical habit of allowing for the weight and
bulkiness of the cast, as well as the fear of once again freely using the part
that was broken. People tend to carry an arm that was once broken half
bent, as though it were still in a sling or a cast.
These are straightforward responses to straightforward injuries. Our bodies
tend to record our responses to the events in our life like a calculator with a
memory. In our living tissue, the record becomes fixed with constant replay
ing. Like an orchestra, each part relates to the other segments. In an orches
tra whose members have many years of experience playing together, if one
section goes off key or plays off tempo, the rest of the orchestra attempts to
compensate and blend in.
In the human body, compensation is life supportive. If I were to give
in completely to a broken leg or a whiplashed neck, I would be in bed. I