Where is the thoracolumbar fascia located

Myofibroblasts are cells that have a sort of dual function, being part fibroblast and part smooth muscle. It is because of these smooth muscle properties that the myofibroblasts can contract on their own — like other smooth muscles cells — placing them under the control of the autonomic nervous system and allowing the autonomic nervous system to potentially regulate fascial pre-tension independently of muscular tone.

Schleip and colleagues showed that the lumbar fascia, via its myofibroblasts, has the ability to contract in situations of either chronic tissue contractures, such as tissue remodeling, or during more smooth muscle-like contractions, which may help to influence low-back stability. Furthermore, Yahia et al. This information could be potentially beneficial in understanding pathologies where increased myofascial stiffness is present.

However, influencing the system to make a change in this stiffness is a more difficult question. Given the smooth muscle properties and the control that the autonomic nervous system may have over the fascial network, perhaps a potential window into effectively dealing with increased myofascial tone can circle around to breathing.

Respiratory function is on aspect of the autonomic nervous system that we actually have direct control over. Additionally, the role of the diaphragm in stabilizing the lumbar region cannot be overlooked and the fact that it shares a fascial connection with the quadratus lumborum as well as the psoas major and the transverse abdominus fibers invest themselves into part of the diaphragm means that the diaphragm is in a potentially prime position to have an influence over the thoracolumbar fascia, since both of these muscles invest into layers of that fascial structure.

The thoracolumbar fascia is richly innervated with mechanoreceptors providing it with a strong sensory role and making it a target for manual therapy. With regard to treating fascia I believe that it is important to not leave out the nervous system, as the goal of any manual hands on treatment is to somehow effect the brain to create an environment that is ripe for healing — one which decreases overall threat perception, decreases fear avoidance, and opens a window for the individual to perform some sort of non-painful movement that increases confidence, and create relaxation again, helping to achieve a parasympathetic response.

Several types of receptors have been found in connective tissue not just the thoracolumbar fascia such as pacini and paciniform corpuscles, ruffini organs, interstitial receptors, and golgi receptors.

Different receptors are responsive to different sorts of techniques and forms of therapy. For example, pacini receptors are responsive to pressure changes and vibrations, while ruffini receptors are responsive to sustained pressure and tangential forces such as a lateral stretch. The thoracolumbar fascia plays an important role in human movement as it not only serves as an attachment site for numerous muscles in the lumbar, thoracic, and sacral regions, but also is an important area of transition between the upper and lower extremities where forces are transferred to allow for coordinated function.

The smooth muscle properties of the thoracolumbar fascia and all fascia of the body indicate a potential role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating fascial tone. For this reason, understanding the individual athlete and levels of stress as well as their individual stress resistance can be helpful in managing overall fascial tension.

The pH of the body plays an important role in fascial tension, as greater levels of alkalinity create vasoconstriction and increased muscle tone. The pH of the body can be influenced by increased levels of threat and changes in breathing, which cause alterations in expired CO2. Managing stress using a variety of recovery modalities in between competitions can be help to keep athletes healthy and performing well. Finally, the high number of mechanoreceptors found in the thoracolumbar fascia and in all fascia indicate that the fascial system provides an important sensory role for the body.

Taking all of this into consideration, when assessing an athlete it is important to look at the entire body and keep in mind that the thoracolumbar fascia shares a connection with many structures and its influence can be seen as far up as the cervical region and into the extremities. With that in mind the thoracolumbar fascia may be a potential area for therapy when attempting to influence other parts of the body.

He owns Optimum Sports Performance www. He writes excellent articles on his website OptimumSportsPerformance. Shoulder impingement is a really broad term that is used too often. Unfortunately, the use of such a broad term as a diagnosis is not helpful to determine the treatment process. To make the treatment process for shoulder impingement a little more simple, there are 3 things that I typically consider to classify and differentiate shoulder impingement.

The hip flexor stretch has become a very popular stretch in the fitness and sports performance world, and rightly so considering how many people live their lives in anterior pelvic tilt.

However, this seems to be one of those stretches that I see a lot of people either performing incorrectly or too aggressively. I help people feel better, move better, and perform better. I want to help you learn to do the same. Skip to content. The thoracolumbar fascia lumbodorsal fascia is a deep investing membrane which covers the deep muscles of the back of the trunk. In the thoracic region the lumbodorsal fascia is a thin fibrous lamina which serves to bind down the Extensor muscles of the vertebral column and to separate them from the muscles connecting the vertebral column to the upper extremity.

It contains both longitudinal and transverse fibers, and is attached, medially, to the spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae; laterally to the angles of the ribs. In the lumbar region the fascia lumbar aponeurosis was previously described as two layers, anterior and posterior.

Now in Terminoliga Anatomica it's divided into three layers. The three layers unite at the lateral margin of the Sacrospinalis, to form the tendon of origin of the Transversus abdominis. The aponeurosis of origin of the Serratus posterior inferior and the Latissimus dorsi are intimately blended with the lumbodorsal fascia. IMAIOS and selected third parties, use cookies or similar technologies, in particular for audience measurement. Cookies allow us to analyze and store information such as the characteristics of your device as well as certain personal data e.

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Many things may underlie a case of back pain, from disc injury to psychological issues to tissue changes that occur over time. In recent decades, the idea that your fascia—thick connective tissue that covers, organizes, and supports all the muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and organs of the body—may contribute to back pain has been investigated with piqued interest by scientists and lay practitioners alike.

When you have nagging low back pain, you likely want to know what's contributing to it—so that you can make it go away. Well, there's a big broad, flat sheath of fascial tissue that lives behind the spinal column and is positioned at both the lumbar low back and thoracic mid-back levels.

This area of fascia is called the thoracolumbar fascia, the lumbodorsal fascia, or simply, LF. When you look at the thoracolumbar fascia from the back view of an anatomical drawing or diagram, you can see that it makes a diamond shape. Because of this shape, its large size, and its fairly central location on the back, the LF is in a unique position to help unify the movements of the upper body with those of the lower.

The fibers that make up the LF fascia are very strong, enabling this connective tissue sheath to also lend support. It is this quality that enables the LF to help transmit forces of movement as the back muscles contract and relax.

And the thoracolumbar fascia is a key player in contralateral movements. A perfect example of this is the act of walking. Scientists and doctors don't know for sure, but it's possible that the lumbodorsal fascia may play a role in the presence of low back pain. A study published in the journal Biomedical Research Internationa l found that the lumbodorsal fascia may generate back pain in three possible ways.