Fascia is the organ of structure. It is the overall fabric that makes up our body.
The mobility of the tongue greatly influences the deep front line of fascia, otherwise known as 'the core'. This fascial line plays a big role in structural stability and functional movement. Tongue tie, given that it is a restriction of the tongue, can significantly inhibit movement. Deep Front Arm Line Deep Front Arm Line Deep Front Arm Line zClavipectoral fascia zPectoralis minor zCoracobrachialis zBrachialis zBiceps brachii zRadial periosteum zAbductor pollicis brevis zThenar muscles Deep Front Arm Line zBony Interface: z3rd, 4th, 5th Ribs zObserved muscle Bundle: zPectoralis Minor, clavipectoral fascia Deep Front Arm.
Here my aim is simply to bring these major lines to your attention.
There are 12 fascial lines in our body. These lines wrap around muscles, separate muscle fibers, and muscles from bones, as well as connect them. They are involved in all movements the human body is capable of performing. That includes the movement of internal organs like the diaphragm, which is needed for breathing.
Even though we have these 12 lines, they again still interconnect as well.
Every single muscle is wrapped in fascia and each bundle of fascia is connected to another bundle of fascia, which means that everything in the body is connected to everything else.
- Superficial Front Line
- Superficial Back Line
- Lateral Line (2 sides)
- Spiral Line
- Arm Lines (4)
- Functional Lines (2–front and back)
- Deep Front Line
Superficial Front Line
Runs from the top of the toes up the front of the leg and up the torso to the top of the sternum, and passes along the side of the neck to the back of the skull.
Primary Function: To maintain posture. Protects ventral cavity.
The Superficial Front Line (SFL) connects and protects the anterior surface of the body, extending from the top of the feet to the posterior skull. The overall function of the Superficial Front Line is to move the skull toward the toes and the toes toward the skull. There are actually two SF lines. The first one begins at the Mastoid process, follows the Sternocleidomastoid, into the sternalis, and down the rectus abdominis into the pubis bone. The second Superficial Front line begins at the anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS), stretches down the rectus femoris, into the tibial tuberosity, following the tibialis anterior, and spreading down the dorsal portion of the foot.
Superficial Back Line
Runs from the underside of the foot up the back of the leg to the sacrum, and up the back to the skull, and over the skull to the forehead
Primary Function: To maintain erect posture.
The Superficial Back Line (SBL) connects and protects the posterior surface of the body, extending from the bottom of the foot to the forehead. The overall function of the Superficial Back Line is to move the back of the skull toward the heel (calcaneus), and the calcaneus toward the posterior skull. The Superficial Back Line begins at the frontal bone, stretches over the top of the skull (epicranial fascia), into the occipital ridge, down the erector spinae group, along the sacrum through the sacrotuberous ligament, stretching over all the hamstring muscles as well as the triceps surea, and finally ending at the plantar fascia of the foot.
Lateral Line
Runs from the underside of the foot up the side of the leg and trunk, under the shoulder complex to the side of the neck and skull.
Primary Function: To maintain stability during lateral and rotational movement. Supports other lines
The overall function of the Lateral Line (LL) is to mediate forces between the other Superficial Lines. Bilaterally, the Lateral Line works toward balancing posture from left to right. The lateral line has two beginning points. The first point of the line stretches from the mastoid process through the splenius capitis, while the second point of the LL begins at the lateral edge of the occipital ridge through the sternocleidomastoid. From here the two lines cross over the intercostal muscles, crossing again over the lateral abdominal muscles, until the hit the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS) and the Posterior Superior iliac Spine (PSIS). From there the two lines merge into the Iliotibial Band (ITB) as they run over the tensor fascia latae and the anterior fibers of the gluteus maximus, stretching over the head of the fibular, running down the fibulari muscles, wrapping around the underside of the foot and ending at the base of the 1st metatarsal.
Deep Front Line Fascia
Spiral Line
Runs from the side of the skull across the neck to the opposite shoulder and ribs, and back across the belly to the front of the hip, the outside of the knee, the inside of the ankle, and under the arch of the foot and back up the leg and back to the skull.
Primary Function: To create and control rotations through the body.
The Spiral Line (SL); a) anterior view, b) posterior view.
The main function of the Spiral Line is to cross all planes of movement. It connects the knee to the hip joint and determines the efficiency of knee-tracking. The spiral line begins at the mastoid process, runs down the splenius capitis, into C-7. Then it stretches down the rhomboids and serratus anterior, wrapping around the front of the body, over the internal obliques into the navel, and back down the internal obliques landing on the ASIS. From the ASIS the Spiral Line stretches down the TFL and anterior fibers of the ITB, through the tibialis anterior, into the base of the first metatarsal. From here the Spiral Line wraps underneath the foot, up the fibularis longus, up the lond head of the biceps femoris, up the sacrotuberous ligament, up the erector spinae group, and into the occipital ridge.
Arm Lines
The Arm Lines connect seamlessly into the all the other “main” lines. Their functionality could be summarized as bringing things towards us, pushing things away.
Deep Front Arm Line
Runs from the ribs down the front of the arm to the thumb.
Superficial Front Arm Line
Runs from the sternum and ribs down the inside of the arm to the palm of the hand.
Deep Back Arm Line
Runs from the spinous processes through the scapula to the back of the arm and the little finger.
Superficial Back Arm Line
Runs from the spinous processes over the shoulder and outside the arm to the back of the hand.
Functional Lines
Front Functional Line Runs from one shoulder across the front of the belly to the opposite leg.
Back Functional Line Runs from one shoulder across the back to the opposite leg.
The Functional Lines extend the Arm Lines across the surface of the trunk to the lateral pelvis and leg, or up from the leg and pelvis across the ribcage to the opposite shoulder and arm.
One of those lines runs in the front of the body another in the back, therefore the right and left line forming an X across the torso.
The lines are call “Functional Lines” because they rarely are employed in modulating posture, but when it comes to athletic movement as drivers of the spinal
The two Functional Lines; a) Front Functional Line, b) Back Functional Line.
Deep Front Line
A core line that begins deep on the sole of the foot and runs up the inside of the leg to the front of the hip joint and across the pelvis to the front of the spine and on up through the thoracic cavity to the jaw and the bottom of the skull.
The Deep Front Line comprises the body’s myofascial core. Beginning from the bottom the DFL has roots deep in the underside of the foot, passes upwards just behind the bones of the lower leg and behind the knee to the inside of the thigh. From there we see a split of tracks, anterior and posterior. The anterior aspect passes in front of the hip joint through pelvis and along the lumbar spine. Whereas the posterior track passes up more the back of the thigh to the pelvic floor and rejoins the anterior track at the lumbar spine, both joining the diaphragm.
From there the DFL continues upward through the ribcage, conceptually speaking in three major pathways, however practically speaking all three are completely interconnected in on plane from front to back of the body.
The DFL very clearly occupies space and should be viewed more as a three dimensional space rather than a two-dimensional line.
The DFL plays a major role in the body’s support The DFL has no major movement function, yet it guides and directs all movement – there is no movement outside of its influence. The DFL provides stability and subtle position changes to the core structure to enable the superficial lines to work easily and efficiently with the skeleton.
The Deep Front Line (DFL); a) anterior view, b) posterior view.
With this understanding of the human structure, to our exploration of Tai Chi. When you couple this holistic perspective with the three shifts in awareness– your body is a connected whole, movements arise from the depths of your body, and intention shapes your structure with directed fullness– you can begin to appreciate and feel your Tai Chi in a new way.
Fascia. A term that just a few years ago had little meaning in the performance and fitness industry. The days of foam rollers collecting dust in the corner have been replaced with courses specializing in fascial dissection, trigger point release and rehab programming related to fascial lines.
As we enter this paradigm shift in the way we look at human movement, corrective exercise and performance I have seen an increase in the appreciation for the foot & the ankle. With almost every fascial line passing through the bottom of the foot, professionals worldwide can appreciate how integrated the foot and the ankle really is with the rest of the body.
In this article series we are going to take the concept of foot function and fascia further than any course or textbook on the market. This first article is dedicated to taking a closer look at how the fascial lines influence great toe range of motion.
Let’s take the importance of fascia and foot function one step further and look at propulsion!
Propulsive Phase of Gait
Whether we are walking, running or jumping – push-off or propulsion is characterized by dorsiflexion of our digits at the metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ). The joint that takes a majority of the forces during push-off and is responsible for the release of elastic energy is the 1st MPJ.
As much as dorsiflexion of the 1st MPJ may seem like a simple biomechanical movement, it is actually quite complex – requiring timed control and activation of our fascial slings.
Let’s take a closer look at the 1st MPJ.
The First Metatarsophalangeal Joint
The 1st MPJ is formed by the base of the proximal phalynx and the head of the 1st metatarsal. Sitting directly under the head of the 1st metatarsal and lying within the tendons of the flexor hallucis brevis are the sesamoids. Inserting on the medial aspect of the proximal phalynx is the abductor hallucis which is opposed laterally by the adductor hallucis.
As we begin to transition onto the forefoot and into propulsion, what dictates the range of motion of the 1st MPJ is first metatarsal position in the sagittal plane. The image below illustrates how an elevation of the first metatarsal in the sagittal plane can block the dorsiflexion or gliding the proximal phalynx over the head of the first metatarsal.
So what dictates the position of the first metatarsal in the sagittal plane thereby playing a role in 1st MPJ dorsiflexion at propulsion?
If you guess the Spiral Line you are correct!
The Spiral Line – Expanded Version
In Thomas Myers’ Anatomy Trains he describes the lower part of the Spiral Line as the tibialis anterior as it joins the peroneus longus at the level of the base of the 1st metatarsal.
Often referred by Myers at the “stirrup” of the foot, I want to expand upon this concept a little further and demonstrate how the Spiral Line plays a bigger role in propulsion than you may think!
The tibialis anterior muscle runs down the anterior aspect of the lower leg to insert on the medial aspect of the foot on the medial cuneiform (90%) and the base of the 1st metatarsal (10%). Joining plantarly is the peroneus longus tendon which runs along the lateral aspect of the lower leg, behind the lateral malleolus and under the cuboid to insert on the base of the 1st metatarsal (90%) and medial cuneiform (10%).
With 90% of it’s insertion on the base of the 1st metatarsal, the peroneus longus plays an important role in plantarflexion of the 1st metatarsal allowing dorsiflexion of the 1st MPJ during propulsion.
So does this mean that for optimal propulsion and dorsiflexion of the 1st MPJ all we need to do is ensure proper activation of the peroneus longus muscle or the Spiral Line?
Unfortunately it isn’t that easy! Proper activation of the Spiral Line is actually integrated with another fascial line – the Deep Frontal Line.
The Deep Front Line
What Is Deep Fascia
For the Deep Front Line again we return to Myers Anatomy Trains.
In the plantar foot the Deep Front Line consists of the deep posterior leg compartment including the posterior tibialis, flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus. For the purpose of this article we are going to focus soley on the posterior tibialis.
Running posterior to the medial malleolus and along the medial aspect of the foot, the Posterior Tibialis inserts onto the navicular. After attaching to the navicular the Posterior Tibialis fans out and has 9 osseous and fascial attachments which includes:
– every tarsal bone (except the talus)
– every metatarsal (except the 1st)
– peroneus longus tendon
– flexor hallucis brevis muscle
This fascial attachment between the posterior tibialis and the peroneus longus joins the Deep Front Line to the Spiral Line allowing for more integrated foot biomechanics.
EMG studies have shown that the posterior tibiailis activates prior to the peroneus longs during the gait cycle which means this fascial integration between the PT and PL prepares the foot for propulsion.
With the posterior tibialis as a driver of subtalar joint supination or inversion just prior to heel lift, a reflexive activation of the Spiral Line leads to stabilization of the 1st metatarsal by the peroneus longs – allowing for dorsiflexion of the 1st MPJ and propulsion.
Client & Athlete Application
Deep Front Line Fascia
When assessing optimal propulsion in our clients and athletes remember the function of the Spiral Line and Deep Front Line on 1st MPJ dorsiflexion. A limitation in 1st MPJ dorsiflexion or power at propulsion may be related to an impairment in posterior tibialis strength.
To optimize posterior tibialis strength in clients and athletes integrate barefoot exercises such as short foot which picks up the navicular bone and stimulates the Deep Front Line. In addition single leg exercises can used the strength the posterior tibialis and it’s co-activation patterns with the gluteus medius and maximus.
Take a look at our webinar for related information: Optimizing Power at Push Off | High Gear vs Low Gear Position with Dr Emily Splichal
Deep Front Arm Line Fascia
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