Myofascia - the unexplored tissue: Myofascial kinetic lines in horses, a model for describing locomotion using comparative dissection studies derived from human lines

Abstract

The precise functional role of connective tissue, and especially that of myofascia, remains largely unexplored. With this in mind, the present study has chosen to focus on an improved understanding of the interconnected web of fascia formed by connective tissue throughout the whole body, with particular consideration to force transmission, biomechanics of the whole body and fascia contractility. The specific aim of the present study was to reveal the inter-connective functionality of the locomotory system in a mammal other than humans, namely the horse.Dissections of horses (n=26) were undertaken in order to verify the existence of, as well as compare the similar functional interconnected lines and structures to, those found in humans. This study found that it was necessary to redefine the human lines that have already been described, owing to variations specific to horses arising from fundamental anatomical differences between bipeds and quadrupeds. Nevertheless, the myofascial kinetic lines presented in this study provide an anatomical foundation for an improved understanding of locomotion. Indeed, one in which the whole body is considered in a holistic way, rather than the simplified description of the action of single muscles. It is concluded that the lines described in this study form the basis of a readily use-able tool that can be applied by practitioners to track the main cause of locomotory problems in horses afflicted with impaired performance.

A comparative multi‐site and whole‐body assessment of fascia in the horse and dog: a detailed histological investigation

“…The general perception of the m. cutaneus trunci is to cause the skin to shiver, the panniculus reflex, but recent equine studies suggest that the equine m. cutaneus trunci might also play a role in response to pain and hypersensitivity of the horse 0 s back to a rider and saddle (van Iwaarden et al 2012;Essig et al 2013). Based on the findings of the non-fatigable panniculus reflex in the horse (Essig et al 2013), and the muscle being a part of the lateral myofascial kinetic line (Elbrønd & Schultz, 2015), and the recent morphological and topographical findings, we suggest that the muscle takes part in stabilization of the trunk at fast speed such as trot and canter.…”

“…In a recent study, the fascia structure of the equine forelimb and the retinacula was documented, revealing differences between human and equine antebrachial fascia (Skalec & Egerbacher, 2017). In addition, the discovery of myofascial kinetic lines in the horse, as translated from the human myofascial trains, now provides an anatomical foundation for an improved understanding of fascia and by inference the biomechanics of animals (Elbrønd & Schultz, 2015).…”

“…The pictures at the edges show transverse cross-sections of the samples (scale bar: 0.5 cm). *For details about the colored myofascial lines, seeElbrønd & Schultz (2015).…”

Applied Myo-Fascial Advances in Veterinary Medicine and Practice.

“…Recently, dissection work in the horse has led to the discovery of functional interconnected lines and structures that are comparable to the so called "anatomical trains" discovered in humans and reported by Meyers (2009) (Elbrønd & Schultz, 2015). These so called "myofascial kinetic lines" are now being accepted as being at the core of equine biomechanics and functional anatomy and they are revealing new insights into not only static but also dynamic posture (Skalec & Egerbacher, 2017;Elbrønd & Schultz, 2018).…”

“…These so called "myofascial kinetic lines" are now being accepted as being at the core of equine biomechanics and functional anatomy and they are revealing new insights into not only static but also dynamic posture (Skalec & Egerbacher, 2017;Elbrønd & Schultz, 2018). What makes them even more important perhaps is that they constitute a readily useable tool that can be applied by Veterinary practitioners to not only track the underlying cause of a locomotory problem, but also to understand compensatory patterns in a horse with impaired performance (Elbrønd & Schultz, 2015).…”