Dr Robert Schleip
Dr Robert Schleip
Presentation
This presentation will focus on fascia as a most fascinating tissue seen through recent scientific discoveries. Starting with a film of a video journey through the superficial fascia (by French hand surgeon Dr. Guimberteau) the biomechanical properties of fascial tissues will be explored. This will address the tensegrity networking nature of fascia as well its ability to respond to mechanical loading with dynamic changes in water content. Recent biomechanical insights about the contribution of elastic recoil oscillatory properties of fascia in walking, running and other cyclic movement activities will be addressed.
Part two of this three part presentation will be a presentation of the latest findings from the fascia laboratory at Ulm university, addresing the ability of fascia to actively contract and relax in a smooth muscle like manner, based on the presence of contractile connective tissue cells (myofibroblasts) in fascia. This will include new hypotheses on the relationship between myofibroblast density in fascia and systemic joint hyper-/hypo-mobility, as well as indications on the enhancing/inhibitory effects of various chemical, nutritional and mechanical stimulations on fascial stiffness.
The final part of this presentation will explore fascia as our richest sensory organ. The four types of fascial mechanoreceptors will be addressed in detail, including guidelines on how to stimulate each of them via therapeutic manual mechanostimulation. The mutually antagonistic relationship between fascial proprioception and myofascial pain will be emphasized. Most recent fndings on differences in the sensory innervation of fascia between different persons as well as between different topographical tissues will be included. Specific suggestions will be made about therapeutic avenues to alter brain mapping (body image/ body schema) via proprioceptive fascial stimulation.
Biography
Robert Schleip directs the Fascia Research Project at Ulm University, Germany, and is also Research Director of the European Rolfing Association. He has an M.A. degree in psychology and a PhD in human biology. Robert has been a professional bodyworker since 1978 and is a certified Rolfing instructor as well as Feldenkrais teacher, plus author of several books and numerous other publications. His recent discovery of active contractile properties in fascial tissues was awarded with the prestigious Vladimir Janda Award for Musculoskeletal Medicine. He was co-initiator and organizer of the first Fascia Research Congress at the conference center of Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA in 2007, and is preparing the next fascia research congress to happen at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2009.