Anatomy Trains & The Deep Front Line

At Hands On Healing, we employ bodywork techniques following an anatomical concept referred to as Anatomy Trains.

It’s All Connected

Figure 1

In our previous posts, we have presented an array of topics pertaining to the health and structure of the human body.

We began with postural assessment and worked our way up the legs, with a special focus on individual joints.

See Figure 1, click to enlarge.

The Deep Front Line

In this article, we hope to bring all of these parts together into a single discussion, and the subject we’re going to talk about is something referred to as the Deep Front Line.

This anatomical concept was first introduced by Thomas Myers, a member of the International Association of Structural Integrators.

Myers studied directly with Ida P. Rolf who created the Structural Integration 10-series method, also known as Rolfing^®.

Anatomy Trains

In Myers’ rendition of the human body, he has shown that the connective tissue system (fascia) is organized into long connecting chains/lines that he coined as Anatomy Trains.

The lines work to organize movement and distribution of applied forces in the body, maintaining our posture and allowing us the unique freedoms of movement we experience as humans.

The Deep Front Line is recognized as the primary supporting line in the human body, spanning from the bottoms of our feet, through the inner legs, right up to the spine and ribcage, and even connecting to our throats and tongue.

Introduction to Anatomy Trains

For more information, watch this short video by Thomas Myers.

Unlike other lines that Myers describes, the Deep Front Line functions primarily as a postural line, designed to maintain a healthy functional relationship between the spine and upper body and the mobile leg structures.

Upper & Lower Body Connection

As we have discussed in past blog posts, as our bodies develop unhealthy patterns of movement, or suffer from injury and incomplete rehabilitation, we begin suffering from compensatory imbalances.

When we examine the Deep Front Line, we can begin to see the connection that our bodies have between upper and lower sections.

It helps give a visualization of how a problem in our feet or knees, can apply force through the line into the lower spine or even up the neck!

The Key Foundation of Our Therapy

This important element of experiencing pain and discomfort in an area that may not be the actual site of applied force on these connective lines is the key foundation of our therapy at Hands On Healing.

To the trained eye, these compensations and applied forces reveal themselves as changes in the length and natural organization of the lines.

The methods and techniques that we use can be specifically geared to treat these Anatomy Trains to produce more profound and longer lasting results from bodywork.