Anatomy Made Simple: The Myofascial System

Written by:
Tyler Joyce
December 20, 2022

If you know me, you know that I love to simplify things especially when it comes to physical therapy. That’s why I love Redcord. It is a simple yet effective tool. Now don’t get me wrong, it looks intimidating with all of those ropes, slings and bungee cords. But once you learn how to use the equipment and understand the testing and clinical reasoning process (known as Redcord NEURAC), it makes treating people so much easier. In my opinion, it also makes physical therapy so much more fun for both the patient and provider.

The way we learn anatomy in school is complex and tedious. You memorize one muscle at a time. You have to know its origin (where it starts), its insertion (where it ends), its action (what joint motions it performs), and its innervation (what nerve allows it to work). You do this for over 650 skeletal muscles throughout the human body. The only problem with this is that you are seeing the body piece by piece, versus seeing it as a whole functional unit with many muscles working together as one.

A Holistic View

Understanding the muscle connection makes me think of that song we all sang as a kid but never knew the name of. The one that goes "knee bone connected to the thigh bone..." Yeah that song, you know what I’m talking about. It was simple, easy to follow, and explained how our body parts are all connected to each other.

I did a little research about the song and found out it was written in the early 1900’s and was first recorded in 1929. The song is called Dem Bones. It was based on a verse in the bible by prophet Ezekiel, when he visited the Valley of Dry Bones and dreamed that one day all these bones in the desert will be resurrected by God and come back to life and dance once again. Here’s a verse from this simple yet awesome song:

Toe bone connected to the foot bone.
Foot bone connected to the heel bone.
Heel bone connected to the ankle bone.
Ankle bone connected to the leg bone.
Leg bone connected to the knee bone.
Knee bone connected to the thigh bone.
Thigh bone connected to the hip bone.
Hip bone connected to the back bone.
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone.
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone.
Neck bone connected to the head bone.
Hear the word of the Lord.

When I began using the Redcord suspension system many years ago, I was introduced to Anatomy Trains by Thomas Myers and my whole anatomy world got flipped upside down in the best way possible. It simplified things for me and made it easier to explain anatomy to my clients in a more functional way. 

The basic concept of Anatomy Trains is that, even though we have hundreds of skeletal muscles in the body, they are all connected by fascial tissue. This fascia is the thin outer coating that you see on a chicken breast. It connects the muscles from head to toe.

Myers believes the human body has 12 myofascial meridians (AKA myofascial chains or lines). This is way easier than memorizing 650+ muscles and trying to figure out how they all connect individually. Myers groups them into 12 chains of muscles based on their functional lines of pull.

At my clinic, we have posters of these myofascial chains on the wall. We frequently use them to show our clients how everything is connected. For instance, you can improve neck mobility by working on your inner thigh muscles by way of the “Deep Front Line." In other words, the hip adductors could be a weak link in the myofascial chain, contributing to your neck pain and stiffness.

Clients really appreciate the explanation and quick anatomy lesson. They want to learn how their body works in a simple, digestible way. Most importantly, they want to know how this information will get them better, faster.

For my next blog, I'm going to discuss outer muscles versus inner muscles. Unfortunately there isn't a children's song to help. So I will do my best to keep it simple!

Check out the Redcord suspension system to learn more about how I test and treat the myofascial chains.

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this article are based on the opinion of the author, unless otherwise noted, and should not be taken as personal medical advice. The information provided is intended to help readers make their own informed health and wellness decisions.

Tyler Joyce

Co-Founder | Physical Therapist
Tyler Joyce is a 20+ year experienced physical therapist who specializes in helping competitive baseball players and weekend athletes overcome chronic pain and injury through application of the Redcord suspension system. He works at Activcore in Princeton, New Jersey, located just 2 miles from Princeton University.
FULL PROFILE

BLOGS BY SAME AUTHOR

How Did We Help Two Professional Sports Teams Become Champions?

Let me start right off by saying that I’m not one to call attention to myself, or to toot my own horn. In fact, I've been known to not even tell my co-workers that it’s my birthday. This should give you an idea of how difficult it is for me to write about one of the best kept secrets in professional sports.

Read MORE

Why Athletes Don't Even Know They Need Neuromuscular Control?

Being injured all of the time is not normal. If you're an athlete, it doesn't necessarily mean you will be frequently injured or in pain. Yes, sports do increase your odds of getting hurt, but they don't guarantee it. In fact, I played basketball and baseball throughout my life and I remember less than a handful of injuries. Of course some of that was simply luck of the draw, but now (as a physical therapist) I realize there's so much more to it.

Read MORE

Why Should Everyone Get Tested in the Ropes?

As a physical therapist, testing has been ingrained in me since PT school. I learned that the initial evaluation process should involve testing of specific parts of the body, such as the joints, muscles, and nerves. The results of these tests would then play a role in guiding my treatments. Basically it gave me a starting point.

Read MORE

Podcast Episode: Tyler Joyce Explains Redcord and the NEURAC treatment approach

In this podcast episode, Dr. Scott Curtis from the Princeton Spine and Joint Center interviewed me about suspension based physical therapy. We discussed the Redcord suspension system that I use on all of my clients. It comes from Norway and consists of ropes, slings and bungee cords. I enjoyed explaining how we use Redcord to deliver the neuromuscular activation (NEURAC) treatment approach...

Read MORE

A Tale of Two Physical Therapists

When I was in high school, I read the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I can’t help but compare that story to my journey as a physical therapist. When I looked over my old cliff notes in preparation for writing today’s blog, Dickens came right out the gate in his first paragraph with the theme of duality...

Read MORE

Suspension Based Physical Therapy To Overcome Pain

The evidence for treating musculoskeletal pain has remained consistent over the years. It supports two basic aspects of physical therapy: to move your joints and to understand pain science. So why, early on in my career, was it so hard for me to successfully treat patients in pain? I guess moving without pain is harder than you might think. Just ask the old me that didn’t have access to a “zero-gravity” suspension exercise system.

Read MORE

Physical Therapy Doesn’t Have to be Painful!

In my previous blog post I explained the science behind musculoskeletal pain and how Redcord is my secret weapon to overcome it. Today, I’m going to discuss one of the most important aspects of suspension based physical therapy: creating a "zero-gravity" environment so that you can move your joints through pain-free ranges of motion.

Read MORE

There’s A Better Way To Test Your Muscles: Introducing Redcord Testing

I wanted to share something that happened to me while recently evaluating someone for physical therapy. A mother of two elementary school children comes in with complaints of right hip pain and a long history of hammer toes on both feet. Neither of these issues are urgent or in an acute stage. She just wants to prevent them from getting any worse.

Read MORE

Let’s Shake Things Up: The Redcord Stimula

I would like to discuss something that takes suspension based physical therapy to the next level. It’s called the Redcord Stimula. Developed by physiotherapists in Norway, the Stimula is a vibrating mechanical unit that attaches to the suspension ropes in order to provide extra vibration that manual “perturbation” simply cannot match.

Read MORE

The Twelve Tests of Redcord

I wrote this song while sitting in front of my fireplace listening to Bing Crosby’s Twelve Days of Christmas. I recommend getting inspired by listening to Bing’s version first so you can sync my version to his. Happy holidays from the Activcore family to yours.

Read MORE

Anatomy Made Simple: The Myofascial System

If you know me, you know that I love to simplify things especially when it comes to physical therapy. That’s why I love Redcord. It is a simple yet effective tool. Now don’t get me wrong, it looks intimidating with all of those ropes, slings and bungee cords. But once you learn how to use the equipment and understand the testing and clinical reasoning process (known as Redcord NEURAC), it makes treating people so much easier.

Read MORE

Anatomy Made Simple: Inner Muscles vs Outer Muscles

In my last blog post I talked about how to simplify explaining anatomy to clients by way of the myofascial system. Before we dig into each myofascial chain, I would like to discuss another simple concept that has also dramatically improved the way I treat and educate my clients.‍ The concept of inner muscles versus outer muscles was introduced by Anders Bergmark in 1989.

Read MORE

Anatomy Made Simple: The Deep Front Line

In my last two blogs, I explained how our muscles (and hence our bones and joints) are connected to each other through a series of myofascial chains. I also explained how we have inner muscles that stabilize our joints versus outer muscles that move our joints. ‍In the spirit of keeping things simple with regards to explaining the myofascial chains, I am going to break them down from the front of the body, back of the body, and sides of the body.

Read MORE

Anatomy Made Simple: The Front Functional Line

In this blog series, I am breaking down the myofascial chains (chains of muscles that work together to perform movements) into the ones in the front of the body, back of the body, and sides of the body. I highlighted the Deep Front Line in my last post. Today I'm going to talk about the second of three myofascial chains located in the front of the body: the Front Functional Line.

Read MORE

What Have I Learned From Teaching Suspension Based PT?

I am always inspired after teaching any course, and this past weekend was no different. We recently hired 5 new Doctors of Physical Therapy at Activcore and it is my job to teach them how to do suspension based physical therapy. I also mentor them on a one-on-one basis to speed up their learning curve. As one of the first physical therapists in the United States to use this "zero gravity" system, I have countless success (and not so successful) stories to tell.

Read MORE

Anatomy Made Simple: The Superficial Front Line

To be honest, when I talk about the myofascial chains located on the front of the body, I seem to mostly refer to the Deep Front Line and the Front Functional Line. That's because I often find "weak links" along these chains upon testing them, especially in the hip adductors or inner thigh muscles.‍The Superficial Front Line is more of an afterthought, if everything else tests normal.

Read MORE

Treating Low Back Pain: Medication vs Exercise?

Instant gratification is all around us every single day. We get our news immediately from our phones. Our meals come prepared and ready to heat up and eat in several minutes. And we get anything we want from Amazon with literally the click of a button. Our world is moving so fast compared to years ago. So why would recovering from a lower back injury be any different?

Read MORE

How Conventional Physical Therapy Failed a College Baseball Pitcher

I come from a baseball family and more specifically a family of baseball pitchers. My grandfather pitched for the Braves and the Yankees in the 1930’s and 40’s. He stood a lengthy 6 foot 7 inches tall soaking wet. My dad was a 6 foot 5 inch lefty pitcher from Portland, Maine who played one season with the Kansas City A’s. I was a pitcher in high school but an injury to my elbow ended my career before it even began.

Read MORE

What Does a Good Shoulder Treatment Look Like?

There is strong evidence to support suspension based physical therapy for shoulder rehabilitation and performance. So it’s perplexing why it has taken so long to become the gold standard of care. This type of treatment intervention is common in Norway, where it originated. But here in the United States it barely exists. I guess one reason for this is that the profession of physical therapy began in this Nordic region of the world in the early 1800s. Therefore they have about a hundred more years of clinical experience than we do.

Read MORE

How a Snake Bite Helps Explain Pain

I felt inspired to write this blog after re-watching a 2011 TED Talk by Lorimer Moseley on the topic of pain. I have seen this episode multiple times and it always makes me laugh. He knows how to tell a good story that merges science with comedy. He actually makes learning (about pain) fun!

Read MORE

Suspension Based Physical Therapy for Postpartum Pelvic Pain

For over 15 years, I've been teaching suspension based PT to physical therapists across the country. I have seen all different types of clinics incorporate the Redcord suspension system into their daily practice. During these classes, many pelvic floor physical therapists have exclaimed how great suspension exercise is for postpartum moms. I would hear this over and over again. But I didn't know exactly why.

Read MORE

What’s The Best Way to Improve My Posture?

Posture has always been a hot topic of conversation in the physical therapy world. When I mention that I’m a PT, people often ask about their posture and what exercises will make it better. To be honest, this is a loaded question. There’s no one simple answer. If you asked 10 physical therapists, you’d probably get 10 different answers.

Read MORE