In 2001, Thomas Meyers authored Anatomy Trains. The book instantly became a staple in the functional strength and conditioning world. The book shows and explains how the muscles throughout the body are interwoven by fascia. Fascia is a body-wide collagenous web. I like to use the analogy that it’s a layer of Saran wrap that encompasses the muscles. Taking the information from this text became an outline for trainers on how to group exercises and movement patterns. There are seven trains, or lines, that run throughout the body.
• The Superficial Back Line
• The Superficial Front Line
• The Lateral Line
• The Spiral Line
• The Arm Line
• The Functional Line
• The Deep Front Line
My post today is about the line that is commonly forgotten; the Deep Frontal line, and its importance to the body.
Part of why I think the Deep Frontal Line (DFL) goes unnoticed is because it’s intertwined between the left and right side of the Lateral line, and sandwiches between the Superficial front and Superficial Back line in the sagittal plane. It’s surrounded by the Spiral Functional Lines. It forms the body’s myofascial core. The following excerpt is taken from Anatomy Trains:
“… the line starts deep in the underside of the foot, passing up just behind the knee to the inside of the thigh. From here the major track passes in front of the hip joint, pelvis, and lumbar spine, while an alternate track passes up the back of the thigh to the pelvic floor and rejoins the first at the lumbar spine. From the psoas- diaphragm interface, the DFL continues up through the rib cage along several alternate paths around and through the thoracic viscera.”
-Anatomy Trains, 2001
In comparison to most of the other lines, there is no movement that is strictly the duty of the DFL, aside from hip adduction (drawing the thigh towards the center of the body) and breathing of the diaphragm, yet neither is any movement outside its influence. It was on my personal journey (along with my massage therapist) in addressing a 7-8-year-old injury, that I personally experienced it’s importance. For years, I experienced tightness and weakness in areas that I thought were solely the popular Back and Functional Line. I’ve consulted with a Sports doctor, chiropractors, and physical therapists pursuing a diagnosis, so a plan for treatment could be mapped out. I experienced swelling in the knee, which in hindsight was the fascia of the popliteus. I would intermittently have spasms in the adductor, which makes sense because the fascia behind the knee runs up into the adductor brevis and longus. Finally, I would experience tightness in the lower back in the mornings, until walking would eventually loosen it up. As I mentioned, a major track of the Deep Frontal Line passes from the thigh in front of the hip joint, pelvis, and lumbar spine. A weaken and tightened psoas can translate into lower back pain, as it’s the only hip flexor muscle that connects to the spine.
After making a hypothesis and addressing the muscles along this line, I’ve been able to experience some relief from a problem that’s existed for years. The Deep Frontal Line acts as a balance between the other popular lines and should be addressed in any soft tissue program. For me, that includes daily rolling, starting on the outer portion of the lower leg traveling behind the knee and into the adductors.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bUD_xHrFm/
Maintaining tissue quality at these areas won’t go ignored by me and I recommend you don’t forget about them neither.