• Youtube Deep Front Line Fascia
• Deep Front Arm Line Fascia
• What Is Deep Fascia
• What Is Superficial Fascia And Deep Fascia
• Deep Front Line Fascia
• Deep Front Line Fascia And Tongue

SF Front Line & Deep Front Arm Line From Plasticity: Fascial Stretching by Dylan Werner. In this class, we focus on our superficial front line, which begins at the top of our feet and goes all the way to the top of the head. Repeating the holds in this class will relieve tension across the entire. The deep front arm line is one that is overused, tight, and of course weak on basically everyone from one degree or another.

You’ve probably heard me talk about the fascial lines or say the name of a line while I’m teaching, such as “lengthening the front line” and “strengthening the back line.” Let’s dive into what these “lines” I speak of actually are. (P.S. if you’re feeling clueless about fascia, no worries, I give you more detail right here).

First of all, it’s important to clear up the use of similar vocabulary. I often say “fascial lines,” however the terms “fascial meridians,” “myofascial lines,” or “meridians of the body,” are also interchangeable for what we are talking about here.

While our facial tissue is the all encompassing “net” within our bodies, there are some specific “lines” of tension that can help us navigate nagging injuries, misalignment, health issues in specific organs or help us utilize the energy transfer for greater power.

Since the body transfers tension along these lines during movement, repetitive habits, exercise or sports may leave you with more tension or shortening along a specific line. I’ve put together a bundle of fascial tissue release techniques that you can grab here to release tension along some of the lines in your body.

There are some amazing humans who study the fascial tissue that have provided us with some consistent “lines” within the body and given them names. My go to researcher is Thomas Myers who wrote the book Anatomy Trains. Below I’ll how you some of the major lines within the body that he depicts, then we’ll talk about how they impact the body:

Superficial Front Fascial Line

Superficial Back Fascial Line

Lateral Fascial Line

Spiral Fascial Line Back View

Spiral Fascial Line Front View

Spiral Fascial Line Side View

Arm Lines

Deep Front Fascial Line

Aren’t the lines so cool!!! I call them “fascia-nating!” 😂Here’s a general break down of how these lines have been used for bodyworkers, their importance for athletes, how they impact postural alignment and why full body movement is so important. Don’t forget to get my fascial bundle so you can see how to address these lines in your own body.

Lines used by acupuncturists and massage therapists.

These meridians and lines have been utilized for years in acupuncture, acupressure & massage therapy. For example, you may show up at your massage therapists with a problem in your left hip and they start massaging your right shoulder… you’re thinking “did you hear me say right shoulder?” .. but before you know it, your left hip is feeling better. These professionals are addressing issues along the same fascial line which, will free up the the tissue at your area of comlaint.

Similarly, your acupuncturist is helping you with a stomach problem and sticking needles into your foot…. what? However, you still find yourself having relief… hmm.

Varying line tension for athletes:

Let’s look at how the lines vary in different sports.

• Baseball pitchers are going to utilize lines in the chest and arm that they pitch with, along with the front spiral line on the trunk as they rotate to “follow through.”
• Soccer players will utilize the front line of the dominant leg they use to strike with along with the front spiral line the pelvis rotates to follows through with.
• Golfers will utilize spiral lines following the trunk rotation in which they continually drive with.

How does this impact human posture?

From the very start of human life, the body develops in “fetal position,” curled up in ball. The front fascial line ends up constricted and the back fascial line lengthened. As we develop, the back line may need more attention to reverse this initial position as our body requires the balance for being upright. For new moms, this is why “tummy time” for babies is so helpful in development.

Always keep in mind, the bones of the body go where the fascia pulls them. Over time, postural deviations happen, especially in athletes when specific lines have repetitive tensioning.

Postural assessments can be particularly helpful for movement professionals and body workers. I give you the low down on my process for that right here. Additionally, I almost always include fascial release techniques using foam rollers and resistance bands to assist the correction process of misalignment in my clients. Grab my fascial bundle here to see a few different ways I address the fascial tissue.

Importance of full body movements.

Fitness professionals encourage multi joint movements that will work the body from one end of the line to the other. This could be the difference between doing a seated leg extension, verses, a lunge with rotation which incorporates the entire body. Yoga and Pilates are fabulous modalities to accomplish full body movements and many instructors will try to hit every major fascial line during class to leave your body feeling great.

We also use fascial tissue release techniques to increase flexibility and find greater ranges of motion to perform athletic endeavors better. Whether you’re a golf pro improving your game or a person who feels stiff just sitting in “indian-style,” addressing the fascial tissue is the way to go.

For the fitness lovers of the world, next time you decide to do the “same old thing” for cardio in the gym, try to switch it up so you don’t wear out the same fascial lines. Dance infused classes will really get the body moving in all directions.

Thanks Researchers!

It’s no secret these lines have been in the human body for as long as we’ve existed, but it’s become more accessible through research, publishing and education and has made a huge impact on the way we train bodies now. I’m full of so much gratitude for the researchers who give us this information so we can intelligently address each body.

In our first article of the Foot Function & Fascial Lines series we explored the integration between the Spiral Line and the Deep Front Line as it relates to propulsion and the 1^st MPJ.

In today’s article we are going to explore the functional integration between the Lateral Line and the Deep Front Line – and how understanding this integration can improve rehab and training programs for those clients or athletes with lateral ankle instability.

Importance of Topic

Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries to the foot and ankle, with a prevalence as high as 70% in sports such as basketball and soccer (Yeung 1994).

Ankle sprains can range from very minor (Grade 1) to so severe the person requires surgery (Grade 3). The most common type of ankle sprain is a Grade 1, or a minor ankle sprain with the most common mechanism of injury as plantarflexion / inversion of the ankle.

According to the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society, most patients with a minor ankle sprain never seek medical attention – however even the most minor ankle sprains demonstrate residual impairment in stability and proprioception. In fact a 2012 study by Yentes et al. found that those athletes with a history of ankle sprains were at a 5x greater risk of re-injury with 70% of ankle sprains presenting with residual “giving way”.

Dynamic Ankle Stability – An Integrated System

Dynamic ankle stability is achieved through both mechanical structures and neuromuscular control. Both must be present for optimal ankle stability, with the inability of one to make up for the loss of the other.

Mechanical stability comes from ligaments, tendons, bony block and retinaculum (bands of fascia). While neuromuscular stability comes from proprioceptive input from the joint capsule, ligaments, musculotendon junction, fascia and skin.

Although the above structures contribute to dynamic ankle stability on a local level, we must also consider the global control or contribution that more proximal structures have on lateral ankle stability.

Proximal Stability for Distal Mobility

The concept of proximal stability for distal mobility is not new to the health and fitness industry and you may currently look at your clients or athlete assessments and programming with this perspective.

If you have not yet considered the role proximal stability plays in dynamic ankle stability, I challenge you to consider the below concept.

Youtube Deep Front Line Fascia

To begin to support this concept of proximal stability for dynamic ankle stability, a 2006 study by Friel et al. demonstrated weaker gluteus medius strength on the same side in subjects with ankle instability.

Does this mean that the ankle sprain led to the gluteus medius weakness? Or vice versa?

Although this may seem like a chicken or egg situation, I strongly believe that it is the latter.

I believe that due to the deep integration between the foot and lumbopelvic hip complex, that a delay in proximal stability would set the client or athlete up for an sprain or ankle instability.

To further explain this concept we must return to Thomas Myers’ Anatomy Trains.

The Lateral Line – A Review

The Lateral Line begins at the base of the 1^st metatarsal at the insertion point of the peroneus longus muscle. The peroneus longus travels obliquely across the plantar aspect of the foot, under the cuboid and posterior to the lateral malleolus.

As the peroneus longus travels to the lateral aspect of the cuboid it joins the peroneus brevis muscle which attaches to the base of the 5^th metatarsal. Together the peroneus longus and brevus along the lateral aspect of the lower leg to insert at the head of the fibula.

The Lateral Line takes a jump to join the iliotibial band on the lateral aspect of the upper leg and connects to the gluteus maximus and tensor fascia lata. Here the Lateral Line continues to join the internal / external obliques.

The Deep Front Line – A Review

In our first article we described the Deep Front Line, but let’s review again.

In the plantar foot the Deep Front Line consists of the deep posterior leg compartment including the posterior tibialis, flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus. For the purpose of this article we are going to focus solely on the posterior tibialis.

Running posterior to the medial malleolus and along the medial aspect of the foot, the Posterior Tibialis inserts onto the navicular. After attaching to the navicular the Posterior Tibialis fans out and has 9 osseous and fascial attachments which includes:

– every tarsal bone (except the talus)

– every metatarsal (except the 1st)

– peroneus longus tendon

– flexor hallucis brevis muscle

This fascial attachment between the posterior tibialis and the peroneus longus joins the Deep Front Line to the Lateral Line allowing for more integrated foot biomechanics. So in other words faster dynamic ankle stability (or Lateral Line stability) requires faster stimulation of the Deep Front Line.

Short Foot & the Deep Front Line

So how do we tap into our Deep Front Line faster?

Deep Front Arm Line Fascia

The answer to this question is one of my favorite exercise for foot strength – short foot!

Short foot is a foot activation exercise that was first introduced by Janda et al. This exercise targets the abductor hallucis on the medial side of the foot.

When activated the abductor hallucis does several amazing things:

• abducts the hallux to prepare for sagittal plane push-off

• inverts the subtalar joint creating a locking mechanism in the foot

• supports / lifts the navicular bone to increase the medial arch height

What Is Deep Fascia

Because the posterior tibialis (Deep Front Line) attaches to the navicular bone, activation of shortfoot stimulates the Deep Front Line leading to proximal stability and subsequent Lateral Line stability.

The Evidence

A 2009 study by Nigg et al. demonstrated that the greater the intrinsic foot strength the faster the ankle stabilizers fired. Because barefoot training is one of the greatest ways to tap into the foot intrinsics you could argue for the benefit of barefoot training in those clients and athletes with a history of ankle sprains or instability.

What Is Superficial Fascia And Deep Fascia

A 2002 study by Blackburn et al. demonstrated that after just 7 days of integrated intrinsic foot strengthening (i.e. short foot) gluteus medius activation increased by 200%! This could further support the association between deep foot activation, proximal stability and ankle stability.

Deep Front Line Fascia

Client & Athlete Application

So how do you apply these concepts to your clients and athletes with ankle instability?

Deep Front Line Fascia And Tongue

First step is teaching them short foot!

After the concept of short foot is understood begin to integrate short foot into all ankle stability exercises. I particularly like barefoot balance exercises with short foot when my patients do their rehab programming.

To see some examples of barefoot balance progressions please click HERE!

To learn more about about foot function and barefoot strengthening please visit:

Are you barefoot strong?