Appoggio and muscle chains
The three mechanism of stability
According to Leopold Busquet, static function could'nt be devoted to muscles, because there is no muscle able to maintain a permanent static contraction without turning in connective tissue.
When standing, gravity tends to top the upper body forward. The body counteracts this with two passive mechanisms. These are, on the one hand, the pleural and peritoneal spaces that exert an expansive power and, on the other hand, a ligamentous and fascial chain from the frontal bone to the sacrum.
In order to balance, these two mechanism are completed by a "rebalancing function" performed by the mono-articular muscles, innapropriatly called "static muscles", because they actually work by short intermittences.
The muscular skeleton stability chain
The static posterior chain consists of the following structures, from cranial to caudal positions:
• Falx cerebri and cerebelli
• Ligaments of the vertebral arch
• Thoracolumbar fascia
• Sacrotuberal and spinal ligament
• Fascia of the piriformis and obturator muscles
• Tensor fasciae latae
• Fibula and interosseous membrane
• Plantar fascia
The visceral stability chain
All this leads Busquet to several conclusions :
Vertical alignment is related to visceral health, for organics problems cause an adaptation of the vertebral curves.
It is not possible to staighten by muscles, but by freeing tension in muscles.
We are built
as inflatable mannequin !
