Anatomy · functional reading

Extracellular matrix

The extracellular matrix is the network that surrounds the cells of a tissue. In fascia, it combines fibers, mainly collagen, with a highly hydrated ground substance, and gives the tissue its mechanical properties.

Scientific basis

The fascial matrix has two components. Collagen fibers form a framework that is highly resistant to tension; elastic fibers, less abundant, allow reversible deformation. The ground substance, made of water, proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronan, supports exchanges, resistance to compression and gliding (Cowman et al., 2015).

The matrix is continuously produced and renewed by fibroblasts. Its composition and organization adapt to mechanical demands, as shown by tendons and muscles subjected to load (Kjaer, 2004). The matrix also acts on cells, which sense its properties through mechanotransduction (Chiquet et al., 2009).

Blue Portance / SBNFA™ reading

SBNFA™ is interested in the matrix because what the tissue undergoes over time can eventually be reflected in its organization. One may speak, figuratively, of "mechanical memory", without attributing memory to it in the neurological sense. The hypothesis that variability in mechanical demands, with alternating loading and unloading, helps preserve tissue adaptability belongs to the SBNFA™ reading.

Contribution to the analysis of sitting

Seating analysis does not directly reveal the state of the matrix. It describes the repeated demands imposed by the duration and fixity of the position.

Not to be confused with

Ground substance, the hydrated component of the matrix; fascia, the family of tissues of which the matrix is one constituent; connective tissue, the combination of cells and matrix.

Sources and scope

Composition and renewal are established; their rate of adaptation varies widely between tissues.