Clinical term
Fascial adhesions
A fascial adhesion is an abnormal union, through fibrous tissue, between two surfaces that normally move relative to each other, such as two layers of fascia, or a fascia and a muscle, an organ or a nerve. The term should not be used to describe any stiffness, pain or sensation of “stuck fascia.”
Scientific basis
Adhesions form mainly after surgery, inflammation or injury: fibrin deposited between two surfaces is not cleared and organizes into fibrous tissue that connects them (Hellebrekers and Kooistra, 2011). They are among the possible outcomes of wound healing (Gurtner et al., 2008).
An established adhesion can be revealed by surgery or certain examinations, but not always. A distinction must therefore be made between an objectively documented anatomical adhesion, a restriction of mobility, a loss of gliding, pain triggered by palpation and a mere hypothesis of adhesion. Reduced gliding is not sufficient to establish an anatomical adhesion, and improvement after manual treatment does not prove that a deep adhesion has been broken.
Blue Portance / SBNFA™ reading
The SBNFA™ reads an adhesion as a local loss of degrees of freedom: two structures that used to glide become bound together, and deformation shifts to the neighboring interfaces. The hypothesis that this stress concentration may sustain discomfort in prolonged positions belongs to the SBNFA™ reading.
Contribution to the analysis of sitting
After pelvic or abdominal surgery, or when scars are present, observing which support points are tolerated and whether positions can be varied provides functional information. It does not make it possible to locate an adhesion.
Not to be confused with
Loss of gliding, a reduction in relative mobility that may be transient; scar, repair tissue that may remain localized; fascial fibrosis, a lasting accumulation of matrix within a tissue.
Related terms
Sources and scope
- Hellebrekers and Kooistra (2011): mechanisms of postoperative adhesion formation (Br J Surg)
- Gurtner et al. (2008): wound repair and regeneration (Nature)
- Langevin et al. (2011): reduced gliding of the thoracolumbar fascia in chronic low back pain (BMC Musculoskelet Disord)
established phenomenon, mainly in surgery; identifying it without imaging or surgery remains uncertain. The expression “stuck fascia” is an image, not a diagnosis.
Further reading
- Learn more — Article: Why Your Body Is “Crystallizing”
- Go further — Expert guide: How Can Fascia Become Altered? Inflammation, Densification, and Fibrosis
