Blue Portance · Living reference
Clear definitions and independent references to understand the terms used in our articles.
94 published terms
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The definitions
94 results
Fascial gliding is the relative movement of fascial layers against one another, and against neighboring muscles, nerves and vessels, with every movement of the body.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Hyaluronic acid is a large molecule of the extracellular matrix that retains water. In fascia, it contributes to the viscoelastic and gliding properties of the ground substance, between fibers and between layers.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Fascial innervation refers to the nerve fibers that fascia contains. Made up mainly of free nerve endings that are sensitive to deformation, it informs the nervous system about tissue tension, stretch and pressure, and can contribute to pain.
5 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Fascial stiffness is the resistance of a fascia to deformation; when it increases, the term stiffening is used. The term describes a mechanical property without specifying its cause.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Fascial viscoelasticity is the property of fascia to respond to a load both like an elastic material, which returns to its shape, and like a viscous material, whose response depends on time and rate.
2 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
The fear-avoidance model describes the possible relationships between how a person interprets pain, fear, avoidance and activity restriction. It is an explanatory model, not a diagnosis.
7 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Femoral neuralgia (cruralgia) is pain that follows the path of the femoral nerve, along the front of the thigh and sometimes down to the knee or the inner side of the lower leg. It is linked to irritation of an upper lumbar nerve root, most often L3 or L4.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome combining persistent widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances and often difficulty concentrating, with no tissue damage that could on its own explain the intensity of the symptoms.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Functional asymmetry refers to a difference between the right and left sides in the way a person moves, bears load or organizes themselves. It is neither automatically pathological nor automatically useful.
2 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
A herniated disc is the localized displacement of part of the intervertebral disc, most often the nucleus, through a tear in the annulus fibrosus. It can irritate or compress a nerve root, but it is also frequently painless.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Hip mobility refers to the range and quality of movement of the hip joint, which connects the pelvis to the femur: flexion and extension, moving the thigh away from and toward the midline, and rotations.
1 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Hyperalgesia is an increased pain response to a normally painful stimulus. In other words, a stimulus that is already painful causes abnormally amplified pain. It is a descriptive clinical term that does not, on its own, designate a mechanism.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Hypertonia refers to an increase in muscle tone or in resistance to passive movement. The term does not describe a single cause: depending on the context, it may reflect a neurological disorder, increased muscle activity, difficulty relaxing, tissue stiffness or a protective strategy related to pain.
5 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Interoception is the perception of the body's internal signals: heartbeat, breathing, hunger, thirst, temperature, the state of the internal organs. It informs the nervous system about the physiological state of the body.
2 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
The intervertebral disc is a fibrocartilaginous structure located between two vertebral bodies. Made up of a gel-like nucleus surrounded by a fibrous ring, it transmits and distributes loads while allowing the spine to move.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Intervertebral disc disease (discopathy) refers to an alteration of one or more intervertebral discs, most often degenerative (degenerative disc disease): dehydration, loss of height, tears in the annulus fibrosus. Common on imaging, it is not always painful.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Intradiscal pressure is the pressure inside the nucleus of the intervertebral disc. It varies with body position, the loads carried and the movements performed.
2 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Kinesiophobia is an excessive or disproportionate fear of movement or physical activity, linked to a feeling of being vulnerable to pain or to a new injury. It is neither a disease nor simple caution.
5 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
The term ligamentous clamp refers to the region where the pudendal nerve passes between, or in the immediate vicinity of, the sacrospinous and sacrotuberous ligaments, close to the ischial spine.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Low back pain is pain in the lower back, located between the thoracolumbar junction and the gluteal fold. In the vast majority of cases it is described as common (non-specific): it is mechanical in origin and does not stem from a serious disease.
5 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Mechanical load refers to all the forces applied to the body or to a tissue. It is described by several variables: magnitude, direction, area of application, duration, frequency, loading rate and recovery between exposures.
3 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Mechanoreceptors are specialized sensory receptors that detect mechanical stimuli (touch, pressure, vibration, stretch) and convert them into nerve signals. This process is called mechanoreception.
2 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Mechanotransduction is the process by which a cell converts a mechanical stimulus, such as stretch, pressure or shear, into biochemical signals that alter its activity.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
Small-amplitude movements that can take part in continuous postural adjustments and vary support and stress without a complete change of position.
4 references cited Scope and limits in the entry
