Biotensegrity: The Structural Basis of Life

"An appreciation of the 'fascial' network in health and disease has been an integral part of osteopathic practice for more than a century, but it is only recently that the details of its structure have been recognized. Tom Myers described a system of myofascial 'meridians' that transmit tension along specific pathways, while Stecco has detailed the anatomy underlying an even more complex tensional system that could control movement in a way that the nervous system is incapable of; and both use these models in their respective approaches to treatment. However, while the concept of tensegrity is frequently mentioned in the literature, its precise value to practitioners is often unclear; is tensegrity simply a footnote to technique or does its influence go beyond theory; can one even see or feel the effects of tensegrity in the body? Biotensegrity - the architecture of life aims to present a detailed and overall picture of tensegrity/biotensegrity, and its relevance to functional anatomy and biomechanical theory, and thus forms part of the basic science that underpins clinical reasoning. Because some of the tensegrity terminology used by engineers is not applicable to biology, Levin introduced the term 'biotensegrity' to clearly differentiate these fields. This book brings everything together for the first time, from its discovery, the basic geometry, significance and anatomy to its assimilation into current biomechanical theory as a much needed reference."--The publisher.