Since starting this blog and my journey into my own postural correction, I have been meaning to write up a short post to document my understanding of 'The Superficial Back Line'. So here it is, finally......I am trying to avoid too much technical anatomical terminology, or at least clarify it when used, so the regular person who may decide to read this post (not many I know) can hopefully understand a little bit of what I'm talking about. That is my goal at least.
As defined by Thomas Myers and his 'Anatomy Trains' metaphor, The Superficial Back Line (SBL) is a continuous line or 'track' of connective tissue (myofascia) which runs from the bones of our toes on the base of our feet, under our feet (including the plantar fascia), behind the heel and up the posterior (back) side of the legs following the calf and hamstrings up to the hips where the line then continues on up our backs, tracking closely to our spine and erector spinae muscles (supportive spinal muscles) to the bony ridge (Occipital Ridge) at the base of our skull and then over the top of our heads where is stops at the brow bone just above the eye sockets.
The primary function of this line and it's associated muscles (kinetic/posterior chain) is to create extension in the body, i.e. to support us in an upright and standing position, and prevent excessive flexion (bending/curling forwards). With the one exception of knee flexion, or bending your knees back. This action of bending the knees actually disengages the line/chain, causing a 'derailment', to use the Anatomy Train terminology. But more on that later.
The SBL is the first line to develop in new born babies and it is the development of this line that brings babies out of their flexed and curled over fetal position, raising and supporting their heads, helping them to first crawl, lift them selves up and then eventually stand upright. As they begin to stand, their calcaneus (heel bone), will begin to shift back behind the ankle - look at a baby before they can properly stand and you will note their heel does not protrude behind their ankle yet and if they do stand, it will likely be on their toes first, instead of the soles of their feet - and this is a key stage of the development in the SBL becasue as the heel bone shifts back, it helps create the required tension on the line to support the child standing upright, and provides a more solid base of support from the feet.
The SBL is entirely continuous and can be dissected from the human body in one entire piece, from toes to head. Below you can see this........
This continuity means that limitations and restrictions in the SBL can manifest as refereed pain or movement restrictions in other far reaching parts of the line. The most extreme and not uncommon example of this would be tension headaches or migraines, where tightness in your lower body, even as far down as the the feet for example, can refer pain to the top of the line/track and present itself as a headache. For myself, as an example, I was able to relieve cramp in my feet/toes, by releasing tension held around my hips, again a very common dysfunctional area of the SBL in today's society! These patterns of dysfunction can be quite common, but are also unique to individuals and their lifestyles etc.
In my opinion, understanding and accepting the continuity of this line (and others) is of vital importance when trying to understand human posture, efficient bio mechanics and movement patterns. It is also pretty important if you are trying to prevent or relive your lower back pain pain. Or foot, knee, hip, shoulder, neck or head pain maybe. Chances are, if you suffer from pain/discomfort or movement restrictions in any of these areas (which is very common amongst people in today's society, myself and most of my friends and family included), you will have some restrictions or movement limitations somewhere in your SBL.
As defined by Thomas Myers and his 'Anatomy Trains' metaphor, The Superficial Back Line (SBL) is a continuous line or 'track' of connective tissue (myofascia) which runs from the bones of our toes on the base of our feet, under our feet (including the plantar fascia), behind the heel and up the posterior (back) side of the legs following the calf and hamstrings up to the hips where the line then continues on up our backs, tracking closely to our spine and erector spinae muscles (supportive spinal muscles) to the bony ridge (Occipital Ridge) at the base of our skull and then over the top of our heads where is stops at the brow bone just above the eye sockets.
The primary function of this line and it's associated muscles (kinetic/posterior chain) is to create extension in the body, i.e. to support us in an upright and standing position, and prevent excessive flexion (bending/curling forwards). With the one exception of knee flexion, or bending your knees back. This action of bending the knees actually disengages the line/chain, causing a 'derailment', to use the Anatomy Train terminology. But more on that later.
The SBL is the first line to develop in new born babies and it is the development of this line that brings babies out of their flexed and curled over fetal position, raising and supporting their heads, helping them to first crawl, lift them selves up and then eventually stand upright. As they begin to stand, their calcaneus (heel bone), will begin to shift back behind the ankle - look at a baby before they can properly stand and you will note their heel does not protrude behind their ankle yet and if they do stand, it will likely be on their toes first, instead of the soles of their feet - and this is a key stage of the development in the SBL becasue as the heel bone shifts back, it helps create the required tension on the line to support the child standing upright, and provides a more solid base of support from the feet.
The SBL is entirely continuous and can be dissected from the human body in one entire piece, from toes to head. Below you can see this........
This continuity means that limitations and restrictions in the SBL can manifest as refereed pain or movement restrictions in other far reaching parts of the line. The most extreme and not uncommon example of this would be tension headaches or migraines, where tightness in your lower body, even as far down as the the feet for example, can refer pain to the top of the line/track and present itself as a headache. For myself, as an example, I was able to relieve cramp in my feet/toes, by releasing tension held around my hips, again a very common dysfunctional area of the SBL in today's society! These patterns of dysfunction can be quite common, but are also unique to individuals and their lifestyles etc.
In my opinion, understanding and accepting the continuity of this line (and others) is of vital importance when trying to understand human posture, efficient bio mechanics and movement patterns. It is also pretty important if you are trying to prevent or relive your lower back pain pain. Or foot, knee, hip, shoulder, neck or head pain maybe. Chances are, if you suffer from pain/discomfort or movement restrictions in any of these areas (which is very common amongst people in today's society, myself and most of my friends and family included), you will have some restrictions or movement limitations somewhere in your SBL.
Can you touch your toes with straight knees? No? You should really be able to you know, if not, you have lost a very basic human movement and function! And it will be restrictions/tightness in your SBL, that is restricting full forward flexion (forward bending) and preventing you from touching your toes. 3-4 months ago, I could not touch my toes with straight legs, now I can do it very comfortably without any warming up or stretching first. #ThePowerOfPosture
It should also be noted that there are obviously two SBLs, one on either side of the body. Imbalances between the two are also very common creating other postural and more asymmetrical movement imbalances and compensation patterns - one shoulder lower than the other for example - but that is getting a little beyond the scope of this post for now.
As I mentioned above, there is one exception to the 'extension' (standing upright) movement function of the SBL, and that is flexing/bending the knees. This action of bending the knees actually disengages the tension and continuity of the SBL by separating the myofascial (soft tissue) connection between hamstrings and the calf muscles, almost disconnecting (from a myofasical point of view) the lower and upper body and therefore reducing the tension or tightness in the line increasing hip mobility. To try and clarify my point here.......
Try and bend forward and touch your toes with straight knees, whether you can do it or not (and unless you are hyper mobile/double jointed), it's probably quite a stretch and you should feel the 'tension' in the back side of your body as it challenges the entire SBL from feet to head. Now stand up again, just slightly bend your knees and try and touch your toes again.....much easier now right? This is because the bend at the knees has disengaged (or derailed) the SBL between the calf muscles and the hamstrings, separating the myofascial continuity between the lower and upper body. This 'derailment' of the track releases the tension in the line, allowing us to flex forward and bend over more easily. This is why it is easier to pick things up from the floor with bent knees.
So that just about concludes my post on the SBL for now. I hope you found it of some interest if you are still reading. I will be writing more on the SBL, especially around identifying and releasing restrictions in it. But I should really finish by stating that the SBL does not of course work in isolation and it is actually balanced by the 'SFL'! Yep, you guessed it, we have a 'Superficial Front Line' as well as the other lines of myofascial continuity that run throughout the body; lateral, spiral and arm lines for example, but we'll get to those and more in due course.
#ThePowerOfPosture
As I mentioned above, there is one exception to the 'extension' (standing upright) movement function of the SBL, and that is flexing/bending the knees. This action of bending the knees actually disengages the tension and continuity of the SBL by separating the myofascial (soft tissue) connection between hamstrings and the calf muscles, almost disconnecting (from a myofasical point of view) the lower and upper body and therefore reducing the tension or tightness in the line increasing hip mobility. To try and clarify my point here.......
Try and bend forward and touch your toes with straight knees, whether you can do it or not (and unless you are hyper mobile/double jointed), it's probably quite a stretch and you should feel the 'tension' in the back side of your body as it challenges the entire SBL from feet to head. Now stand up again, just slightly bend your knees and try and touch your toes again.....much easier now right? This is because the bend at the knees has disengaged (or derailed) the SBL between the calf muscles and the hamstrings, separating the myofascial continuity between the lower and upper body. This 'derailment' of the track releases the tension in the line, allowing us to flex forward and bend over more easily. This is why it is easier to pick things up from the floor with bent knees.
So that just about concludes my post on the SBL for now. I hope you found it of some interest if you are still reading. I will be writing more on the SBL, especially around identifying and releasing restrictions in it. But I should really finish by stating that the SBL does not of course work in isolation and it is actually balanced by the 'SFL'! Yep, you guessed it, we have a 'Superficial Front Line' as well as the other lines of myofascial continuity that run throughout the body; lateral, spiral and arm lines for example, but we'll get to those and more in due course.
#ThePowerOfPosture
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