What is it?

The myofascial system consists of muscles (myo) and connective tissue (fascia). Connective tissue comes in all shapes and sizes, from as fine as spiderwebs to thick sheets of fascia. Fascia form a three-dimensional network throughout the body, from nose to tail and from skin to organs. The entire body is surrounded by a layer of connective tissue that acts like a stocking. All muscles and organs are also surrounded by a layer of connective tissue. The heart, for example, is enclosed in a pericardium, and this pericardium is made of connective tissue.

Besides a layer of connective tissue surrounding the muscle, the muscle itself also consists of a three-dimensional network of fascia containing muscle cells and fibers. Without this network, the muscle cells would be clustered together and unable to maintain their shape.

What does it do?

The fascia maintains the muscle's shape, nourishes the muscle cells, and also prevents the muscle from overstretching. This is achieved through the abundance of nerve endings and receptors within the fascia. The stretch receptors emit a pain signal when the muscle is about to reach its ultimate stretch.

But fascia do much more than that. Together with muscles, fascia form various pathways throughout the body. These pathways provide movement, posture, and core stability. These pathways are also interconnected.

The fascia maintain the body's shape. You can think of the body as a bouncy ball. When the ball bounces on the ground, its shape changes, storing elastic energy, causing the ball to spring back to its original shape and bounce upward.

A horse has a fascial system specialized in storing elastic energy and rebounding, allowing it to move very effectively and efficiently with minimal energy expenditure. For example, a horse has very long tendons in its lower leg. Upon landing, the fetlocks flex (storing elastic energy) and then rebound naturally, meaning a large portion of the movement is energy-free.

Biomechanically speaking, the myofascial system is important for holding the body together, separating certain parts to allow movement, storing elastic energy and enabling efficient movement, but also for maintaining posture and preventing movements that go beyond the range of motion.

In addition, the myofascial system has a number of other important functions, such as transporting body fluid (lymph) through the body and back to the lymphatic vessels, and it plays an important role in the immune system.

The fasciae have chemoreceptors to which various messenger substances, such as hormones, can bind. When a horse is startled, adrenaline in its blood surges. This hormone binds to the fasciae's receptors, causing them to increase their tone (tension). This is necessary for fighting or fleeing.

Meanwhile, it has also been scientifically proven that fascia stores emotions and by releasing the fascia, emotions can be released and processed.

The topline syndrome

When we talk about topline syndrome, we are referring to a collection of symptoms related to problems in the horse's topline.

Topline syndrome can be recognized by the contours of the neck, back, and pelvic region. We see swelling of the attachments high in the neck and skull. A dip is seen before the withers and next to and after the withers. The lower part of the neck is lowered (in hyperextension), the front of the back is also too hollow, the loins are in flexion (bulged up), and the pelvis is usually tilted too far under. This is called an incorrect flexion-extension pattern. The horse's lower line is too long, the topline is shortened. The lower neck, pectoral muscles, and brachiocephalic muscle are overdeveloped, tense, and painful.

The back muscles are moderately developed, and the gluteal muscles are disproportionately developed. The anterior portion is overdeveloped, and the posterior portion is underdeveloped.

The hamstrings are often overdeveloped and painful. The horse prefers to stand in a subdued position. The sternum moves downward and forward. The horse has difficulty standing squarely.

A horse with topline syndrome may have underlying conditions such as kissing spines, cervical osteoarthritis or synovitis (inflammation of the neck), osteoarthritis of the sacroiliac joint (SI joint), or bursitis of the first or second cervical vertebra. We often see several of these problems occurring simultaneously. This is because the skull, spinal column, and pelvis function as a single unit, so if tension or pressure builds up anywhere, it results in an incorrect distribution of forces across the entire topline.

Because a horse with topline syndrome has poor posture and consequently develops an incorrect movement pattern, injuries can also occur in the legs. The most common injuries are interosseous tendon or check ligament attachment injuries, lower leg problems, and injuries to the stifle (hind leg) and hock joint.

By closely monitoring the development of the horse's topline, we can reduce the risk of injury. By treating early symptoms, we can prevent worse!

Problem behavior while driving

There's usually a good reason why a horse stalls, bucks, rears, grinds its teeth, swishes its tail, or exhibits other "problem behavior." Often, the underlying cause is a physical complaint that causes pain. Because the fascia contains many nerve endings, tightness can be very painful. It can feel like a sharp nerve pain, triggered by certain postures or exercises.

Because horses are masters at hiding their discomfort, it's also important to pay attention to the smaller signs of discomfort. Signs such as facial tension (around the eyes, nose, and mouth), eye gaze, breathing, restless head and neck posture, and excessive bit chewing.

Too little muscle development

A horse with problems with its myofascial system often experiences pain throughout its entire body. Pain is a significant stressor for a horse, putting it in a constant state of stress. During stress, the hormonal system primes a horse for fight or flight, at the expense of its recovery and rebuilding capacity. This also negatively impacts muscle growth and can even lead to muscle breakdown.

Undesirable behavior in dealing with

Is your horse fidgety when you groom him? Sensitive to touch? Or does your horse even try to bite or kick you when you touch him? These are all signs that he may be experiencing physical discomfort. Girth anxiety can also be caused by painful fascia. Many structures converge at the girth site, quickly causing painful tightness.

Driving technical problems

• Crossed the runner
• Against the gallop
• Unable or unwilling to return from central or extended corridors
• Make hops during transitions to the front
• Becoming stubborn in menopause
• Falling into a canter during the medium or extended trot
• Having difficulty accepting the bend to the left or right

These are some examples of riding technique problems that can be caused by tightness in the myofascial system.

These are often combined problems. Besides the tightness, vertical and horizontal imbalances or a lack of strength often also play a role.

Unable to maintain correct posture

Correct posture is only possible if the horse's myofascial system allows it. A horse can only lengthen its neck if it can lift its withers, close its lower line, and activate its myofascial system.

That's why it's so important that the horse receives treatment first before we can expect it to move with correct posture. Treatment ensures that the horse CAN adopt good posture, but the training must teach it and strengthen it.

Remaining too lean despite adequate nutrition

Just as with insufficient muscle development, a horse experiencing pain can also remain lean due to stress. Feeding more often produces little result. Pain and stress impair the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in less effective digestion and absorption of food. Furthermore, the body is focused on breaking down food, not building it up.

How do we treat the myofascial system?

Myofascial release therapy treats the myofascial system. You can read more about this on the Myofascial Release Treatment page. This is a hands-on technique. There are various techniques to release the tissue, such as pressure, stroking, friction, shaking, stretching, and mobilization. We apply these techniques to specific areas in a way that depends on the individual horse. Every body is different, and every tissue reacts differently. We read the tissue with our hands to find the way it softens and releases.

In short, the tissue is released, mobilized, reset, and activated. Sometimes dry needling is used to release persistent restrictions or restrictions that lie very deep within the tissue.

Fascia run through the body in specific fascial pathways. They also exist in various layers, ranging from superficial to (very) deep layers, each with its own specific function. Understanding these pathways and tissue functions allows for highly targeted treatment. Treatment allows the tissue to relax and regain its original function and shape. Blockages in the tissue are thus released, preventing the horse from experiencing painful tightness.

It's important to treat a horse as a whole. A hind knee problem doesn't necessarily originate there. If only a localized treatment is focused on, the muscles/muscle groups affecting the problem area will tighten again because they haven't been loosened. Therefore, only a holistic approach ensures that treatment is effective.

Why is treatment combined with training so important?

It's not just about loosening the body, but also about keeping it loose. Treatment combined with proper training is therefore crucial. The goal is to bring the horse's body into balance. By training the horse to lift its withers and thus learn to stabilize its torso, it will gain balance, move rhythmically, and spring off the ground.

The legs are then loaded evenly and correctly. All this means there's no more compensation in the body, allowing injuries to the back and legs to heal. Moreover, the myofascial system is activated in a healthy way, allowing the horse to move effortlessly and smoothly. With an even distribution of forces across the body, it takes relatively little energy for the horse to move.

In addition, you train the horse's nervous system. Automating a correct movement pattern helps keep the body healthy and prevent tightness. In the early stages of rehabilitation, treatments are needed every four to six weeks. With proper training that allows the horse to properly use and activate its myofascial system, its body remains healthy, and only occasional maintenance treatments will be necessary.

Other important factors

The myofascial system can be positively influenced through treatment and proper training. Unfortunately, there are also factors that negatively impact the system. Factors such as (prolonged) stress and excessive sugar intake are examples.

When a horse experiences (long-term) stress, for example, due to its housing, fascial tension can develop. Stress puts more strain on the fascia and muscles. Chronic stress keeps the fascia and muscles in a tight state, making the horse's body stiff, rigid, and painful.

When the body has to process too much sugar, the sugar molecules bind to protein molecules in the body. All body cells and tissues are largely composed of protein. The sugars attach themselves to the proteins, collagen, and elastin. Collagen fibers prevent the connective tissue from stretching indefinitely. The elastic fibers provide elasticity to the connective tissue. Due to the glycation of these proteins, they can no longer function optimally and die faster.

The elastic fibers harden, making the tissue stiff and less elastic. As you can imagine, this leads to more rapid tightening in the body, and the glycated fascia also releases less quickly during treatment.

Sugar also causes low-grade inflammation in the body and an imbalance in the body's pH, which hinders enzymatic processes. This impacts the horse's overall health.

Low-grade inflammation is also found in the fascia, which then turns light yellow instead of white. Low-grade fascial inflammation doesn't respond well to release techniques; the tissue doesn't release easily, sometimes feeling a bit edematous. We need to be more careful because this tissue becomes irritated more quickly and then reacts after the treatment, becoming stiff and painful. This will heal, but the treatment's effectiveness will be reduced.

Numerous books have been written about the myofascial system, and new discoveries are made every week. Knowledge of the fascia completely changes our understanding of biomechanics, lameness, back pain, and pain in general. Undoubtedly, more discoveries will be made in the coming decades.

For example, there's now scientific evidence that emotions are stored in the fascia and that fascia plays a major role in the care of organ, muscle, and nerve cells. There's still so much more to learn and discover. Meanwhile, we ourselves are still amazed daily by the results and changes horses show after myofascial therapy. But as with everything... nothing works forever, and a myofascial therapy alone without biomechanically correct training and a healthy diet is pointless. In that case, the treatment will only have a temporary or limited effect.

Training courses

Equine Functional Evaluation

Behandeling

Clinics