I appreciate how you openly express your willingness to unlearn your previous understanding of our body and recognize the wisdom of our ancient ancestors. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent but we have not yet learned how to listen to it.
Thank you for this. The unlearning has been the harder part, honestly. Medical training instills such confidence in a particular way of seeing, and that confidence served me well in the operating room. But it also created blind spots I'm still discovering.
I always learn so much from your writing. You make the science easily understandable for a layman like me, and you bridge the worlds of science and ancient wisdom so seamlessly. Thank you, a fascinating read
Dr. Stickler, this piece is a profound reframing of human anatomy.
Moving fascia from "packing material" to "piezoelectric communication network" is the paradigm shift medicine desperately needs. You have effectively identified the body’s "fiber optic cable." The idea that we are not just biochemical engines but electromagnetic beings - with collagen acting as a liquid crystal semiconductor - bridges the gap between biophysics and ancient wisdom perfectly.
If fascia is the conductor for the body’s electrical signals, then sedentary living isn't just a lack of calorie burn; it is a "signal outage." We are literally unplugging the system. A brilliant synthesis of mechanics and mystery.
Dr. Kane, thank you for this. "Signal outage" is precisely the framing I was reaching for. It captures something that "sedentary lifestyle" misses entirely. We talk about movement as calorie expenditure, as cardiovascular conditioning, as muscle preservation. But the electromagnetic dimension suggests we're starving something far more fundamental when we sit still for hours on end.
Your fiber optic analogy resonates. What amazes me is how long we tried to understand the body through hydraulics and chemistry alone, as though we were sophisticated plumbing. The electrical dimension was always there, waiting for us to develop instruments sensitive enough to measure it and frameworks open enough to take the measurements seriously.
Daniel, exactly. We spent a century treating the body like a steam engine - pressures, valves, and fuel - when it is actually a quantum computer. The plumbing model explains the mechanics of survival, but it fails to explain the coherence of life. When we finally start treating the patient as a circuit board rather than a pipe system, the entire diagnostic map changes.
Such a welcoming invitation to exploration. One may hope that new pathways to health and healing will soon unfold.
The description of the possible functioning of acupuncture makes a good deal of sense. I did a good bit of preliminary research a few years ago when considering seeking acupuncture to treat pain and to promote healing. No clear answers were provided but there existed a general sense that acupuncture helps to align the body toward preparation for healing.
This view makes perfect sense when considered in connection with the neural highways that serve as paths to pain and pleasure. Now it appears we are approaching a missing pathway, an enveloping, more scenic route on which information can travel.
What a beautiful way to put it: an enveloping, more scenic route. I may borrow that.
Your experience with acupuncture research mirrors what so many encounter. The clinical literature often confirms that something is happening, but it cannot explain what. The fascial framework offers a language for that something, a way to honor what practitioners and patients have observed for millennia while satisfying the part of us that wants to understand mechanism.
Thank you for being here, and for your kind words about the illustration.
Acupuncture has been an incredible experience and support for me. There have been times I go in with significant pain and leave with less. I highly recommend it in the hands of a skilled practitioner.
This article blew my mind: you’ve put words to the connection between what we always intuited about our bodies and what science is now showing us. Many thanks! ❤️
Interesting article that I have saved for rereading.
I continue to marvel at conventional medicine's insistence on parsing out materialistic explanations for things that work. On the one hand, I understand it as a reflection of curiosity. On the other, the insistence on being able to explain with mechanistic detail continues to keep many useful modalities somewhat ostracized.
Acupuncture has helped me immensely. I continue to be amazed by the power of those thin needles to reset not only my physical body but also my emotional and spiritual states.
And yes, bodywork as well.
Reading the references to structured water made me think that I am going to go drink some now and see if that influenced the emotionally-induced musculoskeletal pain I am currently experiencing. Perhaps it will help.
Your point about the paradox of mechanistic explanation is one I sit with often. There's something strange about needing to know why something works before we'll permit ourselves to use it. Acupuncture helped people for thousands of years without anyone understanding fascial piezoelectricity. The explanation doesn't create the healing; it just satisfies a particular kind of knowing.
I should offer a word of caution on structured water. I referenced Gerald Pollack's work on exclusion zone water in the article, and while I find his research genuinely intriguing, it remains controversial in mainstream science. The claims about fourth-phase water are not yet widely accepted, and the leap from laboratory observations to health benefits is one that hasn't been rigorously validated. I include it because it offers a potential framework for understanding fascial hydration at a deeper level, but I want to be honest about where the science is still unsettled.
What is well-established: hydration matters for fascial function, and the mechanical dimension of your pain, whatever its emotional origins, is real. Sometimes the simplest interventions work for reasons we don't fully understand. That's allowed.
I haven't read much about structured water myself. Although I regularly use homeopathic medicines which seem perhaps to work in part (or whole?) by structuring water in a particular manner.
My spouse has a container that is supposed to create structured water, so I figure there's no harm at least trying some of that rather than regular filtered water. 🤷♂️. I'd probably not go buy a device myself just for this purpose yet.
Lots of things remain controversial in mainstream science, yet seem to work quite well for those willing to use them.
I appreciate you raising this. Blood pH is one of the most tightly regulated parameters in human physiology. The body will sacrifice bone mineral, shift breathing patterns, and alter kidney function before it allows blood pH to drift outside that narrow 7.35 to 7.45 window.
We don't "become alkaline" in any systemic sense.
Where I think the conversation gets more interesting is not whether we can change blood pH (we can't, not without serious pathology), but rather what metabolic cost the body pays to maintain that homeostasis when dietary and environmental inputs consistently push toward acid-forming conditions. The question shifts from "can we alkalize?" to "what burden are we placing on the buffering systems that keep us in range?"
But your underlying point stands. I'm wary of language that oversimplifies this, and I appreciate the correction.
Fascinating! This suggests that I should look to the fascia and treatment of fascia as one of my options as I search for natural treatment of my Parkinson’s symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease is linked to fascia primarily through changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the brain and through bodywide rigidity and myofascial pain. ECM and matrisome pathways, including collagens and focal adhesion signaling, are consistently altered in PD tissue and neuronal models, suggesting that connective-tissue-like biology is part of PD pathophysiology, not just a byproduct. Clinically, PD motor symptoms drive chronic abnormal loading of myofascial chains, contributing to fascial densification, thoracolumbar fascia problems, and myofascial pain syndromes, with emerging data that fascial manipulation and flexibility work can modestly improve pain, rigidity, and function as adjunctive therapy.
This is basically a summary of the paper cited below
It sounds like our facial system is similar to a forest’s mycorrhizal network. How sad that our ignorance makes us cut right through them both. How magical when we learn the error of our ways and begin to honor nature!
I appreciate how you openly express your willingness to unlearn your previous understanding of our body and recognize the wisdom of our ancient ancestors. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent but we have not yet learned how to listen to it.
Thank you for this. The unlearning has been the harder part, honestly. Medical training instills such confidence in a particular way of seeing, and that confidence served me well in the operating room. But it also created blind spots I'm still discovering.
I always learn so much from your writing. You make the science easily understandable for a layman like me, and you bridge the worlds of science and ancient wisdom so seamlessly. Thank you, a fascinating read
Dr. Stickler, this piece is a profound reframing of human anatomy.
Moving fascia from "packing material" to "piezoelectric communication network" is the paradigm shift medicine desperately needs. You have effectively identified the body’s "fiber optic cable." The idea that we are not just biochemical engines but electromagnetic beings - with collagen acting as a liquid crystal semiconductor - bridges the gap between biophysics and ancient wisdom perfectly.
If fascia is the conductor for the body’s electrical signals, then sedentary living isn't just a lack of calorie burn; it is a "signal outage." We are literally unplugging the system. A brilliant synthesis of mechanics and mystery.
Dr Tom Kane
Dr. Kane, thank you for this. "Signal outage" is precisely the framing I was reaching for. It captures something that "sedentary lifestyle" misses entirely. We talk about movement as calorie expenditure, as cardiovascular conditioning, as muscle preservation. But the electromagnetic dimension suggests we're starving something far more fundamental when we sit still for hours on end.
Your fiber optic analogy resonates. What amazes me is how long we tried to understand the body through hydraulics and chemistry alone, as though we were sophisticated plumbing. The electrical dimension was always there, waiting for us to develop instruments sensitive enough to measure it and frameworks open enough to take the measurements seriously.
Grateful for your engagement with this work.
Daniel, exactly. We spent a century treating the body like a steam engine - pressures, valves, and fuel - when it is actually a quantum computer. The plumbing model explains the mechanics of survival, but it fails to explain the coherence of life. When we finally start treating the patient as a circuit board rather than a pipe system, the entire diagnostic map changes.
Great article Dr Dan. As a somatically trained psychotherapist , I’ve always been fascinated by fascia. I love how
your bridging worlds in your work ie
TCM and Fascia for example.
Such a welcoming invitation to exploration. One may hope that new pathways to health and healing will soon unfold.
The description of the possible functioning of acupuncture makes a good deal of sense. I did a good bit of preliminary research a few years ago when considering seeking acupuncture to treat pain and to promote healing. No clear answers were provided but there existed a general sense that acupuncture helps to align the body toward preparation for healing.
This view makes perfect sense when considered in connection with the neural highways that serve as paths to pain and pleasure. Now it appears we are approaching a missing pathway, an enveloping, more scenic route on which information can travel.
As ever, the most wonderful illustration.
What a beautiful way to put it: an enveloping, more scenic route. I may borrow that.
Your experience with acupuncture research mirrors what so many encounter. The clinical literature often confirms that something is happening, but it cannot explain what. The fascial framework offers a language for that something, a way to honor what practitioners and patients have observed for millennia while satisfying the part of us that wants to understand mechanism.
Thank you for being here, and for your kind words about the illustration.
Acupuncture has been an incredible experience and support for me. There have been times I go in with significant pain and leave with less. I highly recommend it in the hands of a skilled practitioner.
This article blew my mind: you’ve put words to the connection between what we always intuited about our bodies and what science is now showing us. Many thanks! ❤️
This explains why my acupressure mat literally dissolves the stress out of my neck and shoulders — best money ever spent ❤️
Beth, Would you be willing to tell me the brand and details of your mat? Thanks incredibly much.
https://a.co/d/52icKIm
This is the one I bought, but honestly even the $20 ones are just as good. It takes some getting used to in the beginning
Thank you incredibly much, Beth. I appreciate your help! Happy Holidays!
My mind is blown. Thank you for sharing this valuable new understanding!
Interesting article that I have saved for rereading.
I continue to marvel at conventional medicine's insistence on parsing out materialistic explanations for things that work. On the one hand, I understand it as a reflection of curiosity. On the other, the insistence on being able to explain with mechanistic detail continues to keep many useful modalities somewhat ostracized.
Acupuncture has helped me immensely. I continue to be amazed by the power of those thin needles to reset not only my physical body but also my emotional and spiritual states.
And yes, bodywork as well.
Reading the references to structured water made me think that I am going to go drink some now and see if that influenced the emotionally-induced musculoskeletal pain I am currently experiencing. Perhaps it will help.
Your point about the paradox of mechanistic explanation is one I sit with often. There's something strange about needing to know why something works before we'll permit ourselves to use it. Acupuncture helped people for thousands of years without anyone understanding fascial piezoelectricity. The explanation doesn't create the healing; it just satisfies a particular kind of knowing.
I should offer a word of caution on structured water. I referenced Gerald Pollack's work on exclusion zone water in the article, and while I find his research genuinely intriguing, it remains controversial in mainstream science. The claims about fourth-phase water are not yet widely accepted, and the leap from laboratory observations to health benefits is one that hasn't been rigorously validated. I include it because it offers a potential framework for understanding fascial hydration at a deeper level, but I want to be honest about where the science is still unsettled.
What is well-established: hydration matters for fascial function, and the mechanical dimension of your pain, whatever its emotional origins, is real. Sometimes the simplest interventions work for reasons we don't fully understand. That's allowed.
Thank you for reading.
I haven't read much about structured water myself. Although I regularly use homeopathic medicines which seem perhaps to work in part (or whole?) by structuring water in a particular manner.
My spouse has a container that is supposed to create structured water, so I figure there's no harm at least trying some of that rather than regular filtered water. 🤷♂️. I'd probably not go buy a device myself just for this purpose yet.
Lots of things remain controversial in mainstream science, yet seem to work quite well for those willing to use them.
Looking forward to more of your writing.
Agree
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this paradigm shift in our relationship with fascia.
As a nurse, I know that our bodies maintain a robust homeostasis around pH. So why do you think that we somehow can survive in an alkaline state?
I appreciate you raising this. Blood pH is one of the most tightly regulated parameters in human physiology. The body will sacrifice bone mineral, shift breathing patterns, and alter kidney function before it allows blood pH to drift outside that narrow 7.35 to 7.45 window.
We don't "become alkaline" in any systemic sense.
Where I think the conversation gets more interesting is not whether we can change blood pH (we can't, not without serious pathology), but rather what metabolic cost the body pays to maintain that homeostasis when dietary and environmental inputs consistently push toward acid-forming conditions. The question shifts from "can we alkalize?" to "what burden are we placing on the buffering systems that keep us in range?"
But your underlying point stands. I'm wary of language that oversimplifies this, and I appreciate the correction.
Thank you
Fascinating! This suggests that I should look to the fascia and treatment of fascia as one of my options as I search for natural treatment of my Parkinson’s symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease is linked to fascia primarily through changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the brain and through bodywide rigidity and myofascial pain. ECM and matrisome pathways, including collagens and focal adhesion signaling, are consistently altered in PD tissue and neuronal models, suggesting that connective-tissue-like biology is part of PD pathophysiology, not just a byproduct. Clinically, PD motor symptoms drive chronic abnormal loading of myofascial chains, contributing to fascial densification, thoracolumbar fascia problems, and myofascial pain syndromes, with emerging data that fascial manipulation and flexibility work can modestly improve pain, rigidity, and function as adjunctive therapy.
This is basically a summary of the paper cited below
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8944212/
What an incredible article. This has helped me a lot in understanding my own predicament. Thank you.
As someone who has struggled for years with tight fascia, this is a profoundly beautiful work and will take me a while to understand it. Thank you!
Where are your references? What studies are you referring to?
Here you go: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QP5J-SOOylZrAtikN5yco73Bmm3eEhbh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112091457409428146566&rtpof=true&sd=true
It sounds like our facial system is similar to a forest’s mycorrhizal network. How sad that our ignorance makes us cut right through them both. How magical when we learn the error of our ways and begin to honor nature!