Cell Biology Meets Structural Integration
For any of you who is interested in massage therapy, I think this could be worth looking at:
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Science Magazine, “the world’s leading journal of original scientific research, global news, and
commentary,” has an excellent write up about the recent First International Fascia Research
Congress in its November 23, 2007 issue (vol. 318, pp. 1234-5).
The article by David Grimm is titled “Cell Biology Meets Rolfing: A diverse group of researchers
wants to create a new discipline from scratch by bringing together experts in fascia and deep-
tissue massage.”
A few points from the article…
“The meeting, held here [in Boston] last month, would be the first dedicated to the soft part of
the body’s connective tissue system — an important but medically neglected organ. It would bring
together top scientists from fields as diverse as cell biology and biophysics, but it would also
include alternative medicine practitioners…”
This conference was a first venture within the field of the human fasciae to bring together
scientists and clinicians and it was not at all certain that getting these two diverse groups
together would satisfy everyone or produce constructive collaboration. Quoting Thomas Findley, MD
PhD, the Executive Director of the conference, “Practitioners want to know the science behind what
they’re doing…and scientists want to see clinical applications of their work.” Partap Khalsa, DC
PhD, program officer with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) stated, “You need people who can do good basic
science and clinicians who can inform them about their experiences…It’s the only way to advance the
field.”
Yet, by the end of the second day, it was obvious there was a meeting of minds. So much so that a
leading researcher in biomechanics, Peter Huijing, PhD, of Vrije Unvesiteit in Amsterdam has agreed
to help organize the next conference in Amsterdam in 2009. “Huijing says he also learned new things
from the alternative therapists — and he found that he had something to teach them as well.”
It should be noted that Dr. Huijing, himself, was originally skeptical of the feasibility and value
of such collaboration. “Huijing plans to give a larger spotlight to practitioners and to explore
even more of the basic science. He’s adding days, and he’s reserved an auditorium for 1000 people —
twice the size of the room at this year’s event. ‘I have a feeling it could be very big,’ he said.”
For online access to article (via subscription) go to http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl.
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Originally Posted by Ares
