Illustration 15
These two figures are just fun, with the mechanical details, including the feet being screwed to the ground. The ropes, cleverly tied around the "pipe" of the leg, demonstrate the action of the hip joint ligaments, which are loosened when we flex, and tightened when we extend, or lean back. Yoga warrior poses and other lunge positions often run into the restrictions imposed by these ligaments, which open much more slowly than tight muscles.
The incredible right-hand picture depicts most of the muscles joining the hip bone to the femur as if they were cables, continuing an anatomical idea that began with Leonardo da Vinci. How much more lucid an image could we get, to see how the myofascia of the thigh interacts to produce pelvic posture?
Illustration 16
Here below, Grundy shows us the series of fan-like muscles attaching from the pelvis to the femur. The first fan centers around the greater trochanter and includes the gluteus medius and minimus (1), piriformis (2), obturatur internus and the gemellus inferior and superior (3). The next muscle, the quadratus femoris (4), is a square or quadrate muscle that forms a transition between the two fans: the first fan centers around the trochanter, and the second fan centers around the ischial tuberosity and ramus. This second fan starts with the two sections of the adductor magnus (5 and 6).
The right-hand picture presents an unusual view of the femur, with the various singular and planar attachments of muscles connecting to the back of the thigh. (Author's note: This plate was labeled incorrectly in the original book. The author has taken the liberty of making a few minor corrections to increase clarity.) The upper attachments of the gluteals and the lateral rotators are all included (the round ligament of the head of the femur is included but not labeled). The various attachments to the linea aspera could use a little clarification, however. From right to left, we can see that the gluteus maximus and the vastus lateralis are in the same fascial plane. The next attachment to the left is the short head of the biceps (which can also be seen in the plate of the hamstrings; here, we can see how long and strong its attachment is).
Next is the bony canal between the medial and lateral sweep of the linea aspera. On the inside, we see two fascial planes, which join at the bottom where the adductor magnus attaches to the femoral epicondyle. Above the adductor hiatus, we see the split into two planes: one running behind the adductors, between the adductors and the hamstrings, with the adductor magnus and its upper section, sometimes called (and labeled here) as adductor minimus. The other plane runs up the medial side of the adductors (up against the intermuscular septum between the adductors and the quadriceps) and includes the adductor longus and brevis, and on up into the pectineus and iliopsoas.
Illustration 17
Another humorous but useful mechanical rendition, this plate shows the lower leg and foot rendered as two simple blocks of wood, and the muscles as ropes. Here we can see the anterior compartment with the tibialis anterior and the two extensors passing under the retinacula. The peroneals can be seen on the outside, with the peroneus longus passing under the canal in the cuboid-carved as a little channel in the wood. The deep posterior compartment is especially instructive, with the toe flexors seen clearly crossing, and the big toe flexor going behind the heel to support the ankle in the push-off phase of walking.
Illustration 18
Another singular view, this time the plate looks up the leg from the bottom of the foot. In view are the multiple endings of the tibialis posterior tendon, part of the deep posterior compartment seen in the previous plate. The deepest muscle of the back of the leg, the tibialis posterior attaches to the back side of the interosseous membrane, and is only directly palpable just behind the medial side of the ankle. The attachments of the tendon shown here are deep to almost everything on the bottom of the foot, from the plantar fascia on up through the long plantar ligament. Notice how the tendon spreads like the fingers of a hand to bind together all the bones of the tarsum, except the talus-and it even reaches to the middle metatarsals. Even if we do not touch the muscle as part of our daily fare, however, it is still important to us in providing an essential support to the medial arch when it is properly toned, and is implicated in a high arch and supinated foot pattern when it is too highly toned.
Illustration 19
Again, what fun. We end with one of Grundy's ventures in physiology-a diagramatic look at our most ancient and fundamental organ system, the gut we are all built around. Grundy includes everything from the mouth to the anus, with a section through the upper GI tract to make the connections clearer. There are seven sphincters that separate the various sections of the alimentary canal, and Grundy, unusually but characteristically thorough, includes the lips, the sphincter that gets us into the most trouble. To see the mouth and pharynx abstracted from the rest of the face gives us a pause, but it is technically accurate in delineating the system. The cutaway in the stomach region gives Grundy the chance to show how the auxiliary organs-the liver, gall bladder and pancreas-get to put in their two cents (in literal terms, but invaluable in nutritional terms) worth of enzymes and breakdown agents.
We see how the system loops to the left for the stomach, and switches back to the right with the duodenum, and squiggles through the small intestine to the ileocecal valve, before a rise of fermentation in the ascending colon, and a final fall of putrefaction in the descending colon.
Grundy reminds us simultaneously of the miraculous wonder and mechanical practicality of our body. He glories in its strength, and yet conveys its frailty. He manages to combine humor and accuracy in a way we can only hope to emulate.
Thomas Myers studied directly with Dr. Ida Rolf and Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, and has practiced integrative bodywork for more than 25 years in a variety of clinical and cultural settings. He currently directs Kinesis, which conducts training seminars internationally for manual and movement therapists. A former chair of the Anatomy Faculty for the Rolf Institute, and a founding member of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, Myers has written several articles on the art and science of hands-on therapy, and has presented his concepts at several AMTA national and regional
conferences. A book on his "Anatomy Trains" approach to myofascial anatomy is due out in 2001.
These two figures are just fun, with the mechanical details, including the feet being screwed to the ground. The ropes, cleverly tied around the "pipe" of the leg, demonstrate the action of the hip joint ligaments, which are loosened when we flex, and tightened when we extend, or lean back. Yoga warrior poses and other lunge positions often run into the restrictions imposed by these ligaments, which open much more slowly than tight muscles.
The right-hand picture presents an unusual view of the femur, with the various singular and planar attachments of muscles connecting to the back of the thigh. (Author's note: This plate was labeled incorrectly in the original book. The author has taken the liberty of making a few minor corrections to increase clarity.) The upper attachments of the gluteals and the lateral rotators are all included (the round ligament of the head of the femur is included but not labeled). The various attachments to the linea aspera could use a little clarification, however. From right to left, we can see that the gluteus maximus and the vastus lateralis are in the same fascial plane. The next attachment to the left is the short head of the biceps (which can also be seen in the plate of the hamstrings; here, we can see how long and strong its attachment is).
Another humorous but useful mechanical rendition, this plate shows the lower leg and foot rendered as two simple blocks of wood, and the muscles as ropes. Here we can see the anterior compartment with the tibialis anterior and the two extensors passing under the retinacula. The peroneals can be seen on the outside, with the peroneus longus passing under the canal in the cuboid-carved as a little channel in the wood. The deep posterior compartment is especially instructive, with the toe flexors seen clearly crossing, and the big toe flexor going behind the heel to support the ankle in the push-off phase of walking.
Another singular view, this time the plate looks up the leg from the bottom of the foot. In view are the multiple endings of the tibialis posterior tendon, part of the deep posterior compartment seen in the previous plate. The deepest muscle of the back of the leg, the tibialis posterior attaches to the back side of the interosseous membrane, and is only directly palpable just behind the medial side of the ankle. The attachments of the tendon shown here are deep to almost everything on the bottom of the foot, from the plantar fascia on up through the long plantar ligament. Notice how the tendon spreads like the fingers of a hand to bind together all the bones of the tarsum, except the talus-and it even reaches to the middle metatarsals. Even if we do not touch the muscle as part of our daily fare, however, it is still important to us in providing an essential support to the medial arch when it is properly toned, and is implicated in a high arch and supinated foot pattern when it is too highly toned.
Again, what fun. We end with one of Grundy's ventures in physiology-a diagramatic look at our most ancient and fundamental organ system, the gut we are all built around. Grundy includes everything from the mouth to the anus, with a section through the upper GI tract to make the connections clearer. There are seven sphincters that separate the various sections of the alimentary canal, and Grundy, unusually but characteristically thorough, includes the lips, the sphincter that gets us into the most trouble. To see the mouth and pharynx abstracted from the rest of the face gives us a pause, but it is technically accurate in delineating the system. The cutaway in the stomach region gives Grundy the chance to show how the auxiliary organs-the liver, gall bladder and pancreas-get to put in their two cents (in literal terms, but invaluable in nutritional terms) worth of enzymes and breakdown agents.