Architecture of Human Living Fascia - by Jean Claude Guimberteau & Colin Armstrong (Paperback)

About the Book

1 DVD-ROM in plastic pocket inside front cover.

Book Synopsis

This unique book illustrates the structure of the fascia in the living human being. Dr Guimberteau's photographs provide a detailed account of fascial architecture. He is the first person to publish video "movies" showing the structure of the fascia and how the fascia responds to it. The accompanying text explains what the photographs mean, clarifies the importance of the fascia, and sets out the implications of these findings for everyday therapeutic practice.
This beautifully illustrated book provides an introduction to Dr Guimberteau's groundbreaking work. Based on what can be seen he has developed his own concept of the multifibrillar structural organisation of the body, wherein the "microvacuole" is the basic functional unit. His films confirm the continuity of fibres throughout the body thereby seeming to confirm the tensegrity theory, which provides the basis of many manual therapy and bodywork teachings. His work ties in with that of Donald Ingber on tensegrity within the cytoskeleton, and adds to the evidence linking the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix as described by James Oschman. The book provides, for the first time, an explanatory introduction and explanation of these theories. This material will be highly valued by osteopaths, massage therapists, chiropractors and others as it provides part of the scientific underpinning of their techniques, as well as an explanation of what is happening when they use those techniques to treat their clients.
So Guimberteau's material confirms what manual therapists already believed but didn't fully understand. He has provided an explanation of how fascial layers slide over each other and how adjacent structures can move independently in different directions and at different speeds while maintaining the stability of the surrounding tissues.

About the Author

Dr Jean-Claude Guimberteau is co-founder and scientific director of the Institut Aquitain de la Main, and past-President 2011-2012 of the French Society for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (SOFCPRE). Dr Guimberteau trained in hand and plastic surgery at the University of Bordeaux, under Professors Goumain and Baudet. He worked in microsurgery and transplantation, extending his surgical experience through working in the USA with Dr J M Converse and Dr Ralph Millard. With Professor Claude Verdan in Switzerland and Dr Harold Kleinert in the USA he wrote a book: New ideas in hand surgery He has developed our knowledge of the structure and function of tendon physiology, and pioneered techniques for secondary flexor tendon repair. Perhaps his most significant contribution to our understanding of human biology has come about through his innovative use of video-endoscopy to investigate the structure of the fascia in vivo, resulting in what is essentially a new concept of living tissue and a new ontology for human body architecture. Through the company endovivo.com he has published many videos on living matter: Strolling under the skin, 2005; Skin excursion, 2008; Muscle Attitude, 2009; Interior Architectures, 2011; Skin, Scars and Stiffness, 2012; and Destination Tendon, 2012 Dr Guimberteau is also a member of the French Hand Society (GEM), and of the French Academy of Surgery. He has been a member of the (French) Health Service High Authority 2007-2010.