23/09/2026
Have you had your dog checked?
🐾 ARE WE ENTERING A NEW ERA OF FASCIA IN CANINE THERAPY? 🐾
If you’re anything like me, you might find history a little… boring! 😂
I struggled with it at school and, if I’m honest, I’ve never been someone who gets overly excited about looking backwards.
I’m much more interested in where we’re going next.
But recently, my studies sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole — and I have to admit, this one has been surprisingly fascinating.
So grab yourself a coffee ☕ because this Sunday morning I wanted to share one of my favourite topics at the moment:
FASCIA.
I’m fascinated by how much our understanding has changed — and, perhaps even more importantly, by how much we still don’t know.
And when you start looking into the history of fascia, you quickly realise that this isn’t some new concept that suddenly appeared in the therapy world.
The tissues we now discuss as part of the fascial system have been observed and described for centuries.
What has changed dramatically is how we understand them.
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🧬 SO, WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
The word fascia has been used in English-language anatomical literature for around 400 years.
Historically, fascia was often described primarily as sheets, membranes or coverings surrounding muscles and other structures.
Modern anatomical thinking has broadened considerably.
Today, fascia is generally discussed as a body-wide network of connective tissues, and researchers are investigating its structure, mechanical properties, sensory innervation, vascularity, relationship with the nervous system and possible contribution to movement and pain.
That shift in thinking is important.
Rather than simply seeing connective tissue as something that covers a muscle, we’re increasingly interested in how connective tissues interact with the structures around them.
How do they respond to load?
How do they adapt?
How do they communicate with the nervous system?
How might they contribute to movement?
How might they influence the way forces are transmitted through the body?
We’ve been studying these tissues for centuries…
…but we are still learning what they actually do. 🧠
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🦴 THEN CAME ANDREW TAYLOR STILL
One person who is particularly important in this historical story is Andrew Taylor Still (1828–1917), the founder of osteopathy.
Still introduced osteopathy in 1874 and developed a philosophy that placed considerable emphasis on the relationship between structure and function and on viewing the body as an interconnected whole.
Osteopathic thinking subsequently developed and evolved, with commonly described principles including:
1️⃣ The body functions as an integrated unit.
2️⃣ Structure and function are closely related.
3️⃣ The body possesses mechanisms of self-regulation.
4️⃣ Treatment should consider the individual as a whole.
5️⃣ The relationships between structure, function and circulation are important.
The exact principles and their interpretation have changed over time, and modern osteopathic practice encompasses a wide range of approaches.
But that underlying concept of looking beyond an isolated body part is incredibly interesting when we think about movement.
And this is one area where I think osteopathy has contributed significantly to the broader conversation around manual therapy:
Instead of simply asking:
“What is wrong with this muscle?”
we can start asking:
“What is happening within the wider system?”
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🧘♀️ THE STORY CONTINUED…
During the 20th century, people such as Mabel Elsworth Todd explored posture, movement and the relationship between the body and gravity.
Then came Ida P. Rolf, whose work became known as Structural Integration or Rolfing.
Rolf placed considerable emphasis on connective tissue and structural relationships, contributing to a growing interest in viewing the body as an interconnected system rather than simply a collection of separate muscles and bones.
And eventually, this developing interest in connective tissue, movement and interconnected anatomy began influencing many different areas of manual therapy and movement education.
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🚂 ANATOMY TRAINS
Fast-forward to 2001 and Thomas W. Myers published Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists.
The book became hugely influential within manual therapy and movement communities.
Myers proposed that muscles and connective tissues could be considered as interconnected myofascial continuities rather than always being viewed completely in isolation.
He described a series of anatomical “trains” — proposed lines of continuity through the body that provide a framework for thinking about posture, movement and tension.
And this is where I find the concept particularly interesting.
Instead of only asking:
“Which muscle is tight?”
we can also ask:
“What else might be contributing to this movement pattern?”
However, there is an important distinction.
The Anatomy Trains model is a useful clinical and anatomical framework, but not every proposed continuity should be treated as a proven explanation for every movement or symptom.
The science is still developing.
And honestly?
I think that makes it even more fascinating.
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👐 MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
The development of myofascial release approaches added another chapter.
The term is commonly associated with osteopath Robert Ward, who used the terminology in the 1960s, while practitioners such as John F. Barnes subsequently developed and popularised particular approaches through clinical practice and education.
Today, “myofascial release” describes a number of different manual therapy approaches rather than one universally standardised treatment.
That is worth remembering.
There isn’t one single technique called myofascial release.
There are different schools, theories and methods.
What they share is an interest in the relationship between the muscular and connective tissue systems and movement.
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🐕 AND THEN WE COME TO OUR DOGS…
This is where it gets particularly exciting for me.
Because much of the detailed fascial research has historically been conducted in humans and other laboratory or animal models, while the evidence specifically examining fascial therapy in dogs is considerably more limited.
That means we need to be careful.
We can learn a huge amount from human anatomy, biomechanics and fascia research.
But we cannot simply assume that everything demonstrated in humans automatically translates directly to dogs.
Dogs have their own anatomy.
Their own biomechanics.
Their own movement patterns.
Their own adaptations.
And their own ways of responding to touch, load, exercise and injury.
So canine practitioners have an exciting responsibility:
To take what we know, remain curious about what we don’t know, and continue learning.
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🕸️ THE FASCIA AS A CONNECTIVE WEB
One of the most useful ways of explaining fascia to a client is to imagine it as a three-dimensional connective web throughout the body.
It isn’t literally a spider’s web, of course.
But the analogy can help us understand the idea of continuity.
Fascia surrounds and interweaves with muscles and other structures, creating relationships throughout the body.
This means that movement isn’t simply about one muscle contracting and one joint moving.
The body has to coordinate multiple tissues and systems together.
When tissues become less mobile, stiff or restricted, this may alter how neighbouring tissues move relative to one another.
And when muscles don’t slide and glide as freely as we’d like, movement can potentially become less efficient or comfortable.
This is why I find fascial work so interesting within clinical canine massage and bodywork.
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🐾 CLINICAL CANINE MASSAGE IS EVOLVING
Canine massage has changed enormously.
We are moving away from the idea that massage is simply about “rubbing sore muscles”.
Modern canine massage and rehabilitation increasingly sit alongside disciplines such as:
🔹 Veterinary medicine
🔹 Veterinary physiotherapy
🔹 Rehabilitation
🔹 Sports medicine
🔹 Therapeutic exercise
🔹 Biomechanics
🔹 Behaviour
🔹 Pain science
🔹 Manual therapy
🔹 Strength and conditioning
And fascia is becoming part of that wider conversation.
For me, this doesn’t mean abandoning everything we’ve learned before.
Quite the opposite.
It means building on it.
We can look at the muscles.
We can look at the joints.
We can look at posture.
We can look at gait.
We can look at movement.
We can consider the nervous system.
And we can consider the connective tissues that help link all of those structures together.
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🌊 CREATING MORE DYNAMIC MOVEMENT
This is also where my own fascination with fascial release comes in.
My approach isn’t about forcing a tissue to change.
It’s about working with the body and encouraging more comfortable, fluid movement through the tissues.
When tissues are able to move relative to one another, we can support better sliding and gliding between structures.
That may help contribute to greater freedom of movement and a more dynamic quality of movement.
And for a dog, that can be incredibly important.
Because mobility isn’t just about whether a dog can walk.
It’s about being able to:
🐾 Get up comfortably
🐾 Turn and change direction
🐾 Walk and trot
🐾 Climb or descend safely
🐾 Play
🐾 Exercise
🐾 Jump when appropriate
🐾 Maintain everyday movement
🐾 Enjoy a good quality of life
Of course, manual therapy isn’t a replacement for veterinary assessment, diagnosis, rehabilitation or appropriate exercise.
It’s one part of a much bigger picture.
And that’s exactly how I believe it should be viewed.
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🧠 HUMAN FASCIA → CANINE FASCIA
Perhaps one of the most exciting things happening now is the conversation between different disciplines.
Human fascia research has given us fascinating information about connective tissue biology, mechanotransduction, sensory innervation, proprioception, tissue adaptation and load transmission.
Canine rehabilitation can then ask:
What might this mean for our dogs?
But rather than jumping straight from human research to canine treatment claims, we need to keep asking questions and building the evidence specifically for dogs.
That is where research matters.
That is where continuing education matters.
And that is where professional curiosity matters.
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🔬 WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO
The International Fascia Research Congress began in 2007 at Harvard Medical School, bringing researchers and clinicians from different disciplines together to share emerging fascia research.
Since then, fascia research has continued to develop.
Researchers have investigated areas including:
🔹 Fascial biomechanics
🔹 Mechanotransduction
🔹 Sensory innervation
🔹 Proprioception
🔹 Pain
🔹 Tissue adaptation
🔹 Load transmission
🔹 Movement
But here’s the part I really want to emphasise:
Fascia is not a finished story.
There are well-established anatomical observations.
There are interesting emerging findings.
There are clinical models.
There are hypotheses.
And there are areas where the evidence is still developing.
We shouldn’t confuse the exciting possibilities with proven clinical outcomes.
Instead, we should remain curious.
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🐕❤️ SO, ARE WE ENTERING A NEW ERA OF FASCIA IN CANINE THERAPY?
From centuries of anatomical observation…
To Andrew Taylor Still and osteopathy…
To Mabel Elsworth Todd and movement…
To Ida Rolf and Structural Integration…
To Thomas Myers and Anatomy Trains…
To the development of myofascial release…
To modern fascia research…
…and now to the growing world of clinical canine massage, rehabilitation and movement therapy…
That’s quite a journey.
And the canine chapter is still being written.
I absolutely love that. 🐾
Because perhaps the most exciting thing about fascia isn’t that we’ve finally figured it all out.
It’s that we’re beginning to ask better questions.
How does connective tissue contribute to movement?
How does the nervous system interact with these tissues?
How do tissues adapt to load, injury and exercise?
How does canine fascia compare with human fascia?
How much of what we learn from human research can genuinely be applied to dogs?
And perhaps most importantly:
How can we continue developing our knowledge so that the therapies we provide are thoughtful, evidence-informed and genuinely centred around the individual dog?
We don’t have all the answers yet.
And that’s okay.
Because science is a journey.
We’re learning. We’re questioning. We’re evolving.
And I think that’s something worth getting excited about. 🐾✨
What do you think?
Are we only just beginning to understand the potential importance of fascia in canine movement and rehabilitation?
I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts. ❤️
Content written by me. Image generated using AI.
