The tensor fascia lata (TFL) is a muscle that is continuous with the fascia lata (iliotibial tractIT band), an unusually shaped tendon, a wide sheath that runs along the outer thigh and inserts on the side of the tibia near the knee.
Despite analysis based on its location, the TFL does not function as an abductor or flexor of the thigh at the hip, but instead lifts the opposite side of the pelvis by pulling down on its attachment near the AIIS (anterior inferior iliac spine) during movement. of the foot ground-based period of walking or running. That is, when the weight is on one leg and the ground stabilizes it, the tensor fasciae latae pulls down on your side of the pelvis and lifts the opposite side, while the opposite leg swings forward.
The action of the TFL is assisted by the quadratus lumborum (QL) on the opposite side, whose contraction helps lift that side of the pelvis.
In effect, TFL and QL together cause a reaching action of the leg. The abdominal obliques on the QL (opposite) side are often involved, too,
Movements of these muscles are synergistically assisted by a movement of the opposite leg with the knee forward in hip flexion, as the iliopsoas and gluteus minimus muscles bring the free leg forward.
This synergy is best understood not as “muscles helping each other”, but as “the brain coordinating movements”, since coordination is a brain function and coordinated action of the legs is inherent in organisms with legs. For movement education purposes, a higher level of brain integration results from movement training that involves both legs at the same time, each leg doing their respective contralateral opposing walking movements, than from training that addresses one leg at a time. .
Unequal apparent leg length problems often involve a typically tight TFL on the side of the longer leg and tight psoas and obliques on the side of the shorter leg. Compression of the hip joint due to gluteal contraction may also be involved, a problem that often leads to hip joint replacement surgery. Increased TFL tension puts pressure on the fascia lata, inducing “IT band syndrome,” which can be alleviated by relieving the person with a tight TFL of the reflex muscle tension that holds the TFL and its synergists tight , usually through sensorimotor training. (a subspecialty of somatic education).
Retraction of the leg (along its length, as would result from the action of the ipsilateral QL or the obliques) inhibits, interferes with, or confounds the action of the ipsilateral TFL and must be addressed for movement training to be successful. optimal success. That means the protraction (reaching) and retraction (shortening) movements of both legs need to be released and improved. When working with the TFL on one side, a movement from the knee to the chest of the other leg is helpful.
Unequal leg length usually indicates an injury to one side of the body (not necessarily a lower extremity injury) at some point in life, where the change in leg length was not due to the injury, but to the protective shrinkage at the site of injury. causing limb retraction. Activity in stressful athletic situations (such as walking downhill or running) can further trigger the withdrawal response.
With this understanding, it is clear why movement training through somatic education is a superior approach to massage, stretching, bracing, ice, or cortisone injections, and how somatic education can complement and accelerate progress in movement. physiotherapy.