A Shift in Perspective From Mechanics to Tensegrity

In our latest equine webinar series, Dr Elizabeth Uhl and Dr Michelle Osborn deeply challenge our perceptions, perspectives and beliefs when it comes to how we evaluate our patients, develop treatment programmes, and understand pathology. I would like to share a few of my biggest learning points from this webinar series with you.

?

1.????? Rethinking Functional Anatomy: What we have failed to notice

Our primary understanding of the body is based on a mechanical model. We learn about and understand the shape and function of the components of the body mechanically – each muscle has an origin and an insertion point, which indicates its action. We see the spine as blocks stacked on top of one another in people, and in animals we compare the spine to some form of suspension bridge. This model of understanding is compression-based – we build ‘something’ by stacking its parts on top of one another, in a way that provides stability.

This is not how the body functions, however, and when we try to recreate the body from a compression-based standpoint, we lose the mobility, adaptability and grace of the structure.

Drs Uhl and Osborn posit that the body is rather a tension-based structure. This simple shift in perspective changes everything about how we understand anatomy, pathology and treatment.

In a compression-based model, joints need to be in contact with one another and would experience friction with movement – the more the joint moves, the faster it would wear. We see the opposite effect in a tensegrity-based model, where there is no contact between joint surfaces and they do not wear with movement. Rather, we see wear and tear when movement is no longer in tensegrity and the joint surfaces therefore come into contact with one another.

When force is applied to a compression-based model, it is localised and concentrated. When applied to a tensegrity model, it is dispersed through tensioned structures.? A body in tensegrity can remodel in response to mechanical force; as a result, changes in one area will be dispersed throughout the body. This model far better describes the living body and allows us to understand pathology, and why so many of our treatment approaches fail to bring long-term healing and function.

In their lecture, Drs Uhl and Osborn go on to explore what causes lameness, a case study where there was hyperextension of the hind fetlocks and why this occurred, and, very importantly, they explain degenerative joint disease from the tensegrity perspective, changing everything…

Why does it matter how we think the body works?

Our understanding of how the body works will fully determine how we treat it and what we expect the outcomes of that treatment to be.

When we see the body through the lens of a compression-based model, we focus on the static management of mechanical force. We cannot explain the relationship between structure and function, and we ignore the fascia, to a large degree. We emphasise isolated areas of pathology instead of what damaged them. Most importantly, we often see that outcomes are poor, conditions recur, and pathology progresses.

When we shift to a tensegrity-based understanding of the body, we focus more on the dynamic management of mechanical forces. We place an emphasis on the fascia and the interconnected nature of the body, which leads us to look for the causes of pathology within the whole body function of the horse. This results in a highly individualised therapeutic approach that is based on the functional movement, pathology and presentation of the individual.

With this shift in perspective, many individuals have experienced therapeutic outcomes that completely break the rules in terms of their prognosis and ability to return to function.

?

2.????? Functional Whole-Body Modeling of Horse and Rider

In this fascinating webinar, Drs Uhl and Osborn describe the process of the creation of a 3D model of horse and rider, and the many applications of this kind of technology. An essential aspect of the model that they point out is the inverted rotation of the thoracolumbar spine that occurs in an incorrect bend, and the impact this can have on the functional movement of the horse.

Lateral flexion of the thoracolumbar spine is coupled with rotation. This rotation can occur in the same direction as the bend of the horse, which is ideal, or it can occur in the opposite direction to the bend, with an inverted rotation of the ribcage. In strong lateral flexion of the head and neck, rotation of the ribcage will be inverted.

Their lecture highlights a concept that they build on in subsequent lectures – the same exercise or movement can either cripple or rehabilitate a horse. For movements such as walking, collection, shoulder-in or haunches-in to be beneficial, they must be formed correctly.

For insights on navicular syndrome and cervical DJD from this series, continue reading here