Robert Schleip PhD
The Spine of the StoryBoth a Clinician and Scientist and one of the Pioneers in Fascia Research – Robert’s narrative builds a bridge between science, the clinic and everything in between.
Sliep’s Role in the Secret Life of Fascia Documentary
By articulating the nature of fascia, Dr. Robert Schliep is helping reinvigorate manual therapy, sports medicine, and Recovery.
Books by Dr. Schleip


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"Think of Fascia as a Spring"
Dr. Schleip
"Fascia has been treated like a Cinderella in the whole field of medicine."
Dr. Schleip
Curated Videos of Robert Schleip
Fascinating Fascia: Latest News
Fascial Fitness Pilates Workshop
Fascia as internal sensor
Interview with Dr. Schleip on New Perspectives in Fascia Research
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Podcast Interviews with
Dr. Robert Schleip
Adopting VS BUying
“The Fascia Episode! Dr. Robert Schleip leading Fascia research scientist shares up to date news on Ultrasound imaging of fascia, measuring fascia elasticity and the devices he uses, breaking news on the number of sensory nerve endings in fascia and much more!”
Books and Ideas Podcast
“An interview with Dr. Robert Schleip of the University of Ulm, Germany. We discuss recent discoveries about fascia-a key element of connective tissue, which is involved in wound-healing and chronic pain. Dr. Schleip also shares his personal experience in moving from his role as a practitioner of rolfing to doing basic science research.”
Selection of Published Articles and Papers by Dr. Robert Schleip
Fascial plasticity–a new neurobiological explanation: Part 1
R Schleip – Journal of Bodywork and movement therapies, 2003 – Elsevier
In myofascial manipulation an immediate tissue release is often felt under the working hand.
This amazing feature has traditionally been attributed to mechanical properties of the
connective tissue. Yet studies have shown that either much stronger forces or longer …
Cited by 413 Related articles
Fascial plasticity–a new neurobiological explanation: Part 1
Journal of Bodywork and movement therapies, 2003 – Elsevier
R Schleip –
In myofascial manipulation an immediate tissue release is often felt under the working hand.
This amazing feature has traditionally been attributed to mechanical properties of the
connective tissue. Yet studies have shown that either much stronger forces or longer …
Cited by 413 Related articles
Fascial plasticity–a new neurobiological explanation: Part 1
R Schleip – Journal of Bodywork and movement therapies, 2003 – Elsevier
In myofascial manipulation an immediate tissue release is often felt under the working hand.
This amazing feature has traditionally been attributed to mechanical properties of the
connective tissue. Yet studies have shown that either much stronger forces or longer …
Cited by 413 Related articles All 25 versions
Fascial plasticity–a new neurobiological explanation Part 2
R Schleip – Journal of Bodywork and movement therapies, 2003 – Elsevier
Part 1 of this two part article showed that immediate fascial responsiveness to manipulation
cannot be explained by its mechanical properties alone. Fascia is densely innervated by
mechanoreceptors which are responsive to myofascial manipulation. They are intimately …
What is ‘fascia‘? A review of different nomenclatures
R Schleip, H Jäger, W Klingler – Journal of bodywork and movement …, 2012 – Elsevier
There are many different definitions of fascia. Here the three most common nomenclatures
are compared, including that of the Federative International Committee on Anatomical
Terminology (1998), the definition included in the latest British edition of Gray’s Anatomy …
Cited by 116 Related articles All 13 versions
Training principles for fascial connective tissues: scientific foundation and suggested practical applications
R Schleip, DG Müller – Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 2013 – Elsevier
Conventional sports training emphasizes adequate training of muscle fibres, of
cardiovascular conditioning and/or neuromuscular coordination. Most sports-associated
overload injuries however occur within elements of the body wide fascial net, which are then …
Active fascial contractility: fascia may be able to contract in a smooth muscle-like manner and thereby influence musculoskeletal dynamics
R Schleip, W Klingler, F Lehmann-Horn – Medical hypotheses, 2005 – Elsevier
Dense connective tissue sheets, commonly known as fascia, play an important role as force
transmitters in human posture and movement regulation. Fascia is usually seen as having a
passive role, transmitting mechanical tension which is generated by muscle activity or …
Cited by 236 Related articles All 18 versions
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Active fascial contractility: fascia may be able to contract in a smooth muscle-like manner and thereby influence musculoskeletal dynamics
R Schleip, W Klingler, F Lehmann-Horn – Medical hypotheses, 2005 – Elsevier
Dense connective tissue sheets, commonly known as fascia, play an important role as force
transmitters in human posture and movement regulation. Fascia is usually seen as having a
passive role, transmitting mechanical tension which is generated by muscle activity or …
[PDF] Book Review of Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body
R Schleip, TW Findley, L Chaitow, PA Huijing – 2012 – researchgate.net
The just released and long-anticipated book on fascia is a noteworthy accomplishment
inspired in part by the 2007, 2009, and 2012 International Fascia Congresses in which
researchers from diverse fields and a great variety of hands-on clinicians came together to …
[HTML] Three-dimensional mathematical model for deformation of human fasciae in manual therapy
H Chaudhry, R Schleip, Z Ji, B Bukiet… – The Journal of the …, 2008 – Am Osteopathic Assoc
Context: Although mathematical models have been developed for the bony movement
occurring during chiropractic manipulation, such models are not available for soft tissue
motion. Objective: To develop a three-dimensional mathematical model for exploring the …
Cited by 104 Related articles All 8 versions
[PDF] Fascia is able to contract in a smooth muscle-like manner and thereby influence musculoskeletal mechanics
R Schleip, W Klingler… – Journal of Biomechanics, 2006 – researchgate.net
With immunohistological analysis we demonstrate the presence of myofibroblasts in normal
human fasciae, particularly the fascia lata, plantar fascia, and the lumbar fascia. Density was
found to be highest in the lumbar fascia and seems to be positively related to physical …
Cited by 68 Related articles All 8 versions
Passive muscle stiffness may be influenced by active contractility of intramuscular connective tissue
R Schleip, IL Naylor, D Ursu, W Melzer, A Zorn… – Medical hypotheses, 2006 – Elsevier
The article introduces the hypothesis that intramuscular connective tissue, in particular the
fascial layer known as the perimysium, may be capable of active contraction and
consequently influence passive muscle stiffness, especially in tonic muscles. Passive …
Cited by 147 Related articles All 17 versions
Strain hardening of fascia: static stretching of dense fibrous connective tissues can induce a temporary stiffness increase accompanied by enhanced matrix hydration
R Schleip, L Duerselen, A Vleeming, IL Naylor… – Journal of bodywork and …, 2012 – Elsevier
This study examined a potential cellular basis for strain hardening of fascial tissues: an
increase in stiffness induced by stretch and subsequent rest. Mice lumbodorsal fascia were
isometrically stretched for 15 min followed by 30 min rest (n= 16). An increase in stiffness …
Cited by 62 Related articles All 10 versions