Prof. Dr. Robert Schleip

"Exploring the body’s fascia network with curiosity: what an exciting and fascinating endeavor!

Robert Schleip is one of the world’s leading fascia researchers. After a long career in clinical practice and teaching as a body therapist using the Rolfing and Feldenkrais methods, he now devotes most of his time to basic research in the field of fascia. As a licensed psychologist, a Ph.D. in human biology, and the author and editor of numerous scholarly publications, he was and remains a driving force behind the first Fascia Research Congress (Harvard Medical School, Boston, 2007) and its subsequent congresses; he is the head of the Fascia Research Group (University of Ulm & Technical University of Munich), Research Director of the European Rolfing Association, and Vice President of the Fascia Research Society. His own publications on the active contractility of fascial tissues were honored with the Vladimir Janda Prize for Musculoskeletal Medicine.

What do you consider to be one of the most exciting aspects of global fascia research right now?

One topic that several teams are currently collaborating on is the question of what function the strikingly numerous sympathetic nerve endings in the body’s fascial network serve—including those that are not located near small blood vessels. Apparently, there is an important interaction with the immune system here, as well as regulation of the acidity of the ground substance. I expect exciting new findings in this area very soon. Another fascinating question involves investigating how vibratory, mechanical stimulation specifically stimulates the biochemistry, metabolism, and activity of fibroblasts. Here, too, I know of numerous laboratories that are researching different frequencies and applications related to this question. It’s quite possible that we’ll have clinically relevant results available in just a few months.