Let’s look at how your body handles impact and pressure through Force Distribution, or what we call The Trampoline Effect.
2. Deep Dive: Force Distribution (The Trampoline)
In a traditional view of anatomy, we look at “load-bearing” joints. We think of the weight of your head sitting on your neck, and your neck sitting on your shoulders. This is a very heavy way to live!
If your body actually worked this way—like a stack of bricks—your joints would crumble under the pressure of simply running for a bus.
The Trampoline vs. The Concrete
Imagine a trampoline. When you jump on it, the black mat doesn’t just “take the hit” right where your feet land. The springs all around the edge—even the ones on the far side—stretch and pull to distribute your weight.
Your anatomy chains are those springs.
- The Web: When your foot hits the ground, the force travels through the Plantar Fascia, up the Achilles tendon, through the Hamstrings, and into the Sacrum and Spine.
- The Load-Sharing: Because the chain is continuous, the “work” of absorbing that step is shared by hundreds of square inches of tissue rather than just the tiny surface area of your ankle joint.
What happens when a “Spring” breaks?
If you tie a knot in one part of a trampoline net, that section becomes stiff. When you jump, the net can’t stretch evenly anymore.
- Local Stress: The area right next to the knot has to stretch extra hard to make up for the stiff part.
- Systemic Failure: Eventually, the net tears—not at the knot, but at the overstretched area nearby.
In your body, this “knot” is often adhesion or “fuzz” in the fascia. If your outer thigh (the IT band) is stuck and won’t “give,” the force of your step can’t travel up the chain. It gets “trapped” in your knee.
“Strain” vs. “Stress”
In biotensegrity and anatomy chains, we distinguish between these two:
- Stress: The actual force applied (like the weight you lift).
- Strain: How the body deforms to handle that stress.
A healthy anatomy chain handles stress by distributing strain across the whole line. You want your whole body to “feel” the movement, rather than one joint “taking” the movement.
Why this is a game-changer for movement:
When you realize your body is a “trampoline,” you stop trying to “protect” your joints by making them stiff. Instead, you focus on making your chains supple and connected. > The Rule of 10: If you can distribute the force of a movement across 10 joints and 10 muscle groups via an anatomy chain, each part only has to handle 10% of the load. If your chain is “broken” or disconnected, one joint might have to handle 100% of that load. That is how injuries happen.
How to feel this:
If you stand up and lock your knees, you’ve just turned off the “springs” in your legs. Any vibration (like tapping your heel) goes straight to your lower back. If you soften your knees and “connect” your feet to your hips, you’ll feel the vibration dissipate into your muscles instead.