Please join me in an adventure that waits for us inside our cells. During this short lecture, I am hoping to provide you with a glimpse of cellular research in the 2020s. Humans are multicellular organisms, which means that the cells in our tissues need to be able to work and communicate together in homeostasis. Cells have multiple ways to communicate with one another and their surroundings, but today we will focus on just one: mechanical force. What kind of forces will cells face in their unique bodily niches? How do cells react when different forces are applied to its cell membranes? This is what the fancy term ‘mechanotransduction’ really means. In other words, converting external mechanical force into cellular biochemical force leading to a change in cell behavior. However, communication between cells and the extracellular matrix is reciprocal - if it goes off balance, out of homeostasis, there will be consequences. Sounds very familiar (try to recall osteopathic principles), right?

Beneath the anatomy we palpate lies an intelligent and responsive architecture: the extracellular matrix. This lecture explores the ECM as the hidden conductor of adaptation, inflammation, and intercellular communication — and reveals how osteopathic touch may influence this matrix across mechanical, biochemical, psycho-emotional, and even electromagnetic dimensions. Drawing on recent insights from systems biology, immunology, and fascia research, we will reframe the body not as a machine to be fixed, but as a dynamic matrix to be listened to… fluid, fractal, and alive.

There is mounting evidence that musculoskeletal pain conditions correlates with psychological factors such as chronic stress, depression and anxiety as well as lifestyle factors such as obesity, sleep disturbances and physical inactivity. What are the mechanisms behind these correlations and what does it mean for professionals dealing with this patient group?

While earlier sessions explore the inner workings of the patient — from cellular construction and matrix physics to homeostasis — this closing lecture turns the lens back on the clinician. Drawing on new evidence and the findings of Alexander et al., 2021, we will explore why palpation validity has remained elusive for decades and how factors such as fatigue, pain, emotional state, and metabolic imbalance within the clinician profoundly distort sensory accuracy. For the first time, we will reframe failed reliability not as a failure of technique, but as a reflection of the practitioner’s own physiological and interoceptive state — and discuss practical strategies to restore precision, presence, and trust in our hands.