What is the Difference Between Aponeurosis and Fascia

Aponeurosis and fascia are two connective tissues in the human body. Connective tissue is one of the four types of animal tissues in the body, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. Connective tissue is mainly composed of an extracellular matrix and a limited number of cells. Sometimes, aponeurosis and fascia are associated with each other. This is because aponeuroses can also act as fascia.

The key difference between aponeurosis and fascia is their structure and function. Aponeurosis is a thin sheath of connective tissue that helps connect the muscles to the bones of the body, while fascia is a sheath of stringy connective tissue that surrounds every part of the body and keeps the muscle in place.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Aponeurosis 
3. What is Fascia
4. Similarities – Aponeurosis and Fascia
5. Aponeurosis vs Fascia in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Aponeurosis vs Fascia
7. FAQ – Aponeurosis and Fascia

What is Aponeurosis?

Aponeurosis is a flat sheet of connective tissue in the body that is important for movement and posture. Aponeurosis is similar to a tendon, but it does have a different role. It covers the muscles and acts as an insertion point for muscle fibres to connect the muscles to nearby bones and cartilage. There are different aponeurosis in the body such as bicipital aponeurosis, epicranial aponeurosis, palmer aponeurosis, plantar aponeurosis, erector spinae aponeurosis, aponeurosis of external oblique.

Figure 01: Aponeurosis

Aponeurosis works as a spring to endure the tension and extra pressure while moving, and it absorbs energy during muscle movement. Moreover, aponeuroses can also act like another type of connective tissue called fascia. Furthermore, there are several conditions affecting the function of aponeurosis, including plantar aponeurosis tear and masticatory muscle tendon-aponeurosis hyperplasia.

What is Fascia?

Fascia is fibrous connective tissue that wraps around and supports the muscles, organs, and bones. Fascia provides support to organs, muscles, bones, and tissues that surround all cells, nerves, joints, tissues, tendons, and ligaments throughout the body.

Figure 02: Fascia

Fascia is located throughout the inside of the body. It has several layers such as superficial fascia, deep fascia, visceral fascia, and parietal fascia. Furthermore, there are different conditions that affect the functions of the fascia such as plantar fasciitis, myofascial pain syndrome, Dupuytren’s contracture, frozen shoulder, peyronie’s disease, compartment syndrome, hernia, Ehlers-Danalos syndrome, and Marfan syndrome.

Similarities Between Aponeurosis and Fascia

1. Aponeurosis and fascia are two connective tissues in the body.
2. Aponeuroses can also act like another type of connective tissue called fascia.
3. Both connective tissues perform very important functions in the body.
4. There are several conditions affecting the function of both connective tissues.

Difference Between Aponeurosis and Fascia

Definition

1. Aponeurosis is a thin, flat sheet of connective tissue that helps connect the muscles to the bones.
2. Fascia is a band of thin fibrous connective tissue that wraps around and supports every structure in the body.

Structural Significance

1. There are different types of aponeurosis in the body like bicipital aponeurosis, epicranial aponeurosis, palmer aponeurosis, plantar aponeurosis, erector spinae aponeurosis, aponeurosis of external oblique.
2. There are different layers in the fascia, such as superficial fascia, deep fascia, visceral fascia, and parietal fascia.

Function

1. Aponeurosis functions as a spring to endure the tension and extra pressure during motion, absorbs energy during muscle movement and acts as another type of connective tissue like fascia.
2. Fascia provides structure and support throughout the body, holds the muscles together which allows them to contract and stretch, and provides a smooth surface for the muscles, joints and organs to slide against each other without any friction.

Diseases Affecting

1. Plantar aponeurosis tear and masticatory muscle tendon-aponeurosis hyperplasia are two diseases affecting aponeurosis.
2. Plantar fasciitis, myofascial pain syndrome, Dupuytren’s contracture, frozen shoulder, Peyronie’s disease, compartment syndrome, hernia, Ehlers-Danalos syndrome, and Marfan syndrome are diseases affecting fascia.

The following table summarizes the difference between aponeurosis and fascia.

Summary – Aponeurosis vs Fascia

Aponeurosis and fascia are two connective tissues that help the muscle function. Aponeurosis is a thin, flat connective tissue that connects muscle to bones and cartilage, while fascia is a thin, stringy connective tissue that wraps around and supports different structures throughout the body, including organs, muscles, tendons, ligaments, tissues, nerves, joints and bones. This is the summary of the difference between aponeurosis and fascia.

FAQ: Aponeurosis and Fascia

1. What is the difference between aponeurosis and tendon?

• Aponeurosis is made of layers of delicate, thin sheaths, while tendons are tough and rope-like. Moreover, aponeurosis has the function of absorbing energy during the movement of the muscle whereas tendon has the function of stretching and contracting during muscle movements.

2. What is aponeurosis and its function?

• Aponeurosis is a connective tissue in the body. It is a tendon-like material that provides anchorage to muscles and provides wide area attachment to the sheet-like muscles. It helps muscles to connect to the bone.

3. What is an example of aponeurosis?

• These flat tendon-like connective tissues are present in different parts of the body. Some examples of aponeurosis in humans are epicranial aponeurosis, abdominal aponeurosis and plantar aponeurosis.

4. What is the fascia in the body?

• Fascia is a sheath of stringy, fibrous connective tissue that surrounds every part of the body. It wraps around every structure and provides support to muscles, tendons, ligaments, tissues, organs, nerves, joints, and bones.

5. How does it release a tight fascia?

• Tight fascia can be released by heat therapy, yoga, using a foam roller, massage therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy, cold therapy, and fascia blasting.

Reference:

1. “Aponeurosis.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Fascia: Overview, Anatomy, and Treatment.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Aponeurosis 100X” By Ganímedes – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Figure 3.4.9 Fascia Organization” By ASCCC OERI (CC BY 2.0 DEED) via Flickr

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