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Resumo
Manual therapy commonly begins at the site where pain is reported. This local approach remains clinically useful, but recurrent symptoms may indicate that the painful region does not contain every factor involved in the problem. Fascia forms a continuous and innervated connective tissue network involved in force transmission, tissue sliding, sensory input, and cellular adaptation. Its relationship with neural, vascular, and immune processes offers a possible framework for understanding why local symptoms may be influenced by regional or wider factors. Manual contact may also produce neurophysiological and contextual responses that cannot be attributed to structural tissue change alone. This narrative article examines how fascial continuity, mechanotransduction, biotensegrity, and pain regulation may contribute to clinical reasoning in manual therapy. The proposed approach does not replace local assessment or treatment. Instead, it suggests that the behaviour and recurrence of symptoms should guide the clinician in deciding when a wider, individual evaluation is required.
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