CONGRESS OF FASCIAL MANIPULATION® ASSOCIATION

LUIGI STECCO physiotherapist since 1975, carries out his professional activity as physiotherapist in Arzignano. He is the creator of the manipulative technique of evaluation and treatment called “Manipolazione Fasciale®” – “Fascial Manipulation®”- “STECCO®”
He is the author of several books on Fascial Manipulation, which have been translated into several languages.

XIAOXIAO ZHAO is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Padova, her research focus is fascia alteration in different neurological disorders.  She is also a registered physiotherapist in the UK. She has built a diverse professional background that bridges clinical practice, sports rehabilitation, and academic research. Her clinical experience includes working as a physiotherapist at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and as a Sports Rehab Therapist at the Hong Kong Sports Institute’s Sports Medicine Centre. For research experience, Xiaoxiao has also working as a Research Assistant at Hong Kong Baptist University conducted research about physical activity and health.

LORENZA BONALDI born in Venice in 1991. She lived in Scotland during her last university year. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 4 years. Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with specialization in Artificial Intelligence and biomechanics. Degree in Physiotherapy with specialization in fascial manipulation.

TIINA LAHTINEN-SUOPANKI PT, Fascial Manipulation® Stecco instructor, spezializes in orthopedic manual therapy and psychophysical physiotherapy and has bachelor´s degree in health sciences with exercise medicine as the main subject. She has been co-author in the FM® chapter of the new Edition of The Tensional Network of The Human Body Book and in research articles about physiotherapy/manual therapy and is currently involved in a study project on the effect of Fascial Manipulation on chronic low back pain. She has been teacher of physiotherapists’ ongoing education in manual and exercise therapy for over 30 years and became an authorized instructor of Fascial Manipulation® in 2014. Her motivation to understand the underlying factors behind dysfunctions that manifest as movement control disorders, non-specific pain and “medically unexplained symptoms” has been the driving force behind continuing to seek out different explanations and treatment possibilities from those already available.

ELENA LUCANI is a physiotherapist specialized in Fascial Manipulation using the Stecco Method, with many years of experience in sports, post-surgical, and vascular rehabilitation.
Since 1997, she has been working as a freelancer in Arezzo, and since 2015, she has been exclusively dedicated to Fascial Manipulation, using it as her sole rehabilitation tool.
She is a lecturer in advanced gnathology courses and conferences, as well as a lecturer at the University of Perugia in the Dentistry degree program and the Master’s program in Cranio-Cervico-Mandibular Biomechanics.
She has also completed a three-year specialized training at the Stecco Institute and obtained advanced certifications in TMJ disorders and orofacial pain at Unicamillus University. She is a lecturer in Fascial Manipulation and TMJ Specialist.

FRANCESCO BURACCHI has been working as a dentist for twenty years at his practice in Arezzo. He earned a second-level Master’s degree in Maxillofacial Reconstructive Surgery at CTO in Florence and completed his surgical training at the British Royal Infirmary in Bristol.
He also obtained a second-level Master’s degree in Gnathology at La Sapienza University in Rome.
He is a lecturer in the Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics degree program at the University of Perugia and teaches in the Master’s program in Cranio-Mandibular Biomechanics at the University of Perugia. He specializes in the management and treatment of sleep apnea and is a member of the Italian Society of Sleep Medicine in Dentistry. He is also involved in the diagnosis and treatment of bruxism.
For seven years, he has been integrating Fascial Manipulation using the Stecco Method into his daily practice. He is a speaker at national and international conferences.

CLAUDIA CLAIR was born on October 24, 2001, in Padova. Graduated in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Ferrara and currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Health Biology at the University of Padua.
Since 2023, she has been working as a Research Grant recipient at the Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua.
Her research focuses on the molecular differences between the superficial and deep fascia, as well as the changes these tissues undergo in relation to various pathologies.
At the Winter School of Fascial Anatomy held in February, she presented her research on the characterization of the extracellular matrix of human superficial and deep fascia. In August, she will present the same project at the Fascial Research Society Congress in New Orleans.

CARMELO PIRRI MD, specialist in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, PT, PhD student in Regenerative Medicine (Molecular Medicine), Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Human Anatomy, University of Padova, he is interested in the microworld of the fascia from the molecular and anatomical aspects to those of ultrasound imaging.

YUNFENG SUN, PhD student in the 39th cycle at the University of Padova, under the supervision of Professor Carla Stecco. Research focuses on the anatomical relationship between the fascia system and muscle spindles, as well as changes in muscle spindles following stroke. Aims to explore the application of the fascia system in addressing spasticity through muscle spindle biomechanics. Over a decade of experience in physiotherapy.

CATERINA FEDE graduated in Biotechnology (2005) and in Health Biology (2007) and received her Ph.D. in Environmental Medicine in 2011 (University of Padova). She is active in university research and teaching, in the field of Cell Biology and Histology. Member of the research team of Prof. Carla Stecco, she is author of numerous researches on cellular and molecular aspects of fascia, such as fasciacytes and hyaluronan in fasciae. Winner of the 2019 University Cooperation Call, with University of Pennsylvania with a project about the visceral fascia. Winner of the “Fascia Research – Young Scientist Award”, in 2020. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences as presenter, including Fascia Research Congress 2018, Australian Fascia Symposium 2020, and Fascia Research Congress 2022, in which she conducted a workshop about microscopic aspects of fascia.

To register to the Fascial Manipulation Association, you must:

• Enter the website www.fascialmanipulation.com
• Click on “Association”
• Then click on “Register” (“Not yet registered?)
• Log in with your personal data
• Proceed with the payment of the membership fee of € 30.00

To renew the membership to the Fascial Manipulation Association:

• Enter the website with your credentials (username and password)
• Click on “Renew my subscription” in the “Members area” section
• Proceed with the payment of the membership fee of € 30.00

 

Then you can register for free to the FMA Congress, specifying the workshop you would like to attend in the afternoon
– by e-mail to association@fascialmanipulation.com
– by filling in the form below

MASTER CLASS LEVEL 1-2: June 3-5, 2025
Teachers: Cossarini Luca – Iogna Prat Pietro, English language
It is recommended to who has completed Fascial Manipulation Level I°-II°.
It offers a revision and a deepening study of some basic aspect of locomotor system, with particular attention to the treatment of the sportsman

MASTER CLASS LEVEL 3-4: June 3-5, 2025
Teachers: Motton Francesco, English language
It is for who has completed Fascial Manipulation Level I°-II°-III°.
It offers a revision of some internal dysfunction’s concepts. It is a deepening study of therapeutic approach of complex cases, which ask better manual skills.

FASCIAL MANIPULATION CERTIFICATION® EXAM : June 6, 2025
It is for who has completed all the courses of Fascial Manipulation.
It is an exam to gain the title “Certified Fascial Manipulation Specialist”.

FM TEACHERS’ MEETING
Padova June 8, 2025
It is reserved for teachers and FM assistants