Visceral Manipulation

Visceral Manipulation: How What You Don't Know Can Hurt

Visceral manipulation, originating from a renowned osteopath, Dr. Jean Pierre Barral, emphasizes the gentle restoration of organs' natural range of motion. It's painless and results in pain-relief that is less invasive than drugs or surgery.

Our bodies operate on a precise, intricate series of simultaneous actions and reactions, rhythms and interactions among organs and internal systems. Organs in particular are in perpetual motion - breathing, walking and stretching impact the position of organs, even as we live our lives oblivious to this.

Did you know that each time you take a breath your kidneys move one inch? Take a deep breath and they move four inches. In fact, over the course of a day they move upwards of a half-mile. Over a lifetime they move about 19,000 miles! Fascia and other structures of the body facilitate the movement of kidneys and other organs, having major impacts on the healthy function of other bodily systems from cellular pulsations to the rhythmic contractions of heart and blood flow. The body's capacity to retain optimal health relies heavily on this symbiosis.

What happens when organs don't or can't move in a harmonious rhythm? A range of cascading negative consequences on your health, from pain to the loss of mobility. For example, your ribs can painfully shift as scar tissue interrupts your lungs capacity to expand normally. This can cause resulting pressure on the spine that causes you pain and restricts range of motion throughout your back and virtually anywhere in the body.

With the true origins of the problem masked, you often head to the doctor for drugs that only address symptoms, often worsening your condition, dooming you to a life of pain and ill-health.

But there is a way to address this problem and limit the overall reliance on drugs and other approaches that can't come close to resolving the original problem.

Visceral manipulation employs a soft, hands-on way of identifying tension among organs and freeing them to restore their harmonious movement in your body, opening the door to optimal health.

How Does It Work?

I gently depress areas of my patients' bodies to identify pressure and relieve it, reigniting the body's natural ability to restore balance and harmony. Often, this restorative, healing process continues for days after I administer the treatment.

But this technique not only addresses the physical origins of pain, but emotional as well. Science has extensively documented the impact that our emotions have on our bodies. In fact, our organs are tremendously sensitive to our emotions. The primary responsibility of our brain is to signal the body to run as smoothly as possible and protect it from harm. As intensity of life increases, the brain becomes overloaded with thoughts and emotions and it must dissipate this energy. There are many nerve tracks that then drain this overload energy into the organs and fascial tissues of the body. This amps up the tone of those organs and tissues causing spasms and pain. This can manifest as abdominal pain, back and neck pain and/or stiffness and a decrease in range of motion. If left untreated over long periods of time, these minor restrictions can translate into serious disease.

Visceral manipulation can break this pattern or cycle at its roots and restore balance to mind, body and spirit.

To ask for more information about visceral manipulation, please email neckbackandbeyond@gmail.com or call us at 703-865-5690 to schedule an appointment.

Practitioner: Allan Tomson, D.C.