What is Visceral Manipulation?
The Nature of the Phenomenon
“The purpose of Visceral Manipulation is to recreate, harmonize and increase proprioceptive communication in the body to enhance its internal mechanism for better health.” – Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O. – The originator of Visceral Manipulation.
“Proprioceptive communication” is the means by which all of the parts of our body “feel” that they are in the “right place”. This is very important to our overall health and well-being, actually! Just try to think of the subtle cues that you may have felt in your arm when you have thrown a ball incorrectly; The “feeling” that you had not thrown the ball correctly, was because of nerve feedback provided to you from the “proprioceptive” part of your nervous system. Somehow we just knew we had held onto it too long, or that we had looked down when we should have looked straight ahead.
Barral, in earning the tremendous recognition that he did, actually has discovered a way that a trained practitioner is able to sense and correct the positioning of the internal organs.
I have trained myself to focus and “listen” to the signals of the proprioceptive nervous system.
Sensitivity and awareness of the position and functioning of the organs can make such an incredible difference to the body.
A person who becomes injured, and punctures one of their lungs.
The side of the body on which the injury occurred will hunch and twist slightly; naturally seeking a position which allows them to breathe.
Over time, the ribcage will develop a series of muscular and rib contortions, trying to maximize the functioning through this damaged area.
After a while, at the extremities, the shoulder and neck will begin to wear unevenly possibly developing arthritis.
Pain and restriction function of arm and head result.
The number one priority of the body’s unconscious activity is to continue LIVING.
It will do whatever is necessary in order that the functions of, Breathing, Blood flow and Digestion.
All other functions, “needs” and “requests” take second-place.
We can change this scenario dramatically when the technique of Visceral Manipulation is used.
Barral’s visceral manipulation actually allows the practitioner of his amazing therapy to detect aberrant
organ positioning and allow for the initiation of more peripheral body functions which have been shut down or dramatically curtailed due to the body’s natural concern to maintain more essential operations. Barral’s visceral manipulation brings to light an entirely new and uncharted methodology by improving the more subtle and internal checks and balances of our bodies.
Improving our ability to work harder when we work; and relax more completely when we are done.
It is really is an Outstanding Discovery. And it is why his efforts earned him the very high acclaim that he did.
I have trained myself to focus and “listen” to the signals of the proprioceptive nervous system.
Sensitivity and awareness of the position and functioning of the organs can make such an incredible difference to the body.
In a Nutshell, why VM works:
All manual therapies strive to harmonize the functionality of the individual system they focus on, while maintaining homeostasis and promoting synchrony among the total of the other organ systems.
Because the organs were designed with mixed functional structures, each system consists of differentiated groups of specified cells which perform their function as blood, air, cerebral spinal fluid, hormones etc. are processed and moved within their very specific organ system. There really is no “tolerance”, or “discrepancy,” or “alternate” means by which each essential process is carried out. The visceral structure of the digestive valve at the bottom of the esophagus coming from the throat to the top of the stomach, can not for example be “strung together with bailing wire” the way an exhaust bracket on an automobile can be jerry-rigged to get by for a little while!
The following list of cause and effect describes in simple terms, the simple case of a chronic shoulder injury being best treated by Visceral Manipulation.
When our shoulder is injured, and caused to be in distortion, the shoulder blade may be forced to reposition itself in order to allow for necessary arm rotation, and to allow us to “get by” for a little while.
- As this happens, however, the scapulae (shoulder blade) is raised by the muscles attaching to the side of the neck, which eventually become fatigued, and cause several of the upper ribs on the affected side to rotate, torsion, and elevate, in order to relieve the neck while still maintaining the required position for the injured shoulder.
- Now the distorted and elevated rib cage draws up and twists the respiratory diaphragm which is held by, and stems from the rib cage.
- At this point, the various organs of the Stomach on the left, and the liver on the right, which are anchored to, and positioned relative to the top and sides of the diaphragm just elevated, due to its need in shoulder function, are also strained, and put into a challenge.
- Because the functioning of the stomach and liver are so vital to our daily life, their needs take absolute precedence over what might be an “uncomfortable” shoulder. Various tissues of the BODY ITSELF will, at the prompting and direction of the nervous system, engage in the loosening and tightening of the necessary muscles tendons and fascial sheets to:
- Raise
- Lower
- Protrude Out
- Retract In and, “negotiate” the repositioning of EVERY OTHER BODY STRUCTURE necessary, in order to allow the continued, optimal functioning of the organ being repositioned by chronic joint and body challenges.
Eventually however, the cartilage on the shoulder will wear away, and the different tendons connecting the rotator cuff muscles to their respective bones will become strained and frayed. Maybe everything will work enough to get you through until your need for extreme shoulder strength and movement passes, and you move to another phase in life, where the shoulder is not needed as much can not.
This movement of organs is transmitted through fascia to other structures of the body. When we are healthy, all the structures move with an interconnected fluidity. All of this movement is important as it influences activities throughout the body from the tiniest cellular pulsations to rhythmic contractions of the heart and blood flow. Optimum health relies on a harmonious relationship between the motions of the organs and other structures of the body.
There are many reasons for an organ to lose its mobility: physical traumas, surgeries, sedentary lifestyle, infections, pollution, bad diet, poor posture and pregnancy/delivery. When an organ is no longer freely mobile but is fixed to another structure, the body is forced to compensate. This disharmony creates fixed, abnormal points of tension and the chronic irritation gives way to functional and structural problems throughout the body – musculoskeletal, vascular, nervous, urinary, respiratory and digestive, to name a few.
Imagine scar tissue around the lungs. Because of the pull of the adhesion, with every breath, the movement patterns of the nearby structures would be altered. This could shift rib motion creating pulls on the spine. These restrictions might then show up as mid-back and neck pain, as well as limited motion in the shoulder. This scenario highlights just one of hundreds of possible ramifications of a small dysfunction – magnified by thousands of repetitions each day. This also explains how pain can often be far removed from the actual cause.
Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O. was named one of TIME Magazine’s Top Six Innovators for Alternative Medicine to watch in the new millennium.
All forms of care for the human body reference and work with the cycles and rhythms inherent within. There are many specific systems to be considered, and many areas of specified study. For example, of primary importance to the cardiologist, is the character of the heartbeat: Is it fast, slow; weak or strong? A pulmonologist looks at, among other things, the rate and quality of the functioning of the lungs. The craniosacral therapist (CST) looks at yet another “body rhythm”, the amplitude and quality of the movement of cerebral spinal fluid up and down the spinal column. The endocrinologist looks at vitality and tissue function; the growth, proliferation, and differentiation of the body’s endocrine system as it relates to the balancing and maintaining of balanced hormones. The practitioner of visceral manipulation (VM) evaluates organs of the body in terms of an organ’s motility, which is the intrinsic, active motion of each organ; and, also in terms of the mobility of each organ, which is the ability for that organ to move around and slide during breathing and voluntary movement of the total body: When we breathe, walk and stretch, for example, organs move in our chest and abdomen. In fact, when we take a breath, our kidneys move one inch; and with deep inhalation, they move 4 inches; in a day, they move a little over ½ mile, which adds up to around 19,000 miles in a lifetime!
All forms of care for the human body reference and work with the cycles and rhythms inherent within. There are many specific systems to be considered, and many areas of specified study. For example, of primary importance to the cardiologist, is the character of the heartbeat: Is it fast, slow; weak or strong? A pulmonologist looks at, among other things, the rate and quality of the functioning of the lungs. The craniosacral therapist (CST) looks at yet another “body rhythm”, the amplitude and quality of the movement of cerebral spinal fluid up and down the spinal column. The endocrinologist looks at vitality and tissue function; the growth, proliferation, and differentiation of the body’s endocrine system as it relates to the balancing and maintaining of balanced hormones. The practitioner of visceral manipulation (VM) evaluates organs of the body in terms of an organ’s motility, which is the intrinsic, active motion of each organ; and, also in terms of the mobility of each organ, which is the ability for that organ to move around and slide during breathing and voluntary movement of the total body: When we breathe, walk and stretch, for example, organs move in our chest and abdomen. In fact, when we take a breath, our kidneys move one inch; and with deep inhalation, they move 4 inches; in a day, they move a little over ½ mile, which adds up to around 19,000 miles in a lifetime!