Articles

Articles

Healing in a Quantum World

by Laurie Hribal, CMT, MMP, CHt

There are many styles of massage and bodywork, as well as other alternative therapies, offered by practitioners these days. What many don’t know, however, is that new developments in the world of Manual Therapy offer sophisticated approaches towards healing, relieving, or resolving chronic and complex health problems.

Manual Therapy itself is a blanket term used to describe any hands-on techniques applied to the body in order to produce therapeutic change in tissue condition, metabolic action and structural relationships. Manual therapies may be performed by physicians, osteopaths, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, and other health professionals. More involved than massage therrapy, Manual Therapy techniques are applied to specific tissues with an expected outcome. For example, Neuromuscular Therapy uses mechanical strokes and pressures applied to specific areas of muscle tissue which communicate with the nervous system to produce a release of muscle spasm (contraction). Craniosacral Therapy uses gentle (5 grams) pressure to interact with and normalize subtle rhythms in the craniosacral system, working with the natural pumping action of cerebrospinal fluid, thereby allowing cranial bones and the pelvic cage to balance.

Modern developments in Manual Therapy have taken advantage of the realization that the most powerful effects in the body can be accomplished with the most subtle and specific input. The dictum now is to use only the amount of force necessary to produce a response but not a reaction, and nothing more. This involves a practiced skill level in the therapist, with a thorough knowledge of anatomy and physiology. To perform the exacting gentle techniques, the therapist usually has years of training in hand sensitivity and intuitive perception. An adept therapist can virtually “see” into the body by using detailed manual diagnostics.

Manual Therapy systems are created and refined by experts in physiology and neurology, through years of scientific and clinical research. Some of the prominent systems coming into the mainstream are Craniosacral Therapy and Somato-Emotional Release from John Upledger, D.O.; Integrative Manual Therapy from Sharon Weiselfish-Giammateo, Ph.D., P.T.; and Biovalent Systems from Frank Lowen, L.M.T. These were built upon the works of Jean-Pierre Barral, D.O., the father of Visceral Manipulation; Lawrence Jones, D.O., discoverer of Strain Counterstrain; and many others before them. An entire article would be required to describe each of these systems.

Significant in each system is the detailed understanding of the motilities, or circadian rhythms, produced by each organ, tissue, and physiological action in the body. By identifying, tracing, monitoring and interacting with these rhythms, powerful changes can be stimulated.

It is understood that dysfunctions and even diseases are caused by blockages and strains which compromise the natural healing response of the body. These blockages and strains can be caused by physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual trauma or toxicity, and often by multiple causes.

The current predominate Manual Therapy technologies incorporate diagnostic techniques to access these blockages in any plane, palpate the significant motility of the traumatized tissue or body system, and then apply gentle manual techniques to encourage a positive change. Gentle techniques allow the body to change by choice and not force, akin to showing the dysfunctional pattern a “doorway” through which to escape without force or further trauma.

Multi-layered traumas can be complicated to treat. However, in our quantum bodies, releasing one aspect of a trauma through any one of these pathways can provoke a serendipitous healing response throughout the entire complex of body, mind, and spirit. The amazing results accomplished by practitioners of these systems have supported and verified the power of this type of work. The clinics of each of these organizations have documented astonishing healing in cases of autism, brain and spinal trauma, Down Syndrome, intractable chronic pain conditions, and even disease states considered incurable by allopathic medical standards.

Modern Manual Therapy systems are truly holistic in respecting the body as more than just parts. As one experiences the power of a technique applied to one aspect or body system to have an effect on other areas or on a different system, it becomes clear to practitioner and client that we are more complex than imagined. It becomes undeniable that every cell in the body is interacting in some way with every other cell; and the pathways that inform these connections are quantum worlds for us as healing facilitators and “healees” to explore.

Thus it is common to find that a fulcrum applied to treat knee pain can allow freedom of movement to a frozen shoulder, or lymphatic treatment could allow the digestive funtions to improve. Likewise, accessing a stuck emotional pattern can resolve chronic neck pain. These seeming miracles are everyday experiences in the world of evolving advances in Manual Therapies. As we witness the shift in the pharmaceutical/medical complex in our country, it is exciting to know there is a world of options for healthcare and prevention, literally in our hands.