Manual Therapy
Structural
Integration
Structural Integration was developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf and is a form of body work in which the connective tissue, the fascia that runs through the entire body, is reorganized.
More than 60 years ago, Dr. Rolf stated that the body is inherently a system of seamless tissue networks and not a collection of separate parts. These connective tissues surround, support, and interpenetrate all muscles, bones, nerves, and organs. Structural Integration works on this web-like complex of connective tissues to relax, realign, and balance the entire body, potentially resolving discomfort, reducing compensation, and relieving pain. Structural Integration aims to restore mobility, revitalize your energy and make you feel more comfortable in your body.​
Structural Integration is able to dramatically alter a person's posture and structure. It can be used to relieve discomfort, tension and pain. The genius of the work is due to Dr. Rolf's realization that the body feels more comfortable and functions most effectively when its structure is in balance with gravity.
Athletes, dancers, children, business people and people from all walks of life have benefited from Structural Integration. Research has shown that Structural Integration leads to more efficient use of muscles, allowing the body to conserve energy and creating more economical and refined movement patterns. Studies have also shown that chronic stress is reduced, excessive spinal curvatures (lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis) can be significantly reduced and that neurological function improves.
Neuromuscular
Therapy
Neuromuscular therapy is a specialized form of manual therapy that uses digital pressure and friction to relieve areas of tension in a muscle. Areas of stress are known as tender or trigger points and are usually the cause of persistent muscle pain symptoms. These trigger points are small areas of the muscle where tissue is contracted, and the lack of blood and nutrients in that area means the muscle cannot relax. The area is hypersensitive and can cause pain, fatigue, and weakness in the muscle. Trigger points can lead to so-called reference pain, a phenomenon in which areas far from the trigger point feel pain sensations, tingling or numbness.
In neuromuscular massage therapy, concentrated pressure is alternately applied to the trigger point - usually with the fingers, knuckles or elbow.
Visceral
Manipulation
Jean-Pierre Barral's clinical work with the viscera led to the development of a form of manual therapy that focuses on the internal organs, their environment and the possible influence on many structural and physiological dysfunctions. The term he coined for this therapy is visceral manipulation. ​
The aim of Visceral Manipulation is to restore, harmonize and reinforce the proprioceptive communication in the body in order to improve the internal mechanisms for better health, thus revitalizing the person and relieving the symptoms of pain, dysfunction and malposition. Visceral Manipulation treats a person's functional and structural imbalances with the aim of affecting their musculoskeletal, vascular, nervous, urogenital, respiratory, digestive and lymphatic dysfunctions. ​
Jean-Pierre Barral's famous dictum "Only the tissues know" expresses that the tissues in the body have a deep and innate intelligence. Everything that has happened in our lives - injuries, illnesses, stressors, etc. - is stored in our tissues. At the heart of visceral manipulation is "listening" to the tissue with our hands. Through manual listening techniques, the trained hands of an experienced therapist sense where the tissues are pulling, toward the areas where the body is not moving and the areas that, from a manual therapy perspective, have the greatest impact on the person's well-being.