What is Visceral Manipulation?

An integrative approach to evaluation and treatment of a patient requires assessment of the structural relationships between the viscera, and their fascial or ligamentous attachments to the musculoskeletal system. Strains in the connective tissue of the viscera can result from surgical scars, adhesions, illness, posture or injury. Tension patterns form through the fascial network deep within the body, creating a cascade of effects far from their sources for which the body will have to compensate. This creates fixed, abnormal points of tension that the body must move around, and this chronic irritation gives way to functional and structural problems.

Visceral Manipulation is organ-specific fascial mobilization and is based on the premise that free movement within the body is vital, and thus any restriction will adversely affect health. It evaluates and treats the dynamics of motion and suspension in relation to organs, membranes, fascia, and ligaments. Visceral Manipulation relies on the palpation of normal and abnormal forces within the body, with the specific goal of encouraging normal tone and movements, both within and between the internal organs, their connective tissue, and other structures of the body where normal motion has been impaired. By using precise manual techniques, such as palpation of the superficial and deep fascia and the mobility and motility of individual organs, therapists can evaluate how abnormal forces interplay, overlap, and affect the normal body forces at work. The goal of Visceral Manipulation is to help the person’s body return to normal function and thereby remove compensatory symptoms, whatever their source, leading to improved health and optimal body functioning.