VISCERAL MANIPULATION

It must be remembered that dysfunction and restriction around the organs is usually referred to the muscles and joints, and can be mistaken as problems of the muscles and joints. For example, it can be seen from this medical chart that Liver, Stomach, Heart and Gall Bladder problems* are referred as pain to the neck and shoulder regions; and the Kidneys refer pain to the low back and hip regions… Therefore, treating only the neck and shoulder will only provide temporary relief; or even aggravate the neck and shoulder symptoms if the pain is actually from an over-worked Liver!

*“Problems” with the organs do not necessarily mean a disease (which would be treated by a Medical Doctor). An organ usually goes through a long state of ill-health and dysfunction BEFORE it becomes diseased. For example Gall Bladder stones…these are seen to develop over quite a period of time: starting as ‘sludge’ (basically a thickening of bile), then ‘gravel’ (granules developing), then increasing to ‘stones’.

It is only when one of these stones that is too large to pass through the tiny duct, that acute pain is felt, and medical intervention is required; but there are usually subtle signs that the Gall Bladder is struggling to function properly…shoulder and neck pain and discomfort (see the Visceral Pain Referral Chart above) which doesn’t really improve with standard treatment, headaches, nausea with eating, and avoiding certain foods because they don’t “sit right”.

Why might a Gall Bladder struggle?…One of the reasons could be that it lacks space from poor posture: the Gall Bladder sits below the diaphragm and tucked behind the ribs. A slouching posture compresses the abdominal organs, making their job much harder. In the case of the Gall bladder, its job is to store bile (a digestive juice) until it is needed, and then it ejects the bile into the tiny bile duct to go to the small intestine to help break fats down.

A long history of poor posture has a very detrimental effect on the organs! A good Musculoskeletal Therapist is not just thinking about the aching back and neck; and the aesthetics with treating poor posture, for there is a much bigger and deeper domino effect going on on the inside of the body.