Visceral Manipulation

October 4, 2023

Visceral manipulation is a manual technique that has potential to help a lot of different areas of pain. Whether it’s due to trauma, surgery, sedentary lifestyle, pregnancy, or many other causes, our organs and ligaments that connect our organs can often tighten down, causing mobility problems. These mobility problems can cause pain and loss of motion not just in the abdomen, but also in areas of the neck, mid-back, low-back, and hips. Here are some top FAQs about visceral manipulation.

What is visceral manipulation?

Visceral Manipulation (VM) was developed by French Osteopath, Jean-Pierre Barral. “Viscera” relates to the internal organs of the body, such as the liver, kidneys and intestines. Visceral Manipulation is a gentle manual therapy that aids your body’s ability to release restrictions and unhealthy compensations that cause pain and dysfunction.

How does visceral manipulation work?

Visceral Manipulation, or VM, does not focus solely on the site of pain or dysfunction, but evaluates the entire body to find the source of the problem. The VM therapist feels for altered or decreased motion within the viscera, as well as restrictive patterns throughout the body and then applies VM techniques. VM therapy re-establishes the body’s ability to adapt and restore itself to health.

Would I benefit from visceral manipulation?

There are many reasons for an organ to lose its mobility: physical traumas, surgeries, sedentary lifestyle, infections, 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.