Connective tissue manipulation helping your body relax into a healthier state
Connective Tissue Manipulation.
Applied by the Physiotherapist using the maleable surface of the fingers to move one level of skin on the level underneath. This motion creates a quick, quick, stretch reflex, creating an impulse, which spreads out through the connective tissue. The patient’s brain interpretes this impulse as if it was a ‘slice’ or a ‘abrasion’. The tenser the connective tissue the bigger the stretch reflex and this then in turn feels sharper to the individual. The reflex is a small impulse which travels through the liquid in the connective tissue and releases tension.
The reduction in stress surrounding the blood vessel walls allows additional blood to flow into the damaged area and so lessens the inflammation. Connective tissue manipulation helps in softening the connective tissue also allows more movement to happen without triggering off irritation and therefore pain. Dealing with this often starts at a distance from the damaged part gradually working closer to the starting place of the injury. The benefits of Connective Tissue Manipulation are cumulative. Once the tension has been lowered by treatment the decrease is sustained. Further reduction in connective tissue tension occurs with every additional treatment.
The amount to which the reduction in connective tissue tension is held at is conditional on the amount of tension added to the body by the patient’s lifestyle. Connective Tissue Manipulation is a technique learnt at postgraduate level in the United Kingdom and because of this it hasn’t travelled very rapidly around the land. At last count, there were only two dozen Physiotherapists in the UK actively carrying out Connective Tissue Manipulation.