Visceral manipulation is a whole body treatment that addresses the deeper internal restrictions of the body. This deeply-held tension can affect your overall function, causing muscular and postural distortions, dysfunction and resulting in pain or even injury.

The word "visceral" refers to the internal organs of the body such as the stomach, liver and kidneys. And visceral manipulation is a hands-on-therapy that locates and releases points of tension within and around the organs that are preventing the body's ability to function optimally.

Visceral manipulation can also be called "organ-specific fascial mobilisation", as it is carried out by gentle mobilisation of the connective tissue (fascia) around the organs.

Fascia occurs throughout the whole body. It can be thick and strong like a tendon that attaches a muscle to a joint. Or it can be more elastic such as organ fascia, which gives the organs the mobility they need to move to the extent required for good health. An optimally functioning liver, for example, should move up to 30,000 times a day.

What is visceral manipulation used for?

Visceral Manipulation helps to both prevent and correct any restrictions of such movement, which would soon create other problems in the body, like musculoskeletal pain. Research shows that some 90% of all musculoskeletal problems have a visceral (organ) component.

When you are healthy, all of the different structures move with an interconnected fluidity. Organs can, however, lose their mobility for a number of reasons, such as physical trauma, infections and pollution. When they are no longer freely mobile they become fixed to other structures and the body is forced to compensate. This disharmony creates abnormal points of tension which cause functional and structural problems throughout the body – musculoskeletal, vascular and respiratory to name but a few.

Visceral manipulation is designed to aid the body’s ability to release these restrictions and unhealthy compensations. The entire body is evaluated to find the source of the problem. We feel for altered or decreased motion within the viscera as well as restrictive patterns and then softly compress, mobilise and elongate the soft tissues using our hands.

Common problems that can be treated with Visceral Manipulation include:

• Sports injuries or restrictions
• Chronic back pain
• Hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and wrist pain
• Whiplash
• Sciatica
• Headaches and migraines
• Digestive disorders such as bloating, constipation and IBS
• Emotional issues such as anxiety, stress and depression

Most people will benefit from it even without a specific complaint that needs resolving.

Successful resolution is about finding the areas of restriction that are specific to you, then allowing them to release in the way needed for your body to be healthier. This means, visceral manipulation is for anyone who wants to feel better in themselves.

To complement visceral manipulation treatments, Nicola also offers a Gut Health Plan for those wanting to specifically optimise gut function. Something that can often be overlooked in pain conditions.