Fascial Counterstrain
Fascial Counterstrain is an indirect method of physical manipulation that is designed to drain inflammatory fluid from any area of the body. Chronic inflammation that becomes stuck in tissues is thought be the main cause of all chronic dysfunction and disease.
When the body experiences an infection, injury, or some other kind of trauma, there are changes in the flow of fluid drainage from the area. This inflammatory fluid can contribute to the following conditions:
Trauma, Injury, or Infection all cause release of inflammatory cytokines into the tissues. These cytokines have the following effects:
1) Decreased lymphatic drainage in the tissues.
2) Sympathetic nervous system activation that causes vasoconstriction of arteries and veins.
3) Fascial contraction (TGF-B1) causing compression of the tissues.
4) Motor neurons become irritated, causing muscle guarding reflexes.
The full article can be found here.
How Fascial Counterstrain Works
A tender point is found on the body, which is related to an internal structure being inflamed (Brian’s R hand)
The body is put in a position to drain the inflammation out of that tissue (the patient’s knees bent and dropped towards the left)
As the interstitial inflammatory fluid drains out of the tissue, the pain in the tender point goes away
The Cranial Scan
The cranial scan is used to identify the type of tissue that is creating the most dysfunction, and to confirm that our releases have been effective.
For example, when we find that the range of motion of the shoulder is limited, we can touch the part of the cranium that correlates with the nerves that innervate the muscles (see the chart on the left), the arteries, superficial fascia, veins, etc.
By using this kind of biofeedback we can be very precise in the type of positional release that we apply, which leads to better and more long lasting patient outcomes.