Fascial Release Series: The Total Body Lesion

If you have ever been a client at EPT, you know we treat the person as a whole.  Although you may come in with elbow pain, we may spend time focusing on how you are habitually standing or how you swing your arms when you walk.  We know how these everyday repetitive motions can cause stress on the body.   This class touched on and expanded upon these concepts.

One major principle in the osteopathic philosophy is that the body is a dynamic unit of function.  When we are speaking of the body, we are not just talking about the physical dimension, but the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. 

In the class, we spoke many times of the Total Body Lesion, which is defined as the sum of dysfunctions of mind, body, and spirit at any given moment in time.  This means that what is making your body hurt is not only the latest ache or pain, but an accumulation of things over time.  That series of ankle sprains during high school soccer, the C-section or hernia repair, those two fender benders, and the stress of starting a new job all have contributed to what you are feeling today.  The pain of these smaller injuries usually quickly fades without need for treatment; at the most, maybe with the aid of a little Advil, ice, and rest.  Although the muscles and ligaments have healed, we are blissfully unaware of the residual muscle, joint, and fascial tension that remains.

When you come to PT, you might identify the “final straw” as that bout of shoveling in sub-zero temps (thanks Vermont!), but your body has endured all of the previous traumas and these things must be considered.  When we evaluate you, we won’t just look at your back, but at your entire body.  After evaluating, we then can perform Total Body Balancing, which may mean we are working up at your shoulder, even though you came in with back pain.

On the next post, we look forward to sharing about one component of Total Body Balancing - fascial release!