This case study investigated the effectiveness of visceral manipulation (VM) therapy for improving spinal alignment and associated functional abilities. A summary is provided below. For those who are interested in reading the entire paper and bibliography, a link to download the paper is also provided after the summary.
Summary
The human spine and visceral organs have close anatomical and neurovascular relationships. Dysfunction of any of these structures can disrupt the function of both structures via viscerosomatic and somaticovisceral reflexes. For this reason, addressing the mutual relationship between the viscera and the spine is often necessary for treating chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms.
This case study examined if incorporating a visceral manipulation (VM) into a muscle energy treatment (MET) enhanced the long-term effectiveness of MET. The client was a 61-year-old female who had been experiencing chronic back pain, left-sided stiffness, and weakness since a motor vehicle accident (MVA) occurred 9 years ago. Previous treatment before this case study indicated that the misalignment of her lumbar spine was correlated with her clinical presentation and symptoms. An MET to correct the lumbar spine alignment improved not only the spinal alignment but also associated functional impairment. However, the effect of MET was temporary (less than a week) even after 4 consecutive weekly METs. Based on the history of her chronic diseases, it was suspected that her visceral organs, in addition to her MSK systems, might have been affecting her spinal alignment. Therefore, it was hypothesized that combining VM with MET would yield a longer term result compared to MET alone.
A 90-minute session was provided in which a VM for uterus and descending colon was performed after an MET for correcting the spinal alignment. The results indicated that the spinal alignment and the improvement of associated physical and visceral function were maintained over the follow-up period of 2 weeks, supporting the hypothesis.
The use of MET and specific targets for VM were tailored to the client’s clinical presentation and may not be generalizable to other cases. A more controlled and randomized study on the long-term effect of VM on structural improvement of the spine is needed to understand more generalizable implications.
Click the link below to see the entire paper and bibliography.
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