The Gibbons Concept© of
Soft Tissue Postural Analysis & Assessment
"Whatever the human species accomplishes must be done in balance and movement." ~Dennis Gibbons LMT
From the office of his Chagrin Valley Wellness Center in Beachwood, Ohio, Dennis Gibbons LMT discussed the evolution of the The Gibbons Concept© and Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®. "Early in my professional career, I had the enviable task of treating world-renown ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Opportunities of this nature do not come often. So, while taking full advantage of the situation, I posed a question to him. What makes you such a special ballet dancer?" Mr. Nureyev's response was simple, "I work to the specific audience, the music must match my dancing, not the dancing to the music." "That struck the nerve," said Mr. Gibbons, "maybe that is what I was attempting to do, match the pain (dance) to the technique (music), not the technique (music) to the pain (dance)." All pain is not the same, so why would the treatment protocol be the same? By evaluating the pain, matching the technique becomes easier.
"Dancers and dancing entered into the picture after that instance, along with the understanding of what created their discomfort and how they were able to perform with it," said Mr. Gibbons. "Most dancers I have treated performed beautifully on stage, and once off stage the tears would come. One of the dancers told me they would put the pain in a part of their body they're not using." This brought to light the human body's innate ability to compensate or counter balance itself to adapt to pain.
The body's constant struggle is to keep us in balance with the forces of gravity. Therefore, it is important for the curvatures of the body to be in balance so the compressive forces of gravity are held in check. The complexities of the human body offer many trials for massage therapists. This complexity of the human body created the frustration that helped develop the foundation for The Gibbons Concept© of Soft Tissue Analysis and Assessment and MRTh®.
Many traditional modalities treat the symptoms of pain, but few treat the cause. Practitioners of the Gibbons Formula© and MRTh® have acquired an intimate understanding of the body's soft tissue system, as this information determines the road map for your treatment. Mr. Gibbons adds, "my evaluation procedure determines how treatment will be done." Mr. Gibbons goes on to say, "the formula: function equals movement, movement reveals posture, posture determines movement, is a vital concept all of our therapists employ to ensure a proper evaluation."
Individuals come to us in search of relief of acute and chronic pain. Initially, it is often difficult for someone in pain to understand that their pain is a symptom of the problem, not the cause of the problem. After a thorough analysis and assessment determines the cause of your pain, MRTh® will encourage the specific release and/or relaxation, through postural balancing, necessary to treat the problem.