your path to wellness begins with
Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®
Individuals come to us in search of relief from acute and chronic pain. Initially, it is difficult for someone in pain to understand that their pain is a symptom of the problem, not the problem.
Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®, is a different approach to therapeutic massage therapy. In early 2007, MRTh® was accepted by the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP) as a trademarked modality, holding credibility comparable to Rolfing®, Trager® Approach, and Feldenkrais Method®. MRTh® balances to the body's posture. Balance within the body creates a more effective environment for movement, healing and strengthening than an unbalanced body. Created by an American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) member and author of The Gibbons Concept©, Dennis Gibbons LMT, the MRTh® process releases your body's soft tissue into proper position to encourage balanced movement. Simply stated, MRTh® systematically balances your posture, based on your body's unique analysis. This postural balancing permits your body to move fluidly, work more efficiently, and do so with less pain and discomfort.
What is Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®?
Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®, was initially developed with the purposeful intent of helping people in discomfort. The idea is to help alleviate their discomfort, without resorting to medication or surgical procedures, by treating the cause(s) of the discomfort, not the symptom(s) of discomfort. Upon further review, it was discovered that discomfort is the symptom of the problem(s) and the cause of the problem(s) is how the body reacts to trauma. Trauma is defined, by the American Heritage Dictionary as: a serious injury or shock to the body, as from violence or an accident; an emotional wound or shock that creates substantial, lasting damage to the psychological development of a person, often leading to neurosis; an event or situation that causes great stress.
Trauma is a drastic/dramatic change in an energy field (physical or psychological). This change can be sudden (car accident, twisted ankle, death of a loved one, etc.) or gradual (days, weeks, months, years, or a lifetime of: improper movement, posture imbalance, poorly healed or treated physical and emotional injuries, etc.). The human body begins to compensate and adapt for trauma, to protect itself (the brain, then body), within 1/30,000th of a second from the traumatic event.
These compensation patterns are consistently variable, therefore compromising the rigid, systematic, generic treatments historically offered, which attend to the symptoms rather than the cause. An individual’s body will compensate similarly, yet ultimately differently than any other human body. Compensation and adaptation patterns are unique given each human’s individual state of being (mind, body, and spirit), history of being, perception of self and environment, as well as personal and environmental circumstance. These individually unique compensatory and adaptation patterns are revealed then treated through MRTh®’s concept of: assessment-for-evaluation-for-release-for-reassessment-for-reevaluation-for-rerelease, to be repeated to satisfy the individual’s unique postural alignment and balance needs. MRTh® practitioners recognize that by treating the cause of the original trauma, the symptoms will diminish, thereby soothing physical and psychological discomfort. The removal of abnormal tension to the specific soft tissue that is altered by the adaptation that takes place in the human body to allow movement, even though incorrect, is what makes this process different. This process of release, or relaxation of the soft tissue into its proper balance, encourages fluid movement with less discomfort.
Initially developed to relieve pain, Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® has grown to serve as a powerful foundation our clients are building a variety of health and wellness regimens. MRTh® combined with Functional Movement with Pilates Machines℠ continues to act as an incredible performance enhancer for athletes, dancers, trades workers, office professionals….parents, grandparents and people who want more from themselves.
How does it work?
Throughout your session your therapist will explain what he or she is discovering about your body. We encourage you to ask questions - it is very important to us that you are comfortable and knowledgeable about your treatment and options. The massage therapist facilitates, or encourages, your tissue to relax into a neutral position so it will respond properly the next time you move. By following the MRTh® concept of: Assess->Evaluate->Release->Reassess, etc., your therapist is able to provide a path for balancing your posture. The path is stored in your subconscious and only needs to be accessed using MRTh®. Your therapist is then able to bring about the specific release necessary for you to attain proper balance, while reducing and, in many cases, eliminating discomfort. As current pains and discomforts are resolved, sometimes new pain emerges from old injuries. This is normal and actually allows us to help you achieve a true postural balance for long term wellness. This is not a quick fix. MRTh® practitioners are educated to work with you to decide if future visits are necessary to address further postural issues or to develop a maintenance program to sustain your new balance. Your maintenance program could include a regimen of Pilates and MRTh® sessions, in addition to educational seminars and workshops.
© Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, 2008
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