Visceral Osteopathy
This is part 1 of 2. Click here for part 2
London is a wonderful and exciting city! Every day is a new day, full of new opportunities. Nevertheless, in the long term, this hectic lifestyle can be a source of stress.
Working all day, just enough time to grab and eat a sandwich and then back to the office…
Staying in the same sitting position for far too long, with your muscle and joints getting tighter and tighter …
Going late to bed and then getting up too early, with not enough time to rest…
Many have stated how this stressful lifestyle can affect your mind, but what about your body?
How will it respond to all this stress?
In this article I am going to explore the link between the spine and internal organs, known as visceral osteopathy and how visceral osteopathy can help with various stomach, digestive & breathing problems.
Visceral Osteopathy: Connections between organs and body
Visceral osteopathy for organs of the human body
The internal organs of your body, among the others are the stomach, the liver, the lungs and the bladder, are called viscera.
We know that they are linked to the rest of your body through physical connections (ligaments, fascia), through which they are anchored to the spine, the pelvis and the chest. Because of these connections, when we move the spine the viscera will follow it.
Also, between the chest and the stomach (abdomen), there is a very important muscle called diaphragm. We can imagine it like a dome, that divides the rib cage from our abdomen. During every inspiration the diaphragm pushes the organs down, causing a “pump effect” that sucks them back up at the following expiration.
If there is not a good mobility of the body, either in the joint and muscle, or in the viscera, we will have two possible situations:
- The body won’t be able to move properly. Bending, sitting down, even lying down can bring pain and discomfort in this case.
- The viscera may not perform their tasks at their best.
Maintained and repeated bad posture, physical traumas, lifestyle pressures or wrong diet can expose our body to stress and lead to a building up of tension in certain areas.
For example,
–› if you have a sedentary life and you tend to maintain always the same sitting position at work, it’s possible that your spine and your abdomen have been “adapting” to that particular posture.
–› if you are forced to adopt a wrong diet because of lack of time, your digestive system could start to suffer from it;
If one of your organs is suffering because of a temporary or chronic irritation, the rest of the body will tend to lean on that area almost to protect it.
So, the starting point could be either the visceral or the muscle/joint, but as a result we will very likely have both systems involved.
Visceral osteopathy: what is it and how can it help?
Visceral osteopathy is used to locate and solve functional and structural imbalances throughout your body. It evaluates and improves the quality and the quantity of motion in relation to the organs, to their nerve and blood supply, and to their relationship with the system of the spine and of the pelvis. In this way it just encourages your body’s own healing mechanism.
Visceral osteopathy harmonises the tissues using gentle and soothing techniques, thereby it is suitable for every age.
Stay tuned for a description of a few pathologies that you may already know, due to be published in a week's time. These are to include:
- Reflux or heartburn
- Constipation
- Chronic pelvic pain
- The role of scars
Visceral Osteopath
Book a full 1 hour appointment with Marta Vacca only £69
