The Integrated Body

The body is an interactive combination of interdependent systems (circulatory system, nervous system, musculoskeletal system, etc.).  When a dysfunction occurs in one area, all systems may be affected.  Symptoms may occur in any of the affected systems.  The symptom getting attention may appear unrelated to the system causing the dysfunction. 

For example, you may have a stuck window in your house because the window is no longer plumb.  You fix the window and it is better for a while, but then it starts to get stuck again.  What if the window is not plumb because the foundation is collapsing?  Not a “symptom” that got your attention, but a far more significant problem.  But what if the foundation’s collapse is due to drainage problems causing water to undermine the entire foundation of the house?  If you only fix the window, you haven’t gotten to the underlying cause of the problem and the symptom will recur.  If you fix the foundation, but don’t fix the source of the drainage issue, the ultimate foundation collapse will not only cause a stuck window, but a multitude of symptoms as your house falls down around you.

Integrative manual therapy works in the same manner.  The stuck window may be a stiff neck, painful shoulder or low back pain.  What if your recurrent neck pain is caused by immobility in your low back that has affected your entire spine?  But what if the source of the low back immobility is a circulatory problem that is affecting blood flow to vital organs?  IMT recognizes the inter-relationships of the different systems in the body and is able to identify the source of the dysfunction.  By correcting the source of the problem, the symptom is fully resolved and will not recur.