Connective Tissue Manipulation.
Is performed by the Physiotherapist using the maleable surface of the finger tips to shift one level of skin on the layer below. This motion creates a quick, quick, stretch reflex, causing an impulse, which moves out through the connective tissue. The patient’s brain translates this reaction as if it were a ’slice’ or a ‘abrasion’. The tenser the connective tissue the bigger the stretch reflex and therefore the sharper the ‘cut’ feels to the individual. The reflex is a little reaction which passes through the fluid in the connective tissue and releases tension.
The reduction in tension surrounding the blood vessel walls lets additional blood to flow into the injured region and so reduces the inflammation. Connective tissue manipulation helps in softening the connective tissue also allows more motion to occur without causing irritation and therefore pain. Dealing with this often begins at a distance from the damaged area gradually moving closer to the source of injury. The benefits of Connective Tissue Manipulation are cumulative. Once the stress has been reduced by manipulation the reduction is maintained. Further reduction in connective tissue tension happens with each extra manipulation.
The degree to which the reduction in connective tissue tension is maintained is dependant on the level of tension added to the system by the patient’s lifestyle. Connective Tissue Manipulation is a technique learnt at postgraduate level in the UK and because of this it hasn’t travelled very quickly around the country. At the last calculation, there were only two dozen Physiotherapists in the UK actively practising Connective Tissue Manipulation.
