Visceral Manipulation

Manip lation

Kenneth Lossing D.O.

1
We will try
y to answer these
questions:
• What is a visceral dysfunction?
• Why would you want to palpate viscera?
• H ddo you palpate
How l t viscera?
i ?
• What is layer palpation?
• What information do you get?
• What is the difference?
• What are the “All roads lead to Rome “
rules 1 and 2.
2
Aspects of the Osteopath
• “The
The Alchemist”
Alchemist
• We try to transform
dysfunction into
health.

Carl Spitzweg 3
 • Dr Still developed Osteopathy in the late 19th
century. He had been trained as a medical
Dr Still doctor, but found that he could treat most
diseases by palpating dysfunctional areas,
andd ttreating
ti them
th with
ith hi
his hands.
h d H He called
ll d
this new science Osteopathy, meaning to
“begin with the bones”. By finding where the
bones were not properly aligned and where
they were not moving properly, it can guide
the physician to the area of the body that
needs to be treated, as they reflect where the
forces of life are not moving properly. Notice
that he “began with the bones”
bones”, but did not
end there. In his writing, he constantly
talked about joints, fascia, blood supply,
nerves, internal organs, and lymphatic flow.
Still Museum 4
 Visceral
Osteopathic manipulation of the viscera began with Dr Still. He
described treating many different digestive, respiratory and
urogenital complaints . For Dr Still, almost all medical conditions
had an osteopathic treatment, in some cases curative, in some cases
supportive. Dr Still left few descriptions of techniques of any kind,
but some of his early students, Carl McConnell and E.Barber did.
Dr Still described few techniques in his writing, the most specific
information was in his last book, “Research and Practice”,
published in 1911.

Dr Still palpated for organs that were” out of place”, specifically ptosis
of the liver, kidneys, bladder and uterus. He mostly treated the organs
by lifting them superiorly. In general, Dr. Still’s approach for visceral
problems was to treat the spine, then lift the organs.
5
Dr SUTHERLAND
Dr.
• One of Dr Still’s students, WG
S h l d credited
Sutherland, di d hihim with
ih
the original idea of the cranial
concept. Dr Still often told his
students that DD.O.
O stands for
“Dig On”, encouraging them to
expand their view of Osteopathy.
While Dr Sutherland is most
known for his work in the
cranial area, he never implied
that it should be the only
y area
diagnosed or treated. He gave
multiple references to treating
the viscera.

6
Dr Sutherland
S therland
• “When
When you want to observe the abdominal viscera that
may be in ptosis, with the patient supine gently place
one hand over or just below the area of interest. This
h d is
hand i passive;
i iti does
d nothing.
hi Then
Th place
l your other
h
hand over it. You use the upper hand for gentle lifts
and observation. That gentle application will tell you a
great deal about where you are so that you can feel
what the tissues can reveal. The lower hand can be
permitted to sink into the tissues below,
below but the upper
hand does the lifting in cooperation with the exhalation
excursion of the diaphragm”.

Teachings in the Science of 7

Osteopathy
Dr Carl McConnell
Dr.
• “ A point often overlooked
is that the total ventral side
off the bodyy functions
f under
direct diaphragmatic
activity, as a unit. An
imbalanced state of pelvic
tension, for example, may
be fundamentally dependant
on diaphragmatic atony.”

Selected Writings of Carl Phillip 8

McConnell D.O.
Visceral Dysfunction
D sf nction
• Dr Still’s
Still s ideas are clear: all tissues need adequate fluid
, nutritional and neurological exchange to be healthy.
These components come through the blood vessels,
l
lymphatics,
h ti andd theth autonomic
t i nervous system,
t which
hi h
all are covered by the peritoneum and pleura, in the
form of visceral ligaments. When the attachments are
tight, fluid exchange is compromised (tissue
perfusion), the nervous system is irritated, and less than
optimum function is the result.
result By treating the
attachments, function can be improved. These
principles apply to the viscera as well as all other
tissues.
ti
9
Mobility
Mobilit
• All of the viscera,
viscera and all other tissues,
tissues
move with each breath (mobility). This
movement is necessary to keep fluid and
pressure distribution within normal
limits.
limits

10
Mobilit diaphragm movement
Mobility-diaphragm mo ement

Atlas of Human Anatomy,Sobatta 11

Planes of motion
The motions
of mobilityy
occur 3
dimensionally
, in all of the
cardinal
planes of
existence.
i

Atlas of Human Anatomy, Sobatta 12

What type of an Osteopath will I be?
• Bone and jointist?
• Fascist?
• Cranialist?
• Visceralist?
• Extremity-ist?
• Biodynamist?
• Point poker?
• Captain Crunch?
• An Osteopathic
physician that is able to
diagnose and treat
Carl Spitzweg almost anything? 13
Visceral Dysfunction
D sf nction
• “Impaired
Impaired or altered mobility or motility
of the visceral system and related fascial,
neurological vascular,
neurological, vascular skeletal,
skeletal and
lymphatic elements”.
• AOA Glossary,
Gl 2002

14
Relationships • Visceral dysfunctions are
connected to somatic
dysfunctions through the
connective tissues,
nerves (viscerosomatic
Medical
reflexes, somatovisceral
Diagnosis
reflexes) and fluids
(blood, lymph,
Somatic
y
Dysfunction
interstitial).
• Visceral
Vi l andd somatic
i
Visceral dysfunctions may be pre-
Dysfunction symptomatic.
• Almost
Al t all
ll medical
di l
diagnosis have visceral
and somatic dysfunction
components ( except
maybe dermatological
disease). 15
 How do we feel deep inside the
body? Layer Palpation
• To palpate
l a layer
l or an organ:
palpate to the skin, then
superficial
superficial
p fascia,, adipose,
p , etc..
noting tissue texture and
Middle consistency at each layer. Does
it feels like there is tension?
Deep Continue through the tissues
layers to an appropriate depth.
• Explore the walls of the body
cavities (superficial), the things
inside the cavities ( middle),
and the posterior cavity ( deep).
16
 This follows
follo s Newton’s
Ne ton’s 3 rd La
Law
• If 2 bodies are in contact,
and body 1 exerts a force on
body 2, then body 2 will
apply a force on body 1 in
such a way that the 2 forces
will have equal magnitude
Action force Reaction force but opposite
pp directions.
• Useful in layer palpation,
1 2
when you press down to a
l
layer, it will
ill press back.
b k

17
Fascial Palpation
• Theraband feels
somewhat similar to
fascia.
• We are viewingg 3 ppieces
of theraband used to
represent fascia, that
shows:
• Slack
• Slack taken out
• Tension- in either
theraband or fascia, the
material will pull toward
the site of tension.

18
Fascial Pull
P ll
• While yyou are identifying
y g
layers, pay attention to the
tissue texture and consistency.
• When yyou are on a fascial layer,
y ,
Dysfunction you may feel it being pulled in
a certain direction, towards a
dysfunction.
• Lift your hand off the body, and
move the base of the palm to
somewhere further along the
tension line.
line When you are at a
dysfunction, the tissue will pull
in. Confirm with motion testing
the structure.
19
In Dysfunctions:
y
“All Roads Lead to Rome”
• Rome rule 1: The fascial
pull
ll ( listening)
li i ) will
ill be
b in
i
the direction of the
dysfunction ( Rome). All
of the fascia in the area (
roads) will pull towards it.
• Rome rule 2: The
dysfunctional area will also
have multiple parameters
involved (roads), such as
restricted motion,, thermal
changes, perturbed fluid
movement, and associated
neurological changes
( i l sympathetic
(spinal, th ti or
parasympathetic). 20
M ltiple strains
Multiple strains-Tensigrity
Tensigrit
• The body generally
accumulates manyy strains
over a life time. The strain
10 takes a certain amount of
force to hold it there,
there
exerting tension into the
50 fascia. The one with the
20 most force
f will
i have the
biggest effect on the fascia.
• Therefore, removing the
biggest strain will have the
largest effect on the body.
30
• “Rome rule 1”
21
Barriers

• In a dysfunction (somatic or visceral) the

neutral point is shifted, the distensability in one
direction with be shorter and have a harder end
feel. Therefore, it has changed the tensigrity
balance both locallyy and gglobally.
y
Outline of Osteopathic Manipulation 22
Procedures, Kimberly
 D f ti a Plastic
Dysfunction, Pl ti Deformation
D f ti
Stress • A strainingg load ((1)) that
is larger than the yield
strength of a tissue will
Ultimate cause a plastic or
strength permanentt deformation
d f ti (
Y a change in the
P viscoelasticity) that
Rupture remains after the
straining force is
1 Potency removed (2).
2
• The kinetic energy of the
loading force is stored as
potential energy in the
tissue ((Potency).
y)

Strain 23
 Tight Visceral Ligaments
• If there is increased
mechanical tension in the
Vein ligaments, the first fluid
vessels to gget compressed
p
(compromised) will be the
lowest pressure, the veins-
venous congestion,
g , retention
of metabolic byproducts,
Lymph
Artery and lymphatic vessels-
relative edema.
• With increased tension, the
artery- decreased nutrition,
oxygen eventual death.
oxygen, death
• “Rome rules 1 and 2” 24
Palpation of Facilitation
• With a light touch
palpation, a facilitated
segment ( near the
t
transverse process))
will actively,
rhythmically side bend
to the side of the
dysfunction of the
organ/limb.
organ/limb
• The side of spinous
process will be
warmer.
• Rome rule 2 25
L
Layer Palpation:
P l ti Superficial
S fi i l Layer
L
• Skin: note the following
• Moisture-dry, sweating,
oiliness
• Temperature
• Texture-rough,
Texture rough smooth
• Mobility-ease it is
moved
• Turgor-the speed it
returns into place
26
 Vi
Viscoelasticity
l ti it isi Speed
S d Dependant
D d t
Stress • Stress is not only a
function of strain, but
also the strain rate, in
other words the speed at
which a load ( strain) is
applied will affect the
V i speed
Varying d amount of stress in the
tissue.
• Each tissue ( and
dysfunction) has a
certain speed that it
responds the best to, the
tissue speed
“tissue speed”.
27
Strain
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• Superficial fascia
and subcutaneous
fat- feels like
adipose. Note how
thick it is, it’s
consistency and
texture.

28
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• Fascia covers the
muscles , arteries,
veins,, lymphatics,
y p ,
and nerves.
• The fascia feels thin,,
and you can slide on
it.

29
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• Nerves feel like
small pieces of
string. A great way
to practice
i palpating
l i
these is to place a
piece of hair, or
dental floss, inside a
book. Palpate
th
throughh as many
pages to the hair as
yyou can. Tryy to
increase the pages.
30
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• Pectoral major
muscles
• Serratus anterior
• External oblique
• Aponeuroisis of the
external oblique
• Muscles feel like
muscles,
muscles
aponeuroisis feels
like fascia.
31
S perficial Thoracic Layer
Superficial La er
• Clavipectoral fascia
fascia-
is deep to the
pectoralis major,
covers pectoralis
li
minor and
subclavious, runs
superiorly to the mid
cervical fascia.

32
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• External intercostal
muscles and membrane-
press gently between the
ribs
ib to
t feel.
f l Fibers
Fib are
directed obliquely down
and laterally in back,
and down, forward and
medially in front.
• Transversus abdominus
and rectus sheath,
posterior layer

33
S perficial Thoracic Layer
Superficial La er
• Internal intercostal
muscles- run at an 90
degree angle to the
externall intercostals.
i l
2 layers- internal and
innermost. Innermost
are related to
endothoracic fascia
andd parietal
i t l pleura.
l
• Muscles feel like
muscles!
34
S perficial Thoracic Layer
Superficial La er
• Transversus thoracis
muscle-l from
f the
h
sternum, lower fibers are
extending laterally, upper
fibers extend lateral and
superior up to ribs 2-5,
lower fibers are
continuous
co t uous with
w t thet e
transversus abdominus.
The endothoracic fascia
and parietal pleura cover.
• If tight- can affect rib
motions and pleural
motion.
• Tested with distensability
test. 35
S perficial Abdominal La
Superficial Layer
er
• Transversalis fascia- covers
the pparietal peritoneum
p like
a bag.
• Posteriorly the transveraslis
fascia is continuous with the
anterior
t i layer
l off
thoracolumbar fascia. This
is in the middle to deep
y to ppalpate.
layers p
• Place a finger on the
anterior transversalis fascia,
and a finger of the other
h d on th
hand the lateral-anterior
l t l t i
edge of quadratus
lumborum muscle. Tug the
g , feel the
anterior finger,
reaction of the posterior
finger. 36
Trans ersalis fascia
Transversalis
• Posteriorly fuses with the
anterior layer
y of the
thoracolumbar fascia, has
some fibers that split to
become the lateroconal
f i fuses
fascia, f with
ith the
th
posterior perirenal fascia,
covers the quadratus
lumborum and psoas
muscles, and attaches into
the vertebral bodies (and
thus to the anterior
longitudinal ligament).
• Therefore can affect spinal
motion, renal motion, and
muscular tension
37
S perficial Abdominal La
Superficial Layer
er
Parietal peritoneum
lines the abdominal
cavityy and pparietal
pleura lines the
thoracic cavity.
Thin like cellophane,
feels like fascia.

38
S perficial Layer
Superficial La er
• Parietal Pleura
extends inferiorly to
cover the respiratory
p y
diaphragm. Visceral
pleura ( middle
layer) covers the
lungs.
• Parietal
i l Peritoneum
i
covers the abdominal
viscera
viscera.
39
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• The lungs g are covered
with visceral pleura.
• The visceral pleura
slides against
g the
parietal pleura during
respiration.
• The visceral pleura
slides against visceral
pleura in the fissures.
• The visceral pleura is
very thin.
hi ItI is
i easier
i to
feel the lung tissue
behind it.
• Lung
L tissue
ti is
i more
spongy and soft. 40
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• Mediastinal pleura-
pleura
covers the phrenic and
vagus nerves, trachea,
esophagus, aortic arch,
superior vena cava, and
the thoracic duct.
Attaches to the sternum
anteriorly, and the
parietal pleura
posteriorly.
posteriorly
• If it is tight, you can feel
a fascial pull near the 4th
condrosternal joint,
joint
pulling deeply. 41
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• Fibrous pericardium
covers the heart and
the serous
pericardium.
i di
• The fibrous
pericardium attaches
to the respiratory
diaphragm inferiorly,
the sternum
anteriorly, and the
spine posteriorly
posteriorly.
42
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• The Great vessels of the
heart are sealed by the
pericardium, with the
connective
ti tissue
ti
continuous with the mid
cervical fascia
superiorly.
• Thus we can palpate to
the layer of the fibrous
pericardium and feel
fascial pull in any of the
directions of
attachments. 43
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• Posterior to the fibrous
pericardium is the lower
trachea, the esophagus,
and aorta
aorta.
• It’s not so easy to
palpate the thoracic
aorta.
aorta
• The upper esophagus
can be palpated behind
the
h cricoid
i id cartilage.
il The
Th
lower esophagus is
tested with distensabilty
i f i l andd laterally.
inferiorly l ll
44
Middle Thoracic Layer
La er
• Trachea and bronchi
can be palpated and
tested by palpating
the
h cervical
i l trachea,
h
fractioning it
superiorly to tension,
noting the distance
of distensability,
th tractioning
then t ti i it to t
the left and right,
comparing
p g the sides.
45
Deep Thoracic Layer
La er
• The anterior longitudinal
g
ligament extends all along the
anterior border of the spine. It
is palpable in the cervical
area and in the lumbar area.
area, area
If the largest tension is in the
thoracic area, you will feel
the ligament being pulled in
that direction.
• The thoracic duct lies along
the thoracic spine, it is
palpable
l bl near theth left
l ft anterior
t i
scalene, and in the abdomen,
as it contracts.

46
S perficial Abdominal La
Superficial Layer
er
• Deep to the
transversalis fascia is
the parietal
p
peritoneum.
• The parietal
p
peritoneum folds
cover the viscera and
b
becomes the
h visceral
i l
peritoneum.

47
Middle Abdominal La
Layer
er
• The middle
abdominal layer is
ppalpated
p deep
p to the
transveralis fascia
and parietal
peritoneum.
• One of the first
things
hi encounteredd is
i
the greater omentum,
it feels like adipose,
adipose
because it is! 48
Middle Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Behind the greater
omentum is
intestines. The
intestines can feel
like empty thin
membrane/tubes, to
full membrane
/tubes.
/tubes

49
Middle Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Superior to the
transverse colon (
find it with
ballottement) is the
stomach and the
lesser omentum. The
lesser omentum feels
like adipose
adipose, but can
also have a lot of
tension. The stomach
feels smooth. 50
Middle Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Stomach removed

51
Middle Abdominal La
Layer
er
• The posterior
p
peritoneum forms
many attachments to
the viscera.
iscera These
attachments can
become tension lines
when there are
dysfunctions present.
• Posterior
P t i peritoneum
it
is dividing structure
between middle
betwee dd e and
a d
deep layers.
52
Deep Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Posterior parietal
peritoneum removed.
• Pancreas,
Pancreas duodenum,
duodenum
and kidneys are
retroperitoneal.
p
• Pancreas feels
rubbery and soft.

53
Deep Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Perirenal fascia feels
like fascia.

54
Deep Abdominal Layer
La er
• The kidneys feel like
a hard bar of bath
soap.
p

55
Deep Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Posterior perirenal
fascia- can be
ppalpated
p through
g
Grynfelt’s space.

56
Deep Abdominal La
Layer
er
• Anterior
Longitudinal
Ligament-
g ppalpate
p
through the
abdominal wall at
the level of the
prominence of L5-
S1.
S1

57
 • The Sagittal plane is the plane
Quick Test of the greatest motion =
flexion/extension.
• With the viscera, the greatest
motion in this plane is inferior
and superior.
superior
• First test ability to go inferior
and superior,
superior as this is the
“cardinal “movement”. This is
also the “quick
q test”.
• Find the direction of ease.

Atlas of Human Anatomy, Sobatta 58

Treatment
• Historical osteopathic literature has described
many different approaches to treatment, direct,
indirect,, direct-indirect,, fluid,, without
activating factors, with activating factors (
respiration , cranial motion, lymphatic motion).
These approaches have never been cross
correlated in the literature.

59
Indirect stacking
• Find the point of balanced dynamic
tension (the mid point in the sagittal,
coronal and transverse planes).
coronal, planes) Hold
until it releases.
• You
Y can also l adddd a ffulcrum
l where
h your
forearm rests on the table, and you lean a
li l into
little i your arms.
Pocket OMT manual,, Stiles
Working with the Tidal/Fascial Mechanism, Graham

60
L ngs
Lungs
• Lab: pt left lateral recumbent,
do layer palpation down to
lung.
• See if there is a “listening”
• Motion test the lung.
• Treat by exaggerating the
listening

Atlas of Human Anatomy, Sobatta 61

Summaryy of Main Anterior
Thermal Projections
• In General-
General
Projection is right
over Organ, except
lungs.
• Need to also
confirm/retest with
motion testing,
fascial listening,
motion present, to
confirm dysfunction.

62
Remember
• All of our studying,
studying
working, and
ppracticingg is not for
us, it’s for our
patients, who are all
original works of art.

63