What Is Visceral Mobilization?
Most people are unfamiliar with the term “visceral mobilization”. In fact, most rehab professionals are taught to only think about the musculoskeletal system (i.e. bones, joints and muscles) when addressing pain in the body. But the body is complex, and rarely do things exist in a vacuum.
We tend to assume that muscles are the only things that can exert a force on a joint, but in the living body we have to consider how interwoven all of our tissues are. Think about the low back, for example. The lower spine sits at the back wall of our abdomen, with lots of different organs all neatly packed in front of it. Digestive issues are rampant these days, and can lead to cramping or spasms of the intestines. Our large intestine ends right in front of these lower vertebra of the spine, and a spasm in the colon can transmit tension directly into our low back. But few would guess that a chronically tight low back could be connected to gut health.
That’s where visceral mobilization comes in. This hands-on style of gently releasing tension, fixations or restrictions in various organs can directly translate to improved mobility, whether it’s from the rib cage, hips or shoulders. And the beauty of this approach lies in the connection between our outward physical health and our internal health. Visceral mobilization provides such a unique opportunity to assess our internal health before it gets to the point where it will show up as an abnormal lab test.
The liver is a great example of this. Our livers are massive organs, spanning the right rib cage to the left side and reaching from the bottom of our ribs up to about rib 5 or 6. Usually people don’t think so much about what the liver does, we just take it for granted. But when a liver becomes inflamed, overburdened, or sluggish, there are a variety of ways it tries to communicate that to us.
Oftentimes, liver dysfunction will show up as tightness in the rib cage. If you try taking a deep breath, you may be able to notice different regions of your rib cage that feel restricted or like your breath can’t expand easily. It would make sense that this would be a rib issue, but more often than not it ends up being a liver issue.
Another way the liver can try to alert us is with pain. Not specifically pain in the liver itself (you should never be able to actually feel your liver), but rather in referred pain from the nerves that travel from the right side of the neck down to the liver. So many people come into the clinic reporting right neck or shoulder pain that doesn’t seem to respond to the usual stretching and strengthening routine. While many people spend ample amounts of time and resources trying to get to the bottom of this pain, it’s possible that only one or two sessions of visceral mobilization is enough to get them the relief they’re looking for.
For those suffering with unrelenting low back or hip pain, a thorough assessment of kidney health can sometimes be the best treatment approach. The kidneys sit towards the back of our rib cage, one on each side. Just like the liver, our kidneys play a significant role in detoxing the body. If our kidneys become over-worked they can lead to restrictions in our low back, hip pain, knee pain/stiffness, and even issues down into the foot. Not many rehab professionals are trained in this level of evaluation, but proper assessment and treatment can save people time, money, and unnecessary pain.
There are so many specialists out there to treat the different ailments that may arise in the body. And while visceral mobilization may sound like a specialty itself, the argument could be made that a therapist who is trained in these techniques is more of a generalist. They are able to see beyond just one system, and can connect the dots around different ways pain can present in the body. If you feel like you’re having a hard time getting to the bottom of your health concerns, an evaluation by a rehab professional trained in visceral mobilization might be just what you need.
Dr. Brooke Bailey, DPT