VM is an integrative approach developed by world-renowned French Osteopath Jean-Pierre Barral,
to evaluation and treatment of a patient requires assessment of the structural relationships between
the organs and their fascial or ligamentous attachments to the musculoskeletal system. Strains in the
connective tissue of the viscera can result from surgical scars, adhesions, illness, posture or injury.

Tension patterns form through the fascial network deep within the body, creating a cascade of
effects far from their sources for which the body will have to compensate. This creates fixed,
abnormal points of tension that the body must move around, and this chronic irritation gives way to
functional and structural problems
Harmony and health exist when motion is free and excursion is full – when motion is not labored,
overexcited, depressed, or conflicting with neighbouring structures and their mobility. Visceral
Manipulation is based on the specific placement of soft manual forces to encourage the normal
mobility, tone and motion of the organs and their connective tissues. These gentle manipulations
can potentially improve the functioning of individual organs and the structural integrity of the entire
body. Due to the delicate and often highly reactive nature of the visceral tissues, gentle force
precisely directed reaps the greatest results.
Visceral Manipulation relies on the palpation of normal and abnormal forces within the body. By
using specific techniques, therapists can evaluate how abnormal forces interplay, overlap and affect
the normal body forces at work. The goal is to help the body’s normal forces remove abnormal
effects, whatever their sources. Those effects can be global, encompassing many areas of bodily
function.
VM assists functional and structural imbalances throughout the body including musculoskeletal,
vascular, nervous, urogenital, respiratory, digestive and lymphatic dysfunction. It evaluates and
treats the dynamics of motion and suspension in relation to organs, membranes, fascia and
ligaments. VM increases proprioceptive communication within the body, thereby revitalizing a
person and relieving symptoms of pain, dysfunction, and poor posture.