Strain Counterstrain

Strain counter strain is a manual therapy technique used to treat muscle and joint pain and dysfunction. It uses passive body positioning of spasming muscles and dysfunctional joints to put them in positions of comfort and relaxation that shortens the offending structure. The purpose of shortening the injured muscle or dysfunctional joint is to relax abnormal reflexes that produce the muscle spasm. The passive positioning causes muscle tone to return to normal levels. This allows the joints influenced by the now relaxed muscles to function optimally, increasing its range of motion and easing muscle pain. Strain counterstrain is a very gentle technique because its action for treatment moves the patient’s body away from the painful, restricted directions of motion.