JONES STRAIN AND COUNTERSTRAIN EXPLAINED

STRAIN AND COUNTERSTRAIN TECHNIQUES Jones Institute website Clinical Study of S/CS Treatment for Low Back Pain (JMMT 2001) Shoulder Problems

Jones Strain and Counterstrain So, what in the world is strain and counterstrain anyway? Counterstrain is a form of manual manipulative therapy that uses an indirect means of passively positioning a painful or restricted joint or muscle to relieve pain and mechanical dysfunction. That is an over simplified definition, but it captures the essence of the technique. Technically speaking, counterstrain is “A passive positional procedure that places the body in a position of greatest comfort, thereby relieving pain by reduction and arrest of inappropriate proprioceptor activity that maintains somatic dysfunction. In addition, it is a mild overstretching applied in a direction opposite to the false and continuing message of strain from which the body is suffering.”1 This is one of the most gentle and powerful manual techniques that are currently employed in the field of rehabilitation. The reliability and effectiveness of this manual technique are rapidly becoming legendary, because they work so well! Not only do the techniques work, they are applicable to a large range of musculoskeletal dysfunctions. 1 Kusunose, Randall, PT, OCS, Strain and Counterstrain I For the Spine, The Jones Institute, Carlsbad, CA, 1995. Please feel free to call 206.478.7285 or 206.855.8332 to schedule an appointment. Generally appointments can be scheduled on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Click here for self-treatment illustrations! Send me some e-mail Function In Training Home