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Counterstrain

“How does Counterstrain work?” “Who invented Counterstrain?”
Learn everything you need to know about the history of Counterstrain, how Counterstrain works, and why it’s so impactful today.

What is Counterstrain?

Counterstrain utilizes diagnostic tender points to identify painful, reflexively protected and contracted tissues. Reflex tissue contractions occur in the body’s deep fascia layers, skeletal muscle tissues, and/or smooth muscle structures in response to a variety of mechanical or chemical insults. Examples include trauma, surgery, postural strain, repetitive motion, infectious or viral conditions, and even inflammatory diets. Once present, this form of reflex muscular dysfunction can contribute to a multitude of symptoms.

Treatable Conditions Using Counterstrain

Chronic edema
Digestive dysfunctions
Neuropathy
Endocrine dysfunctions
Migraine and non-migraine headaches
Visual disturbances
Tachycardia
CRPS
Peripheral arterial disease
Balance disorders
Seizures
Tinnitus
Depression
Impaired immune system functions
Fibromyalgia and other systemic conditions
Musculoskeletal conditions in all regions

How Counterstrain Works

Counterstrain practitioners remove painful, reflexive tissue contractions from the body via a gentle hands-on process of slackening or decompressing the involved structures. The treatments are completely painless making them a viable option for even the most painful and delicate cases. Counterstrain’s powerful, multi-system effects occur from a deactivation of deep fascial pain receptors (nociceptors) which maintain the body’s soft tissues in a persistent guarded or “over-protective” state. During Counterstrain treatments, there is a palpable, often visible reduction in localized tissue edema. The combination of metabolite drainage and proprioceptive realignment gives Counterstrain unparalleled carry-over. Many patients report lasting relief of chronic conditions after only one or two treatment sessions—a testament to how Counterstrain works.

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“The osteopath who is well versed in the anatomy of the region, its blood supply, drainage, and the functioning processes of the nervous system…sees the cause which has produced this condition.”

- A.T. Still

History of Counterstrain

Strain Counterstrain Discovery

Strain Counterstrain was developed in 1955 by Dr. Lawrence Jones, an osteopath from the small town of Ontario, Oregon. Dr. Jones was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, the son of an engineer and school teacher. As a teenager, he became interested in osteopathy after watching an osteopath treat his friend’s acute back injury and provide immediate relief using only his hands. He received his osteopathic degree in 1936 from the California College of Osteopathic Medicine in Los Angeles then moved back to Ontario to start his practice. In his early years of practice, Dr. Jones performed primarily high velocity manipulation techniques to joint problems. He admitted that while he could successfully treat about two-thirds of his patients, he could—and should—do better.

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Counterstrain Rationale & Case Studies

Strain Counterstrain: Current Concepts and Clinical Evidence

A New Rationale and Treatment Model for Neuromuscular Tender Points

Fascial Plasticity—a New Neurobiological Explanation: Part 1

Fascial Nomenclature: Update on Related Consensus Process

Viscoelastic Properties of the Human Lumbodorsal Fascia

Mechanobiology and Diseases of Mechanotransduction

Nociceptive Reflexes and the Somatic Dysfunction: A Model

Intramuscular Connective Tissue Differences in Spastic and Control Muscle

Fascia is Able to Actively Contract and May Influence Musculoskeletal Dynamics