Non-Surgical Solutions for Treating Pain
Dr. Philip Lim's Medical Musculoskeletal Clinic

Ligamentous and Fascial Releases

  • Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) can be divided into Direct and Indirect methods.
  • Ligamentous and Fascial Strain or Ligamentous Articular Strain describes the somatic dysfunction that occurs in the ligamentous structures that surround a joint.
  • The tension in all of the ligaments of a normal joint is balanced and is used to centre adjacent bones in their articular grooves and spaces.
  • This suspension system keeps the bones from being jammed too close together, pulled too far apart, shifted from one side to the other, twisted or bent sideways. When an injury occurs, one bone in the joint becomes jammed beyond the physiologic position, and some, if not all, of the ligaments become strained.
  • Of the pair of opposing ligaments, the more lax ligament is usually the more strained ligament, while the tighter ligament is more normal.
  • Ligamentous and Fasical Release is the indirect OMT method of treating the strain by balancing the tension in both ligaments, maintaining the equal tension until the body re-centres the bones.

This indirect method is effective and gentle on the injured joint.