What is BioSynchronistics®

BioSynchronistics® is a form of manual physical therapy effective in treating common neuromusculoskeletal conditions experienced by non-athletes as well as athletes. Most people who experience pain and/or a change in their ability to perform daily activities can benefit from these techniques.

Cheryl Wilbur, PT, and Carol Tschirpke, PT, of Quality Physical Therapy in Sturbridge, MA, began the development of BioSynchronistics® in the mid-1980s in response to a lack of whole body treatment approaches for pain and dysfunction. They realized that treatment must focus on the entire body, not simply one painful area, because each patient needs the health of the whole body for optimal daily living.

BioSynchronistics® addresses the structural misalignment in our bodies that result from both significant adverse events and everyday life.  Falls, disease, emotional stress, medical conditions, surgeries, etc., can cause your body to deviate from its natural biomechanical equilibrium. Even simple activities – carrying a heavy pocketbook over the same shoulder year after year, repetitive motions at work or home, sitting with your wallet in your back pocket, holding a toddler on one hip, looking at a computer screen for hours – all result in the formation of compensatory positions. These positions stress your body.

In response to these stresses, your center of gravity deviates from its normal healthy position. For instance, if you twist your right ankle because you missed a step, you will feel pain when placing full weight on that leg. Your body compensates by leaning to the left. To prevent you from falling over, your trunk leans back to the right. In order for you to look straight ahead, your neck and head now move back towards the left. This zigzagging motion is the body’s involuntary corrective response to right itself: to be able to stand up straight and look to the horizon. Muscles on the opposite side and diagonally across from the area of dysfunction work overtime to help stabilize your body. Unfortunately, most likely you now experience uncomfortable tiring, muscle strain or spasms, possible areas of tightness, and pain. You may even notice changes in how you perform or tolerate your daily activities. These symptoms are a result of your body’s compensatory positioning.

BioSynchronistics® is a wonderful way to address this pain and dysfunction. Hands-on manual therapy techniques are used to sequentially balance the body’s systems in a scientifically coordinated way. This treatment draws on traditional physical therapy techniques, and is enhanced with a holistic approach based on both the force of gravity and the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. These techniques are indirect and gentle. Treatment is done sitting, lying down, and/or standing.

As an example, a client may seek physical therapy from Mend Well due to a chronically painful shoulder.  During the initial evaluation the therapist will not only assess the shoulder, but will look at that shoulder in relation to the entire body’s structural alignment.  It is likely that during this assessment the therapist will note multiple areas where parts of the body are not balanced in relation to other body parts. If only the painful shoulder is treated, there may be some temporary relief; however, if treatment restores proper alignment throughout the body, then it is more likely that the client will be able to resume normal activity without aggravating shoulder pain.

The ultimate goal of treatment with BioSynchronistics® is to facilitate the body to balance itself and let go of its painful compensations. For the client, this results in significant, lasting relief from pain and improved tolerance for all daily activities.