Derived from osteopathy, Positional Release Technique (PRT or “Strain-Counterstrain”) can relieve pain by relaxing tight (shortened) tissues and improving local circulation. Unlike massage and stretching, PRT is safe to apply even to damaged or inflamed tissues.
Many painful conditions result directly or indirectly from tissues (such as muscles, ligaments and tendons) that have been strained, either quickly in a sudden incident, or gradually because of overuse or poor breathing or posture. These strained tissues may stretch beyond their usual length or become shorter than normal, depending on where they are in the body and the type of stress imposed. As a result they are very common sites of trigger point activity.
If you gently ease tissues that have shortened to a position in which you make them even shorter, you can temporarily remove pain from the area. If that position of ease is maintained for a minute or so, the tight, tense muscle (and trigger points housed there) may release and relax – sometimes permanently, but at least for a while. The exercise on page 102) shows how to use PRT on neck muscles, but can be adapted for other areas. For example, if the pain-point (which may or may not be a trigger point) is on the front of the body, bend forward to relieve it; the further it is to one side, the more you should slowly ease toward that side. If the point is on the back of your body, ease slightly backward until the pain reduces a little, then turn away from the side where you feel the pain and fine-tune to release the discomfort. If the point is on a limb, try to shorten the relevant muscles (don’t stretch them) by slowly moving them to find the position in which the pain is most reduced. When there are many areas of pain, try starting with those nearest the head and middle of the body.