Practical Manual of the Fascial Distortion Model

In 1991, Stephen Typaldos, D.O., discovered the first triggerband. It had occurred to him that his patients were using the same body language again and again. From there he developed the fascial distortion model in which both the clinical symptoms and the patient’s body language were put together to form a diagnosis, which determined the specific therapy given.He continued to develop this system and today six different distortions are known and treatable. The results obtained through the model’s treatments amaze the patients as well as the therapists. Fascial treatments are steadily becoming more and more important. Largely ignored by researchers and anatomists alike, fascia has played a side-role in medicine. It isonly in the case of Rolfing and parts of osteopathy that attention has been given to this connective network.With the FDM, therapists are facing a revolution in the treatment of pain in the musculoskeletal system. Within a few minutes of receiving treatment, a frozen shoulder that was previously resistant to therapy can now move normally. Chronic pains will also go away and athletes can continue to play their sport even after supination trauma.Fascia plays the role of a mediator in the body. It provides for more stability than muscles, and at the same time more mobility than bones. Fascial tissue is found in all parts of our bodies and even each individual muscle cell is covered by fascia. If someone were able to successfully remove the contents of each fascial sheath, then an exact shape of the human body would nevertheless remain intact.Stephen Typaldos discovered six different disorders that can occur within the fascia of the musculoskeletal apparatus.1. Triggerband2. Continuum Distortion3. Herniated Triggerpoint4. Cylinder Distortion5. Folding Distortion6. Tectonic FixationAt this point in time, the FDM has not been scientifically proven, but each successful treatment proves FDM therapistscorrect and calls into question the many other therapies and methods commonly used. For instance, it is now irrational to hold to the theory that muscles shorten, because it is possible for a shoulder that has been frozen for more than two years to regain the full extent of its movement through one treatment.After learning and understanding the model, each therapist is in a position to utilize the therapy methods and quickly increase his rate of success. The FDM is a revolution to the entire medical field. Let us work on revising and improving earlier models in the hope that we may detect new dysfunctions and also find the right therapy for each patient. In the coming years we will see many new approaches from the field of fascia research and we should not close our mind to these.