About

Potential for Self Healing

IMT treatment techniques are based on the premise that the body has the potential to self-correct or heal itself given the right environment.

Our bodies already do a good job of repairing themselves. Take for example the healing of a cut or wound on the skin, or a broken bone that heals itself once disinfected and immobilised. These are examples showing the normal process of tissue repair that occurs within the body.

Sometimes however, the body needs extra help to facilitate healing, and pain and dysfunction are an indication of too much cell or tissue dysfunction for the body to restore health on its own. Under these circumstances, intervention is required to improve the body’s self-correction mechanisms.

How does it work?

Practitioners use palpation techniques to feel how the body’s tissue is functioning, similar to
chiropractic skills. Unique to IMT is the integration of special hands-on techniques to assess and
address minute levels of tissue dysfunction across all systems in the body.

When combined with their deep understanding of physiology and anatomy, the practitioner’s skill in assessing or ‘mapping’ the body is what determines how they approach treatment for each system within the body.

As each tissue type in the body has unique requirements for healing, practitioners use tissue-specific techniques to promote repair. Often, multiple systems need to be addressed to facilitate recovery, as a dysfunction in one system may influence, or be influenced by, a problem in another.

Restoring structure before function

 Where traditional rehabilitation generally focuses on optimising function, such as strength, balance and range of motion, IMT practitioners will first consider what underlying structures may be compromised, such as ligament, disc, bone and blood vessels.

Once the damaged structure is restored, a patient is then more likely to improve functionality. This is an example of how setting up an optimal environment gives the body a better chance of healing itself.

We can see the difference between the two approaches in a patient who has had knee surgery for a torn ligament. A functional approach would address strength, balance and movement. IMT, on the other hand, might first decrease the swelling at the joint, enhance the healing of the torn ligaments, improve blood flow into and out of the knee, and decrease the inflammation at the joint capsule, prior to implementing any functional techniques. Once structural integrity is restored, the patient is more likely to regain function of the knee and the entire leg.

Type of ailments we treat

Ultimately, IMT is the integration of techniques to assess and address all systems in the body.

Here are some of the health complaints we regularly see in our practice: chronic back pain, migraine headaches, learning disabilities, autism, diabetes, sports-related injuries, chronic fatigue, fertility and women’s health needs, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, depression, anxiety, bowel disorders and urinary urgency. We’re able to work within the limitations of some of these conditions to optimise wellbeing for the patient.

In addition, many patients use IMT preventatively to maintain optimal health.

IMT offers patients the opportunity for recovery, rehabilitation and prevention as an alternative
and/or complement to other health care disciplines.

What disciplines do practitioners come from?

IMT practitioners come from many health care disciplines, including Western medicine, physical
therapy, chiropractic, occupational therapy, naturopathy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and other fields.

Most IMT-trained therapists practise IMT as a specialisation, and integrate IMT into their regular
health-care practices, including in private clinics and hospitals. Practitioners and patients alike have discovered IMT in the process of searching for sustainable answers to their specific health-care needs.

IMT is a comprehensive and holistic solution that benefits all types of patients.