Balanced ligamentous tension
Encyclopedia
Balanced ligamentous tension (also known as balanced ligamentous tension release, ligamentous articular strain, or simply BLT) is both an indirect and direct technique used in osteopathic manipulative medicine
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. It was later described by his students Rebbecca Lippincott and William Garner Sutherland, who greatly expanded it. It was described in “Osteopathic Technique of William G. Sutherland,” that was published in the 1949 Year Book of Academy of Applied Osteopathy. According to Sutherland’s model, all the joints in the body are balanced ligamentous articular mechanisms. The ligaments provide proprioceptive information that guides the muscle response for positioning the joint, and the ligaments themselves guide the motion of the articular components.
. This is the indirect component. The practitioner then waits for a change in the palpatory quality of the structure being treated, i.e. a change in skin tension, temperature, or muscle tension. This is followed by a balancing stage in which the practitioner slowly brings the joint into the diagnosed dysfunction (the direct component).
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine is the application of the distinct osteopathic philosophy, structural diagnosis and use of Osteopathic Manipulative Technique in the diagnosis and management of the patient. OMM takes into account the physical and mental health of a patient, and how either aspect...
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History
The technique was reportedly invented by A.T. StillAndrew Taylor Still
Andrew Taylor Still is considered the father of osteopathy and osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician & surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial & state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker University, the oldest 4-year college in the state of Kansas, and was the founder...
. It was later described by his students Rebbecca Lippincott and William Garner Sutherland, who greatly expanded it. It was described in “Osteopathic Technique of William G. Sutherland,” that was published in the 1949 Year Book of Academy of Applied Osteopathy. According to Sutherland’s model, all the joints in the body are balanced ligamentous articular mechanisms. The ligaments provide proprioceptive information that guides the muscle response for positioning the joint, and the ligaments themselves guide the motion of the articular components.
Execution
The technique has many variants. The general prescription is to disengage and exaggerate the diagnosed somatic dysfunctionSomatic dysfunction
In osteopathic medicine and osteopathy, somatic dysfunction is the impaired or altered function of bodily structures treated by osteopathic manual technique .-Diagnosis:...
. This is the indirect component. The practitioner then waits for a change in the palpatory quality of the structure being treated, i.e. a change in skin tension, temperature, or muscle tension. This is followed by a balancing stage in which the practitioner slowly brings the joint into the diagnosed dysfunction (the direct component).