Sports Medicine & Manual Therapy: The Strain–Counterstrain Technique

Manual therapy is typically used to decrease adhesions or spasms within the muscle. In the field of sports medicine, manual therapy is used daily in order to treat athletes and get them back into competition as soon as possible. There are many different forms of manual therapy that have developed over the years. Massage, Trigger Point, Active Release, Passive Release, and Strain-Counterstrain are just a few. This post will focus on the Strain-Counterstrain technique.

Strain-Counterstrain was developed by Dr. Lawrence Jones, D.O., F.A.A.O. in 1955.  Jones and Randall Kusunose, P.T., O.C.S. went on to develop the Jones Institute in 1988. The Jones Institute is the only organization to certify healthcare professionals in the technique.

Unique from other methods, Strain-Counterstrain is so gentle that often patients feel as if the clinician isn’t even doing anything. This is beneficial for the athlete who may have a low pain tolerance. The muscle spasms as a form of protection of itself, but often this spasm can linger and then cause additional issues and pain. The Strain-Counterstrain technique puts the muscle in a shortened position, allowing the spasm to relax, and in turn returning the muscle to normal function. 

Strain-Counterstrain is a technique that can be utilized by any healthcare professional on his or her patients. It is a technique that is easy on both the clinician and the patient, making it extremely beneficial. As an athletic trainer, I have found tremendous success using this form of manual therapy. 

See Video on Decreasing Knee Pain with Strain-Counterstrain