Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT)

Theraputic Techniques

Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) is a distinctive blend of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques designed to address pain, dysfunction, disease, and disability. Developed over the past 30 years by Sharon Giammatteo, Ph.D., I.M.T.,C., IMT is a novel healthcare approach tailored to the needs of complex patients. Practitioners of IMT use a comprehensive and holistic method to identify and treat the root causes of dysfunction. Although IMT primarily employs hands-on techniques, it also incorporates various diagnostic tools, treatment technologies, nutritional programs (including natural supplements, diet, and herbs), and body-based psychotherapeutic approaches to create personalized treatment plans.

The Core Principles

The core principle of IMT is that the body has an inherent ability to self-correct and heal under optimal conditions. For instance, the healing of a skin cut or a fractured bone is a natural, self-regulating process. However, when pain and dysfunction arise, it often indicates that the body is unable to restore health on its own due to excessive cellular or tissue dysfunction. In such cases, intervention is necessary to enhance the body’s self-correction mechanisms.

Gentle Methods

IMT techniques are primarily manual and involve gentle manipulative methods to encourage tissue repair, normalize structure, and restore function. What sets IMT apart is its integration of manual therapy for all body systems, including bone, nerve, fascia, muscle, organ, lymphatic, and circulatory systems. Each tissue type has specific healing needs, and IMT employs targeted techniques to achieve the best results. Often, multiple systems are addressed simultaneously since dysfunction in one system can affect or be affected by other systems. For example, a patient with chronic shoulder pain would undergo a comprehensive assessment to identify all contributing factors. Treatment might involve addressing muscles, fascia, joints, bones, nerves, circulatory vessels, lymphatic structures, and organs based on the diagnostic findings. The treatment approach is tailored according to the specific needs revealed through diagnostics. Ultimately, IMT combines various techniques to evaluate and treat all body systems.