The Body’s Hierarchy of Protection: How Integrative Manual Therapy Finds the 1° Root Cause
This is what we call the hierarchy of protection. The body will sacrifice comfort or movement in less vital areas (like a shoulder or hip) in order to protect more essential systems — such as the aorta, heart, lungs, or organs.
When we understand this hierarchy, our job as practitioners shifts. Instead of “fixing” what hurts, we begin to listen for the 1° root cause — the first and most essential place the body is trying to protect. When that area is supported and released safely, the layers of compensation begin to melt away. The healing happens from the inside out.
An Example: The Aorta
From the text Integrative Manual Therapy for the Autonomic Nervous System and Related Disorders by Sharon Giammatteo, PhD, PT and Thomas Giammatteo, DC, PT, there’s a profound description of how this principle works with the aorta, one of the body’s most vital arteries.
The body deeply protects the aorta due to its delicate, permeable membranes. If the artery becomes dysfunctional or restricted, the body reflexively creates muscle tension, fascial tightening, and movement limitations around it. These responses act like armor — protective, intelligent, and often completely unconscious.
For example, when the aorta is under stress, the left shoulder girdle may move into a protective posture — protracted and tight — which restricts extension, external rotation, and horizontal abduction. This pattern helps prevent further strain on the artery. From the outside, it might look like a shoulder problem… but the body is really trying to guard the heart.
Finding and Releasing the Root Cause
Through IMT’s advanced strain and counterstrain techniques, we can gently and respectfully release these protective layers. By honoring the body’s hierarchy — not forcing but listening — the fascial and muscular systems begin to soften and reorganize.
When this specific aortic release technique is performed correctly, practitioners often observe immediate systemic changes:
- Improved range of motion in the shoulder, neck, and thoracic spine
- Reduced body-wide edema
- Relief from heartburn or digestive tension near the esophagus-aorta junction
- Decreased gout symptoms due to improved arterial and organ communication
These changes don’t come from chasing symptoms — they come from addressing the 1° dysfunction the body has been protecting.
The IMT Premise: Healing from the Core Outward
In IMT, we don’t just look for what’s tight or painful. We look for what the body is protecting — the deeper story underneath the symptoms.
The body always protects what matters most.
When we find and support that root cause, healing becomes natural and effortless.
Whether that protection is around an artery, an organ, the brainstem, or a joint, the principle remains the same: the body’s intelligence always leads the way when we know how to listen.
Why This Matters
So many chronic conditions — from pain to fatigue to autoimmune issues — stem from unresolved protection patterns. When we begin to work from the IMT perspective, each session becomes a conversation with the body’s wisdom.
We’re not forcing change. We’re facilitating safety, restoration, and flow — and in that, the body remembers how to heal.
If you’d like to experience what happens when the body’s hierarchy of protection is truly honored, come experience Integrative Manual Therapy in Fairhaven, Bellingham, or online.
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