The internal organs of your body are referred to as viscera. Visceral organs include the liver, kidneys, lungs, intestines, kidneys, gall bladder, heart, etc. Visceral manipulation is an extremely gentle manual therapy. VM is designed to release restrictions and unhealthy compensations that may cause physical pain and dysfunction.
VM involves gentle compression, mobilization, and elongation of the soft tissues. Many people experience a significant improvement from visceral manipulation in under five sessions while others may require more time. Unlike other therapy treatments that are applied two or three times weekly, visceral manipulation techniques to a specific organ are only rendered one time per week.
When you examine the organs of the body, you learn they are not fixed structures within the body like a thumb-tacked note on a bulletin board. Visceral organs have many fascial connections and those organs need to move with the movements of your body. This movement is referred to as the mobility of the organ. For example, as you raise your right arm, not only does your shoulder raise up, but the liver must also rise due to the soft tissue connections they mutually shared.
Another example of how visceral mobility can cause movement restriction is to imagine the presence of scar tissue around the lungs. As you attempt to breathe, the pull of scar adhesions affects the movement patterns of other nearby structures, such as the ribs or the vertebrae of the spine. This alteration of movement may lead to mid-back and neck pain as well as limited motion in the shoulder.
Because the fascial wrappings of your organs are essentially one big continuous piece of connective tissue, restrictions in one area can manifest as symptoms in other areas. A good analogy is to wear a relatively tight T-shirt and twist a piece in one corner up into a knot. You will likely see and feel the pull from your lower left abdomen all the way up in your right shoulder; this same concept effectively happens inside you.
