Risa Kaban Physical Therapy

03/24/2026

Systemic manual therapy out performs exercise. Visceral, neural, lymoh work for the win. Imagine if it were all connected!!

Real Validation. Hands-On Results.

A published study in the Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies found that systemic manual therapy outperformed exercise alone for hip pain—with 63% of patients improving vs. 54% with exercise.

When you address fluid dynamics, neural sensitivity, and visceral mobility, you’re not just ​a​addressing symptoms—you’re ​​helping change the environment the body heals within.

This research highlights three key drivers of meaningful change:
✔️ Decongestion
✔️ Desensitization
✔️ Restoring mechanical balance

This is more than validation—it’s momentum for a whole-body, integrative approach that continues to elevate manual therapy in modern healthcare.

📖 Read the study:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360859225000932

✨ Manual therapy is not just relevant—it’s essential.
✨ The body responds when we listen.
✨ And this work continues to lead the way.

03/14/2026

Little deeper look into the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve plays a powerful role in digestive health.

As the 10th cranial nerve, it connects the brain to the gut and helps regulate motility, inflammation, and overall autonomic balance.

In The Vagus Nerve and Our Digestive Tract, Lorilynn Dowiak, PT, explores the brain–gut connection and its clinical relevance for manual therapists.

Read the full article here:https://www.iahe.com/storage/docs/articles/Dowiak_Article_modified-separated-without-ad.pdf or barralInstitute.com resources tab

02/10/2026

Who was John Upledger and why craniosacral therapy?

1983. A book lands on shelves with a title most people can't even pronounce: CranioSacral Therapy.

The authors were osteopath Dr. John Upledger, and Jon D Vredevoogd, designer and architect.

Vredevoogd strongly believed that nature made the best designs, so Upledger challenged him to explain the design of the skull.

They spent years researching this, exploring and evolving aspects of Cranial Osteopathy that many of their wider colleagues insisted weren’t possible or didn't exist.

As anyone who met Upledger quickly discovered, he wasn't interested in being conventional. He was interested in what worked. And he discovered that working with an incredibly gentle touch, treating the cranial bones and working with subtle rhythms you could barely feel, had massive effects.

The medical establishment thought he was mad. But many, many people found relief when nothing else had worked. Then, many more wanted to know what he was doing and how could they do it too.

So they wrote the book: CranioSacral Therapy.

Over the next 25 years, he treated thousands of patients, established an institute, wrote multiple books, taught others his ideas and trained tens of thousands of practitioners worldwide, from every background imaginable....

Here's what made him different: he never stopped being curious. Never stopped questioning. He explored trauma release, how to work with the brain, the immune system, paediatric applications, even working with dolphins.

Along the way he literally created a new profession. The Upledger Institute has now trained over 160,000 healthcare practitioners in more than 60 countries.

He died in 2012, but his work and ideas live on and continue to develop.

He proved you didn't need to force healing. Sometimes the gentlest touch creates the deepest change. Five grams of pressure - about the weight of a 5p piece - can reorganize entire patterns in the body.

But perhaps his most radical contribution? Back then this type of work was reserved for doctors. He believed this work belongs to anyone willing to learn it properly.

Pre-requisites are an open heart and an open mind.

12/16/2024

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDhMYm3uj-s/?igsh=MW15M3o1c2s5a24zNA==

03/13/2024

So many ways our work can make a difference.

Astrocytes Play Critical Role in Regulating Behavior

Researchers have identified a pivotal role played by a specific group of astrocytes in regulating behaviors associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Focusing on astrocytes that express the Crym gene in the central striatum, the study demonstrates how these cells contribute to the regulation of neural communication and behavior, particularly perseverative actions observed in disorders like autism, OCD, and Huntington’s disease.

By genetically manipulating these astrocytes in mice to reduce Crym expression, the researchers observed an increase in repetitive, purposeless behaviors, highlighting the significant impact of Crym-positive astrocytes on brain function and disorder manifestation.

This discovery not only challenges the traditional neuron-focused understanding of brain behavior but also suggests new paths for developing targeted therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions.

https://neurosciencenews.com/astrocytes-behavior-psychology-25696/

01/29/2024

https://neurosciencenews.com/nasal-lymphatic-network-csf-drainage-25530/?fbclid=IwAR0JepupWNHXllzt4hfh_2Sfuuh6iG7WK6iSi3Mpba8HyMNbs6PCMIZGRXg_aem_AV-oFq8XxTTf-iFetxVsjwrOKD2TAdx3_V8HCfXfJ6GXUvzdBAcD_qYAFuMzUNLwZpI

Researchers discovered a crucial network of lymphatic vessels at the back of the nose, which significantly contributes to draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the brain.

01/22/2022

Yes!!

Releasing restrictions in the body so it can naturally return to a healthy state of being: As manual therapists and health care practitioners, this is our mission.

03/11/2020

These are challenging times. Staying present and empowered is difficult with all the fear we have witnessed around us. Here is a meditation that may help you feel connected and protected. Take from it what feels right by you. https://www.facebook.com/207697880579/posts/10162890293455580/?vh=e

01/26/2020

Cranio-sacral is very profound. When combined with visceral work, dural work and other manual modalities, its a great opportunity for the body to heal

A primary focus of CranioSacral Therapy is to gently lessen the body’s connective tissue strain and decrease meningeal stress. CranioSacral Therapy is based partly on the theory that certain light-…

06/11/2019

We all need to take the time, clear out.

Self-Care is bringing nourishing things and activities into your life and removing anti-nourishing things and activities from your life, a sort of Marie Kondo exercise for your mind/body/spirit. And these nourishing things and activities do not have to be huge or expensive. In fact, 90% of the self-...

03/18/2019