We believe that taking into consideration the complex nerve, vessel and cellular mechanics is as important as understanding and optimizing the energy, focus and connectivity of the body, mind and spirit.
The foundation of our method is Strain-Counterstrain, a multi-system approach to rehabilitating the body by unloading the tension around areas of restriction and injury. By combining this gentle precision manual therapy with the effective traditions of treating the flow of energy or spirit, we create the necessary bio-magnetic signals that nurture health and function in the body. For some people there is a physical disruption that doesn’t allow for this electromagnetic cellular communication to take place and for others the physical is fine but the flow is blocked. Our philosophy is to tend to both.
Located near the Eastern shore of beautiful Lake Nokomis, near the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International airport.
We prefer Check or Cash but we will can process debit and credit cards or FSA/HSA.
Unfortunately, most medical insurance does not cover Counterstrain, in some instances you may be able to submit a 'super' bill and seek reimbursement with your carrier. You can use HSA/FSA, and Personal Injury Insurance.
Yes, auto and personal injury insurance cover Counterstrain. FSA and HSA accounts can be used as well.
Yes, we follow the laws of HIPPA and your information is never sold or given out except where appropriate by law (i.e. you ask us to communicate with the insurance company). Occasionally your practitioner may ask permission to discuss your case with a colleague, as two brains are better than one.
Gua sha is a traditional East Asian healing technique involving a smooth-edged tool—often jade or quartz—used to gently "scrape" or stroke the skin to improve circulation, release muscle tension, and promote lymphatic drainage.
The lymphatic system is a series of organs and tissues that carries clear fluid called lymph through the body. Lymph fights disease and infection, removes toxins and waste. It carries white blood cells and is part of the immune system.
Unlike the heart pumping blood through the body, there is not a continuous pump to move lymph. The only way for lymph to flow through the body is through movement, exercise. This is partly why people who have sedentary lifestyles/jobs feel stiff and sore: their lymph isn’t moving freely, leaving toxins and waste sitting in their bodies.
Lymphatic Gua Sha aims to reduce puffiness, stimulate lymphatic fluid flow, and sculpt the face or body. It relieves muscle tension, encourages detoxification, and promotes a firmer complexion.
You will feel a pinch when the cups are first applied, and if that is too uncomfortable the pressure can be released until you feel at ease. After that it should feel like putting your hand on the end of a vacuum hose; maybe a little tighter depending on your pain threshold.
When the cups are removed, you shouldn’t feel anything after that, except relaxed muscles and relief from pain and tension. In the case of lung specific treatment, you should have an easier ability to breathe.
7-14 days.
The short answer is that it’s a modality of manual therapy. But it’s also a description of an underlying physiological process within our bodies, and other mammals for that matter.
This physiological principle is that almost every tissue and cell responds to stress and strain, real and perceived, with a protective contraction. This is the strain.
To reset the strain and allow the body to relax and lengthen, we give it a gentle counter-strain which, after a minute or two, resets the complex neuro-vascular control of that particular structure.
Both methods involve releasing tension from soft tissue including muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, organs, nerves, and veins. When the tension from this soft tissue is released, your pain will be reduced or eliminated.
But Fascial Counterstrain is precision therapy. It is a building-upon, a mastery of the basic Strain-Counterstrain (SCS) approach. Think of it as SCS 2.0. Practitioners who utilize this technique can pinpoint and heal deep issues that on the surface may seem unrelated.
While SCS is usually referred to by its full name, Fascial Counterstrain is often referred to simply as Counterstrain. This is the method that Ben Bartlein practices at Eastern Shore Natural Health.
A Counterstrain practitioner identifies painful spots on the body, or “tender points,” and through a series of “releases” works to relax connective tissue contractions, or spasms. Counterstrain is a painless form of bodywork and should feel relaxing.
How is Counterstrain different from chiropractic work?
Counterstrain is an indirect modality of bodywork. Rather than focusing on the problem area directly, such as with a painful joint, Counterstrain practitioners work on the soft tissue around the area. With the soft tissue relaxed, the joint should slide naturally back into place, which is what it wants to do.
Counterstrain is a gentle and soft technique, and children who need bodywork can benefit from this treatment. It is also effective for treating infants with torticollis.
Regardless of what causes your discomfort, (be it a car accident or something else), Counterstrain helps to relieve both acute traumas and chronic pain.
Gratuity is always gratefully accepted, but never expected. The practitioners at Eastern Shore are independent practitioners and gratuity can be seen as a donation to help continue offering sliding fee scale services and workshops to those less fortunate.
Ben can accommodate clients who prefer to be at home. He also provides on-site treatments for athletic and performance events, and on-site wellness programs for corporations. In the time of COVID these services will be limited to those who are mobility challenged.
While everybody is different, acute issues like headache, migraine, acute musculoskeletal pain generally responds and resolves within one to three treatments, depending on the level of inflammation and the severity of the symptoms.
However, if you have been dealing with something for quite some time, weeks or months or years, it can take more than one or two treatments to resolve.
A series of treatments or regular preventative maintenance will take you on a journey of awareness and healing that is really one of our greatest gifts as humans. You will have the opportunity to learn how to use your breath to make yourself feel better.
Most people report after regular and progressive treatments more energy, less sickness, greater mental capacity, and/or more balanced blood pressure, just to name a few. They feel a greater perspective on the challenges that we all face at one time or another in our lives.
We invite you to use Counterstrain and holistic bodywork as a tool to reach and maintain your full health.
Learn more about Fascial Counterstrain, the medical conditions it treats, and the peer-reviewed research that supports its results.
Learn more about what Fascial Counterstrain can do for you
Watch this video demo on how to improve a limited Straight Leg Raise (SLR) with Counterstrain.
The Jones Institute offers continuing education courses and board certification in Strain Counterstrain and Fascial Counterstrain.
Treat the cause, not the symptoms with Fascial Counterstrain
Published, peer reviewed manuscripts supporting FCS’s underlying mechanism of action.
A partial list of conditions treated by Fascial Counterstrain.
