Think about it. When something is wrong with the car, our first response is to look for a mechanic, not to add something new to the gasoline. Yet, for too many of us, popping pills is our first response to illness. Like automobiles, the human body has numerous moving parts, and our health and vitality depends greatly on those parts being able to move freely.

Consider the colon, for example. The colon cannot function without peristalsis, the wavelike, intrinsic movements which propel fecal matter “southward.” Anybody who has ever tried to propel a wave down a garden hose knows that the wave stops where someone’s foot pins the hose to the ground. Lift the foot, eliminate the restriction, and subsequent waves pass through.

The first response to chronic constipation, therefore, should be to look for and free-up restrictions on the colon. Instead, over-reliant on a chemical model of the body, most of us reach for fiber, water, or laxatives, which may produce temporary, symptomatic relief, but fail to address the underlying problem, if—as is often the case—there is a mechanical restriction.

By adulthood, most of us will have restrictions on many of our internal organs, or viscera. In the colon’s case, restrictions can produce irregularity, gas, discomfort, breathing difficulties, impaired liver and immune response, circulatory problems, and chronic hip, lumbar, and cervical pain. Medicine tends to medicate these symptoms, ignoring the possibility that they are signs of a mechanical restriction elsewhere.

To function optimally, almost every internal organ, including the lungs, brain, heart, and the vascular system needs freedom of movement. When this movement is inhibited, symptoms begin to appear. Some symptoms, such as lack of energy, can arise so subtly or are so non-specific that they escape detection for years and can be mistakenly attributed to aging, hypochondria, and imagination.

Causes of restrictions include falls and other physical trauma, surgical and dental procedures, thermal and chemical injuries, infections, and emotional and spiritual wounds. When decades pass (as they often do) between the original injury and the appearance of symptoms, practitioners lacking mechanical diagnostic skills will typically be mystified and prone to focus on the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.

So why should every family have a mechanic? Because mechanical restrictions are unavoidable and eventually, if not sooner, will produce significant pathology. Consider children, for example: in the best of all circumstances, most kids arrive with at least a little trauma from in utero and the birth process. Soon, however, gravity happens: they fall or are dropped. They take on issues from their parents and others. They encounter emotional and spiritual upsets.

When it comes to kids, Mx is just what the doctor ordered. When baby's head is jammed for too long against mother's pelvis, CranioSacral Therapy can free up resultant restrictions in the head and spine. C-sections are the equivalent of "sudden loss of cabin pressure" and over-stretch the intracranial membranes; this impairs venous drainage from the head, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen available to the central nervous system at a time when it is most needed. Forceps and over-helpful birthing assistants can strain the delicate tissues in baby's neck, including muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. This leads to chronic neck and shoulder problems and may contribute to such problems as colic and learning challenges like ADD and HDD. CranioSacral Therapy can remove the residua of such trauma and optimize the motion and function of the affected tissues.

One of the most common childhood ailments is chronic ear infection. Antibiotics are not particularly effective, and carry a host of side-effects. CranioSacral Therapy has three specific temporal bone releases that can relieve earaches while improving drainage—without shunts. A fourth technique is excellent for lowering fevers when they become dangerously high. Given the rough and tumble nature of birthing and childhood, anytime children fail to thrive, manual restrictions should be suspected, looked for and released first, before resorting to drugs and surgeries.

Jump forward to parenthood. Having collected 20-plus years of trauma in her body, mom is now expected to cook, clean, carry, chase, and protect her child, often while neglecting some of her own needs. In the course of 15 years of birthing and child rearing, the average mom is going to sustain additional injuries. Appendectomies, C-sections, and hysterectomies typically result in adhesions which, if left untreated, will eventually have serious health consequences.

Dad may have been spared the strain of pregnancy and birthing, but he probably has his share of injuries from playgrounds, athletics, and work. Like many moms, he is under a great pressure to feed, clothe, and protect his family, too—and be strong enough not to show it—even if his knee or back is trashed.

The entire family needs a mechanic, and not just for their bodies, but for their spirits. A mechanic cannot change history; what’s done is done. But a good mechanic can help to release old traumas from the body, provide insight and perspective that allows us to “move on,” engage our inherent self-healing abilities, and free up restrictions so that internal organs and systems can operate as designed. This “turning back the odometer and rotating the tires” can greatly reduce the effects of all those miles.

Some mechanical tools are available to everyone. The power of human touch, when combined with proper intention and compassion is virtually unlimited—in part because each of us has the inherent ability to heal ourselves. Then, too, at the root of many health problems is an unmet need for love and understanding. More advanced techniques can be found through books, videos, and trainings. For those without the time or inclination to become experts, however, there are professionals.

Although reliable manual therapists tend to be more common in fields where practitioners specialize in hands-on work, they come in a wide variety of packages, including medical, chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic and osteopathic physicians; physical, speech, occupational, Reiki, Craniosacral, Myofascial, neuromuscular, acupressure, and massage therapists; Acupuncturists and Rolfers, to name a few.

In looking for a body mechanic, look for someone who has the ability, training, empathy, and willingness to take the time to use their hands therapeutically. Avoid self-proclaimed healers, because therapists are only facilitators or catalysts. They can help you heal, but only you can heal yourself.