Coaching the Body Technique
Coaching the Body Technique is a movement-focused approach that helps the body move with less guarding and less strain.
It’s often used when pain or restriction keeps coming back, or when movement feels limited even though scans or tests don’t show clear damage.
Rather than focusing on one sore spot, this approach looks at how your body is organising movement as a whole — and why it may be protecting certain areas.
When pain and movement don’t line up
Pain doesn’t always mean something is injured.
In many cases, the body limits movement because it feels unsafe — not because tissue is damaged. This protective response can show up as stiffness, imbalance, or a sense that certain movements feel “blocked”.
When this happens, stretching or strengthening alone often doesn’t help for long. The body is reacting, not failing.
That protection can show up as:
- muscles tightening before you move
- joints feeling blocked or heavy
- stiffness that returns quickly after treatment
This approach focuses on calming that response so movement feels safer again.
How the body adapts around ongoing discomfort
When pain sticks around, muscles around a joint often stop working together smoothly.
Some muscles do too much.
Others don’t do enough.
Sometimes both sides tense up at once.
This changes how the joint moves and how the body balances. Over time, this pattern becomes familiar — even if it’s no longer helpful.
The result is movement that feels tight, awkward, or unpredictable.
Why the issue isn’t always where you feel it
Sensitive areas in muscle — often called trigger points — can send signals that affect other parts of the body.
Pain may show up in one place, while the source sits somewhere else. Muscles connected through movement and support roles can start reacting to each other, creating a chain of tension or imbalance.
Over time, the body adapts around this chain, and movement becomes guarded or altered — even if the original irritation has settled.
This approach focuses on how those signals affect movement, not just where they’re felt.
What we’re working on during treatment
Coaching the Body looks for the main factor limiting movement — often the muscle or pattern causing the body to stay protective.
Sessions may include:
- hands-on assessment to understand what’s driving the pattern
- gentle, guided movement to see how the body responds
- targeted sensory input to help reduce guarding
The aim is to help the nervous system feel safe enough to allow smoother, more balanced movement again.
This isn’t about forcing change. It’s about giving the body better options.
Why tools and vibration may be used
In some cases, brief percussive input or tools like the Muscle Liberator are used as part of this approach.
They’re not used to “break down” tissue or treat large areas. Instead, they provide a controlled sensory signal that can help reduce excessive muscle guarding.
When the body stops over-reacting, guided movement is used straight away to reinforce a new, easier pattern.
The tool supports the process — it isn’t the treatment by itself.
Who this approach is often helpful for
This approach may suit you if you:
- feel stiff or restricted most days
- notice pain that keeps returning
- feel unbalanced or guarded when moving
- find massage or stretching helps briefly but doesn’t last
- want to understand why movement feels difficult
It may not be suitable if you:
- have a recent fracture or surgery with movement limits
- have rapidly worsening nerve symptoms
- There has been recent trauma where medical review is needed
- cannot tolerate light vibration or touch
If you’re unsure, that uncertainty is part of the conversation.
Changes people commonly notice
Responses vary, but people often report:
- movement feels less restricted
- reduced muscle bracing
- smoother, more confident movement
- less flare-up after daily activity
Sometimes the biggest change is that a movement no longer feels risky — which makes everything else easier.
How this fits alongside other treatments
Coaching the Body isn’t a replacement for remedial massage. It’s one way of working within it.
A session may include:
- soft-tissue work to settle sensitivity
- targeted input to reduce guarding
- guided movement to improve control
This helps turn short-term relief into something that carries over into everyday movement.
Where this approach comes from
Coaching the Body is a movement-based approach developed and taught by Chuck Duff from Coaching The Body® CTB Institute, with further teaching and collaboration by Doug Ringwald.
The way this work is used in sessions reflects principles I’ve spent several years studying, practising, and applying in a clinical setting. While this is not my own method, it strongly shapes how I assess movement, understand pain patterns, and guide treatment.
The focus is not on following a rigid technique, but on applying these principles in a way that fits the person in front of me.
Next steps
If movement feels limited by guarding rather than injury, this approach may be worth exploring.
You can explore appointments and options, and we can decide together during your session whether this style of work suits what you’re dealing with.
FAQs
Is this the same as trigger point therapy?
No. Trigger points may be part of the picture, but the focus here is how they affect movement and coordination, not treating sore spots on their own.
Will it be painful?
It shouldn’t feel sharp or threatening. Everything is adjusted to your tolerance.
Is this exercise therapy?
No. Movements are guided and supported during treatment, not prescribed as workouts.