Treating Trauma Through the Autonomic Nervous System

MSK Neural Reset – Gentle Nervous System Regulation

Our 90-minute MSK Neural Reset is a gentle, hands-on method that addresses physical stress and trauma responses stored within the nervous system. Using highly skilled palpation and objective testing, our practitioners identify and interrupt neurological loops without requiring clients to verbally discuss or re-experience past traumas.

Benefits Often Experienced:

• Deep relaxation and calmness

• Reduced muscle tension

• Improved breathing and posture

• Enhanced flexibility and mobility

• Greater emotional clarity and balance

• Overall well-being and comfort

How It Works:

Practitioners gently identify where trauma signals are held physically in the body. By applying precise manual techniques, these neurological patterns are disrupted, allowing the nervous system to reset naturally. The process is gentle, non-invasive, and respects the client’s comfort, offering relief without verbal disclosure or emotional discomfort.

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​A More Detailed Overview:

Our 90-minute MSK Neural Reset session involves a thorough, hands-on assessment and response process, covering:

• Areas of muscular tension and nerve sensitivity

• Skull and spinal regions linked to nervous system responses

• Sites of past physical injuries, scars, or surgeries

• Physical responses related to stress triggers

This treatment is not psychological therapy or counseling—it focuses solely on physical responses within the body. Clients are not required to discuss past experiences, as we work with objective nervous system feedback.

Commonly Reported Experiences Following a Session:

• Greater sense of relaxation and calmness

• Reduction in general muscle tension

• Improved breathing and postural ease

• Enhanced mobility and flexibility

• Feelings of emotional balance and clarity

• Reduction in stress-related discomfort

• A greater sense of overall well-being

 

How Does the MSK Neural Reset Work?

Our method has been developed through over 10 years of research and hands-on practice in musculoskeletal care. It is based on principles of neuromuscular response, objective nervous system testing, and applied manual therapy techniques.

The session includes:

1. Recognizing and Locating Trauma Loops
Practitioners identify areas where the nervous system is “stuck” in a trauma signal, causing muscle guarding and heightened stress responses.

2. Interrupting the Loop Through Manual Techniques
Using hands-on methods, practitioners confuse the trauma signal in a way that encourages the brain to reinterpret and reset the response.

3. Allowing the Signal to Normalize
Once the trauma loop is disrupted, the nervous system naturally relaxes, allowing the muscles to release and the body to shift out of a heightened state.

4. Thinking Without Telling
In some sessions, the client is invited to silently think about anything they choose while the practitioners observe for subtle changes in muscle tone or autonomic responses. The client does not say what they are thinking. As they cycle through thoughts, if one triggers a guarding response in the body, the practitioners perform the brain-based reset techniques while the client continues thinking about that topic until the nervous system no longer reacts with a fight, flight, or freeze response—signaling that the trauma loop has been cleared.

This approach is one of the closest non-verbal techniques to NLP in how it works with the nervous system to break trauma-based response cycles. Rather than using language to reframe a thought pattern, we use physical input to reframe a neurological response.

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The Emotional System

In addition to physical patterns, Tetherwork™ Neural Reset addresses emotional influences that may be stored in the body. It is likely that emotions travel through the acupuncture meridians—a belief held in Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years. Each emotion is associated with a specific organ system, and imbalances in these pathways can contribute to dysregulation.

We test each meridian or emotional center during the session. If the body produces an autonomic response during stimulation of a meridian—such as a body wide muscle tightening—we interpret this as a sign that the emotion is not fully processing through the system. Instead, it may be "trapped," contributing to a persistent fight, flight, or freeze state.  In many traditional and integrative health models, unresolved or unprocessed emotions are believed to contribute to physical and emotional imbalances in the body. 

These emotional imbalances are gently treated during the reset process. By using brain-first techniques and objective testing, we help the body reprocess and regulate these unresolved emotional waveforms without requiring verbal disclosure or re-experiencing of past trauma.

How the Brain Work Creates a Reset

How Tetherwork™ Neural Reset Creates a Brain Reset

During a Tetherwork™ Neural Reset session, two practitioners collaborate—one focuses on the body, while the other directly engages with the brain. When the trauma-related area in the body is gently stimulated, the brain activates an associated "trauma loop," a neurological pattern that repeatedly signals the body to maintain protective tension.

The practitioner working with the brain places a hand lightly over specific regions of the brain based on the area and type of autonomic response is created from the trauma loop. After a moment, the brain acknowledges the hand's presence and begins associating its position with the trauma loop's neurological activity. The practitioner then slowly moves the hand away from this point. At this critical juncture, the brain attempts two tasks simultaneously: maintaining the trauma loop and tracking the moving hand.

To enhance this neurological challenge, additional gentle sensory inputs are layered in, while the second practitioner continues to softly stimulate the body's trauma site. As the practitioner's hand moves further away from the trauma loop's original location, the brain becomes overloaded. It cannot simultaneously maintain the trauma loop, track the movement, and process the additional sensory inputs. This overload causes a neurological interruption, breaking the trauma loop.

When this neurological reset occurs, the body typically releases stored tension very rapidly—often within 3 to 5 seconds. Although the physical area associated with trauma is gently activated during the session, clients frequently describe the process as surprisingly gentle and far less distressing than expected.

Session Details

Session Length: 90 minutes (with two trained practitioners)

If you are seeking a gentle, hands-on approach to disrupting trauma loops and resetting your nervous system, contact Musculoskeletal Specialists today.

Learn More About Nervous System Regulation & Trauma Response

• Waking the Tiger – Peter Levine

• The Polyvagal Theory – Stephen W. Porges

• The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel A. van der Kolk

Our Inspiration:

The Tetherwork™ Neural Reset technique was inspired by the pioneering work of two mentors, Mark Bookhout and Lee Cartwright. Mark gave MSK Specialists the Rosetta Stone for interpreting the language of the nervous system. His genius laid the foundation for the innovative methods behind Tetherwork’s objective body testing, allowing us to follow the body’s instructions with precision and confidence—and to ask whether a release has truly occurred.  

Lee Cartwright was a pioneer in working with psychosomatic patterns, developing approaches that bridged the connection between the body and unresolved emotional experiences. His method of "asking" the brain to and help correct trauma within the body was far ahead of its time. Even today, many therapeutic models have yet to scratch the surface of Lee's earliest innovations.

Individual experiences may vary. This service is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.