30/09/2026
Do You Treat the Complaint… or Wonder What Else the Nervous System Is Protecting?
A client arrives with a painful shoulder.
Naturally, our attention goes to the shoulder.
We assess it. Treat it. Perhaps give it something to stretch or strengthen.
But what if that shoulder isn’t simply the problem?
What if it has been working harder because of something happening elsewhere?
Perhaps tension around the jaw and TMJ has changed the way the head is being held.
Perhaps breathing patterns and vagal regulation are influencing how safe, settled or protective the nervous system feels.
Perhaps the pelvis has altered the way the trunk rotates.
Or an old ankle or foot problem has quietly changed how weight travels through the body.
How often were you taught to consider the TMJ or the vagus nerve when someone complained of shoulder pain?
The painful place matters.
But it may be carrying the message, rather than being where the story began.
This doesn’t mean chasing complicated connections or abandoning the techniques we know.
It means pausing long enough to ask:
What else might the body be responding to?
What has been compensating?
And what might the nervous system be trying to protect?
Sometimes the most useful shift in our work begins before we make the first move.
It begins with a better question.
I’ve created a free guide for therapists who want to look beyond the presenting complaint and understand more about working with the nervous system:
The Therapist’s Guide to Fascia, TMJ, the Vagus Nerve & gentle Bodywork
You only need to enter your email address and the guide will be sent directly to you.
Download it here:
Https://www.jacquihoitingh.com/training-page -guide-to-fascia
Because the best therapists don’t simply collect more techniques.
They become better at recognising the clues the body is already giving them.
