Exactly what is deemed "alternative" in the world of medicine depends largely on the part of the world in which one lives.

For those of us in the western world, techniques such as visceral manipulation and craniosacral therapy fall under the alternative title, but for those schooled in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, these techniques are mandatory in the curriculum of Manual/Musculoskeletal Medicine.

For Bulgarian native Dr. Elena Stoeva, a medical doctor with a specialty in physiatry and fellowships in manual medicine and acupuncture, craniosacral therapy and visceral manipulation are a means of integrating the physical with the spiritual. She does not deem them either alternative or traditional. She sees all types of practices working in unison to offer her patients a whole approach to their well being.

Stoeva, who has practiced in Memphis since 1997, is quick to point out that her practice is not based on her own ideas. She says she is merely the vessel communicating these ideas to her clients.

According to Stoeva, many physical problems are expressed through pain in one area, though that particular area might not be the root of the problem.

"It isn't a simple sum of your body's systems, but rather an interaction of them," she said. "Your heel might be hurting you, which leads to chronic headaches; it's a

mechanical chain. You can't just treat the headaches, you must treat the heel as well, and the entire system."

Through CST and VM, she and other practitioners are able to palpate the body and find the true trouble spots, then address the problem as a whole.

Visceral manipulation is a form of manual therapy using gentle manipulations of the internal organs or viscera to improve the functioning of the individual organ, the system the organ functions within and the structural integrity of the entire body.

Developed by French osteopath Jean-Pierre Barral in the mid 1970s, VM relies on the interconnected synchronicity between all organs and structures of the body.

Craniosacral therapy, developed in the 1970s and 1980s by Dr. John Upledger, an osteopathic physician, is a light-touch approach that normalizes the function of the craniosacral system, which extends from the skull to the tailbone and consists of the soft tissues and the cerebrospinal fluid that protect your brain and spinal cord.

CST, by freeing the central nervous system to perform at its best, is said to naturally eliminate pain and stress. It is said to help a wide spectrum of conditions, including neck and back pain, brain and spinal cord injuries, fibromyalgia, TMJ, scoliosis, ADD/ADHD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Chronic hip pain from snowboarding led Ann Smithwick, a photographer from Braden, Tenn., to seek relief. Stoeva has performed both VM and CST on Smithwick, who describes the experience as a familiar feeling. "It's as if my body is happy to be back at that right place where the therapy takes it," Smithwick said.

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