How Comfort Changes the Body: Research Behind Positional Release Technique That Inspired Ortho‑Bionomy

A close-up of one person’s fingers gently making contact with another’s body — illustrating the subtle, intentional touch used in Ortho-Bionomy and Positional Release Therapy.

Ortho-Bionomy is a multidimensional bodywork system that works with the body’s natural intelligence. It begins with gentle positioning — guiding the body toward a felt sense of ease to release muscular tension — and gradually opens into deeper engagement with the nervous system, the energetic field, and the subtle relationships between all parts of the being.

What many don’t realize is that this practice has its roots in a clinical technique known as Positional Release Therapy (PRT) — also referred to as Strain-Counterstrain.

This blog explores the evidence that supports the efficacy of the technique, and the scientific insights that help explain how it works.

The Origins of Positional Release Therapy

In the 1950s, American osteopath Dr. Lawrence Jones encountered something unexpected. A patient arrived in his clinic, struggling with persistent low back pain. As Jones was with another client, he asked an assistant to help the man find a comfortable position — just something he could rest in until Jones was free.

When Jones returned, the man was no longer in pain. Simply being supported — in the right position, for the right amount of time — had shifted something.

This moment would go on to shape the development of Positional Release Therapy. Jones began to experiment: what if pain could be eased by gently positioning the body into its own preferred shape? He observed that when held in these positions of comfort, areas of muscular tension began to release on their own.

It was the beginning of a method. One that asked us to pay attention to what happens when the body is supported — not manipulated, but simply allowed to settle.

How the Body Responds to Comfort: The Physiology Behind the Technique

Jones went on to refine his work into a therapeutic approach known as Strain-Counterstrain, which became widely used in osteopathy and physical therapy circles. The technique involves identifying areas of tension or tenderness — and then gently placing the body in a position where that area is completely at ease. It is held there for about 90 seconds, giving the nervous system time to respond.

According to Jones, the effectiveness of this technique lies in the body’s own feedback system — specifically in its proprioceptors: sensory receptors located in muscles and tendons that monitor position and tension. When a muscle is shortened and placed in comfort, these receptors communicate safety to the brain. The nervous system then signals the body to release its protective contractions.

Tension eases. Pain resolves. Movement becomes possible again — not because it was forced, but because the body was gently reminded of a different way of being.

Evidence-Based Benefits of Positional Release Therapy
A growing body of research has supported what Jones observed in practice.

A 2025 randomized controlled trial showed that people with chronic low back pain experienced significantly greater relief when treated with Strain-Counterstrain in combination with basic exercises, compared to exercise alone. They reported reduced pain, better mobility, and greater functional improvement.
→ Source: Dovepress – Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare

Other studies have shown the effectiveness of PRT for tension in the upper trapezius, a common holding pattern in people who spend long hours at desks. Participants reported meaningful pain reduction and improved range of motion in the shoulders and neck.
→ Source: ResearchGate – Review of PRT in Musculoskeletal Conditions

There are even case reports where PRT contributed to recovery in more complex conditions, such as brachial plexus neuritis, helping restore movement and reduce pain where other approaches had limited success.

Each of these studies affirms a simple but powerful idea: even gentle, subtle methods can have significant effects on how the body heals itself.

Why Comfort-Based Therapies Matter

Both Positional Release Therapy and Ortho-Bionomy are unique in their style and technique — gentle, spacious, and deeply responsive. And yet, they are grounded in physiological mechanisms that we can observe and measure.

A session may feel as if not much is happening — the contact is light, the shifts subtle. But the research shows something important: measurable effects are occurring, even in the quiet. Pain decreases. Mobility returns. Protective patterns let go.

This has far-reaching implications — particularly for people whose bodies may not respond well to force-based techniques, or who haven’t found relief in more conventional modalities. It suggests that comfort itself can be an intelligent entry point for healing. One that the body can recognize, and respond to.

From Technique to Somatic Listening: How Ortho-Bionomy Evolved

Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls, the founder of Ortho-Bionomy, began his journey with Positional Release Therapy. He used it in his osteopathic work and found it effective — but as he continued, something began to deepen.

In his practice, he witnessed the release of tension in the body — not just as an outcome, but as a moment. A specific unfolding that followed when the right position was met. He observed these transitions with increasing awareness and curiosity. Over time, he let go of rigidity in how the technique was applied, and began to support the micromovements of the body as they naturally emerged through the release. What began as positioning became a kind of participatory listening — one that revealed the greater nuance of the body’s needs, its patterns, and the intelligence within the unfolding.

An awareness began to extend beyond the muscles and into the field around the body.
This awareness became a practice — what we now call somatic listening.

Where Positional Release provides the doorway, Ortho-Bionomy steps through it. The same foundational mechanisms are present — muscle release, proprioceptive signaling, nervous system regulation — but Ortho-Bionomy continues into more subtle layers: fluid movement, emotional resonance, energetic relationship, and the deep unfolding of the Being itself.

The Power of Gentle Bodywork

Research confirms what many practitioners already sense: when we guide the body into comfort, real change begins.

The science behind Positional Release Therapy offers a grounded foundation. It shows us that healing doesn’t have to come from force, pressure, or correction. It can begin with quiet attention. With presence. With meeting the body where it already is.

This is the space where Ortho-Bionomy lives — and continues to unfold.