Microkinesitherapy is a complementary therapy to physiotherapy. It consists in detecting and eliminating dysfunctions of traumatic origin. It is based on the delicate palpation of the affected areas of the body.

La microkinesitherapie is a complementary therapy to physiotherapy. This recent method was developed in France in 1982 by physiotherapists and osteopaths Daniel Grosjean and Patrice Benini.

This is a manual treatment technique performed by a physiotherapist masseur trained in this method. It consists of :

• detect traces of traumatic events (physical or psychological) somatized and causing dysfunctions from which the patient suffers. In order to reveal these disorders, the therapist uses his hands by a process called “micro palpation”. Micro palpation must remain delicate and non-aggressive.
• trigger the body’s restorative mechanisms so that the patient is freed from traumatic “traces”. More precisely, by gentle palpation techniques, the therapist will inform the organism of the relationship between the dysfunction and the trauma so that the body corrects the after-effects through its own defense mechanisms.

Despite numerous scientific evaluations, microkinesitherapy has not been accepted by the National Order of physiotherapists, which perceives it as a potential “therapeutic drift”. Microkinesitherapy is however a member of GETCOP (Personalized Complementary Therapies Evaluation Group), an association dedicated to the promotion and evaluation of complementary therapies.

After several years of practicing physiotherapy and osteopathy in a private practice, Daniel Grosjean and Patrice Benini created in 1982 a new therapy for “field restoration” which they called microkinesitherapy (which literally means “care by small movements ”).

In 1983, they carried out their first experiment on 61 patients with functional colopathies at the Besançon University Hospital, on the initiative of Professor Pierre Carayon. In 1985, the first training was given in Metz.

Subsequently, the Microkinesitherapy Training Center (CFM) and the Microkinesitherapy Diffusion Center Association (ACDM) were created. In 1996, the first volume of Benini and Grosjean’s work on microkinesitherapy was published: Practical Treatise on Microkinesitherapy. Subsequently, other works but also studies are published.

Today mesotherapy is practiced by thousands of physiotherapists trained by the CFM in this method.

The theoretical approach to mesotherapy

Microkinesitherapy is based on the theory of the body’s self-correcting compensation mechanisms (analgesics and elimination), recognized in traditional medicine. According to the founders of microkinesitherapy, there are certain cases in which these mechanisms do not work. The tissues then bear the consequences of these dysfunctions.

Microkinesitherapy acts on these affected tissues, reproducing in a similar and minimal way, the primitive aggression. It thus makes it possible to restart the self-correction mechanisms that had previously not worked.

Microkinesitherapy is inspired by a large number of ancient scientific and technical theories:

• The body’s self-correcting compensation mechanisms;
• Manipulations and massages (methods used since the dawn of time to ease tension or pain);
• The notion of reproducing the original cause, present in ancient Greece: we speak of “medicine of similar” or homeopathy;
• The theory of correspondence between area and depth in Chinese medicine, according to which palpation provides information on the area, depth and condition of the body;
• Experimental medicine founded by Claude Bernard which consists in looking for a pathological cause for the presence of a symptomatic one.

Scientific evaluations

Some scientific studies have tried to prove the effectiveness of microkinesitherapy:

• In 1990, a first study showed that “a session of microkinesitherapy allows a permanent reduction in pain with an improvement in trophicity and mobility” in subjects suffering from algodystrophy;
• In 2006, work showed an alleviation of symptoms by a session of microkinesitherapy in patients suffering from back pain;
• In 2013, images made it possible to demonstrate a favorable action of microkinesitherapy on certain functional disorders (physical reactivity of the subject in relation to his environment, stress, depression, etc.);
• In 2014, a study shows that the use of microkinesitherapy as a method of treating fibromyalgia is effective;
• In 2016, work highlighted efficacy on pain and on flexion-extension recovery in the context of post-traumatic neck pain;
• In 2017, scientists conclude that microkinesitherapy significantly improves symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. The same year, other studies demonstrated the effects of microkinesitherapy on inflammatory responses in rodents.

Despite these studies, in an opinion of March 21, 2013, the National Council of the Order of Physiotherapists indicated its reservations regarding the method of physiotherapy1.

Microkinesitherapy is indicated for all types of physical pain or psychological discomfort resistant to traditional treatments and / or whose cause remains a mystery to the patient.

Efficacy has been demonstrated in the treatment of certain pathologies:

Micro physiotherapists are physiotherapists trained in the method of microkinesitherapy. Indeed, training courses are organized throughout France and abroad by trainers who are members of the Microkinesitherapy Training Center (CMF), created in 1984.

In France, to find the certified micro physiotherapist closest to you, you can go to the directory developed by the Association de Center de Diffusion de la Microkinésithérapie (ACDM), available online.

For abroad, there are other official lists:

• Belgium : Belgian association of microkinesitherapists;
• Brazil: Brazilian training center in microfisiotherapia;
• Germany: German association of microkinesitherapists;
• Austria and German-speaking Switzerland: Swiss association of microkinesitherapists;
• Poland: listing of Polish microkinesitherapists;
• Morocco :listing of microkinesitherapists in Morocco.