The Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) is a specific medical approach which attributes the cause of physical afflictions and impaired motor function to one or several of six typical forms of fascial distortion in the human organism. As soon as the distortion is corrected, an effective and comprehensively measurable treatment of pain and restricted mobility is possible.
In FDM, the diagnostic process is based on three pillars of analysis. Particular attention is directed at a patient’s body language when describing pain. Intuitive gestures, when correctly interpreted, are direct indicators of fascial distortions. The patient’s case history as well as a series of examinations complete the FDM diagnosis.
The principles of FDM can be applied to a variety of different medical areas and expand the diagnostic options doctors and physiotherapists have at their disposal.
FDM enables an effective treatment of patients presenting with a variety of medical diagnoses, but at the present time, the FDM approach is primarily chosen for musculoskeletal complaints and chronic pain.
The term „Fascial Distorsion Model (FDM)“ is a combination of 3 different words:
1. Fascia
Fasciae are structures of connective tissue. According to the FDM, they are the key to diagnosing and treating a variety of physical ailments. Today, medical science acknowledges the importance of fasciae in the human body, a fact backed up by a growing number of scientific studies into the FDM therapy model.
2. Distortion
Distortions are contortions, deformations or dislocations of fasciae. Each FDM therapy session aims to correct these distortions with specific techniques like the Typaldos Method manual therapy method. Once corrected, a considerable or complete reduction of pain will be noticeable to the patient.
The FDM is a clinical model. Through the collection of empirical data, Stephen Typaldos, D.O., FDM’s creator, developed a model representing the correlation of specific fascial distortions, traditional diagnoses and effective treatment options. Physicians and physiotherapists practicing FDM are utilizing the Fascial Distortion Model in order to arrive at a precise individual diagnosis and to choose a specific treatment.
FDM is an individual and neutral approach. It enables the practicing physician or physiotherapist to choose the best treatment for the individual patient by re-evaluating traditional medical diagnostic tools by use of the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM).
The goal of each FDM therapy is an anatomical correction of the distorted fascia. As soon as the correction is achieved, an immediate improvement in strength, mobility and reduction of pain will be noticeable. Long periods of recovery (and therefore inactivity) are unnecessary and a fast return to physical activity is possible.
Stephen Typaldos, D.O. developed specific manual techniques and manipulation maneuvers. They form the basis of the so-called Typaldos Method and are taught in FDM seminars according to quality standards defined by the European Fascial Distortion Model Association (EFDMA).
The Typaldos Method has been used on patients with the following conditions:
- Acute pain due to sprained or dislocated joints
- Sports injuries like ligament strains, contusions, muscle fiber tears etc.
- Back and lower back pain, shoulder and neck spasms...
- Impaired mobility
- Symptoms like numbness, paresthesia, feelings of limb weakness or instability
- Certain ailments typically ascribed to internal medicine
- Stephen-TypaldosStephen Typaldos D.O. – FDM Pioneer
Stephen Typaldos, D.O. was born in the US in 1957. After graduating with a degree in osteopathic medicine, he worked at hospitals as a general and emergency room physician as well as running his own practice.
In 1991, Typaldos began to develop an entirely new diagnostic and treatment model by carefully monitoring his patients. Looking and listening to them closely, he recognized that patients intuitively know which therapy steps are particularly relevant to their recovery and express this by using characteristic gestures and phrases. He found that focusing his manual therapy on these indicators led to immediate and effective pain relief.
The results he saw encouraged Typaldos to describe in detail the FDM approach as well as the resulting therapy model and method of treatment. He revealed his findings in various medical journals and subsequently created and published his pioneering thesis on the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM) in several books.
Stephen Typaldos, D.O. died suddenly on April 5, 2006 at the age of 49. His pupils and colleagues in Europe, the US, Japan and Africa have been forming FDM associations ever since in order to safeguard acknowledged quality standards in FDM training as well as to enable an FDM-related cross-cultural knowledge exchange.