What is DURAL TISSUE THERAPY?

Dural Tissue Therapy (DTT) is a series of techniques designed to help the body recognise damage to the Dural & Meningeal tissues and aid healing.

Understanding Dural Tissue Damage and Therapy for High-Velocity / High-Force Injuries

Dural tissue is the soft, protective layer that surrounds and supports the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord & peripheral nerves. This structure, along with the meninges, plays a critical role in protecting neural tissues and facilitating communication between the brain and body.

What Happens During High-Velocity Trauma?

Any event where the body moves faster than 25 km/h—such as in car accidents, high-impact sports, or significant falls—is considered high velocity for the nervous system. In such events, the dura and meningeal tissues are highly susceptible to strain or injury.

Normally, when the body moves, joint and tissue sensors (proprioceptors) send real-time information to the brain about where the body is in space. This allows for safe, coordinated movement.

However, during high-velocity or high-force trauma, the body moves faster than the nervous system can accurately process. This delay causes a mismatch between movement and brain response, often resulting in hyperflexion or hyperextension of spinal tissues.

As a result, the protective mechanisms of joints, ligaments, and muscles are overwhelmed. This leads to strain or micro-tearing in the dura and meninges—injury to the very tissues that support and protect the brain, spinal cord & peripheral nerves.

The Brain’s Response to Dural Injury

When these soft structures are damaged, the sensory signaling from the area becomes impaired. Instead of normal signals, the brain interprets these weak, disrupted signals as pain or threat. The brain, in turn, activates protective responses:

• Surrounding muscles enter a concentric (contracted) state

• Movement is restricted to protect the injured nervous system

• Muscle tissues experience reduced circulation, leading to a buildup of toxins and lactic acid

• Chronic pain and tension develop in areas like the neck and lower back

This pattern is common in conditions like whiplash, chronic neck pain, and persistent low back pain following trauma.

Why Standard Treatments Often Fall Short

Traditional therapy often focuses on relaxing the tight muscles. While this may provide short-term relief, it does not address the root cause—the dural injury and the altered communication between the brain and body.

A New Approach:
Dural Tissue Therapy

Therapies like Dural tissue therapy focus on helping the brain recognize and process the underlying trauma to the dural tissues. This neuro-structural approach aims to:

• Restore proper sensory signaling

• Reduce the brain’s perception of threat

• Allow muscles to return to normal tone and movement

• Improve healing of the central nervous system structures like the dura and meninges

As the brain begins to perceive the area as safe again, the pain signals decrease, the protective muscle contractions release, and true functional recovery becomes possible, ultimately leading to a reduction of pain and increase Range of Motion.

Dural tissue Therapy

Is the treatment of the Dural & Meningeal tissues that can be damaged in many ways.

• Common injuries to the Dural and Meningeal tissue are caused by:

  • High velocity injuries like whiplash or other motor vehicle accidents

  • High force Traumas from falls, sporting injuries and physical traumas

  • Concussion and head injuries damaging the Meningeal & Dural tissues

  • Disc bulges causing dural tissue damage from compression of the nerve or inflammation of the dural tissue leading to scar tissue and pain.

  These types of trauma’s can lead to damage of the Dural or Meningeal tissues leading to pain, Numbness, Pins & Needles symptoms & in some occasions loss of strength in the musculoskeletal system. The most common symptom of Dural and Meningeal tissue damage is a reduction in Range of Motion.

Who can learn DTT

• Physiotherapist

• Chiropractor

• Osteopaths

• Medical Doctors

• Medical Specialists

• Qualified Manual Therapists