By David Iler, LMT, CPT. Licensed massage therapist since 2004, certified personal trainer, and founder of Iler Method® massage therapy in Austin, Texas
Quick answer: Compensation is how every body stays upright around its natural asymmetry. Overcompensation is when the muscles doing that job work too hard for too long. They tighten, knot, and stop letting go. Filmed movement shows where your body is compensating. Hands-on work on the table confirms it and shows how much overcompensation is present. That level is what the work focuses on, session by session.
Why do most people come in during a flare-up?
Most people find me in the middle of a flare-up.
The pain isn’t new. It’s an old problem that has flared again. A low back they “threw out” years ago, where the pain faded but the stiffness and lost range of motion never left. A shoulder that has felt a little off since college and now won’t lift a bag into the overhead bin.
That flare-up is what brings them in. It’s also what makes them a good fit for my work.
What happens before you get on the table?
Before anyone gets on the table, we sit down. And we take our time.
I want to hear everything. Where it hurts. Where it used to hurt. What makes it worse. What makes it better, even for an hour.
Then we talk about your pain journey up to this point. Almost everyone has tried something before me. Chiropractic. Physical therapy. Dry needling. A massage gun on the couch every night. A foam roller that lives in the living room.
Most people are trying to stay away from medication and surgery. They want to understand what is actually going on.
That’s not a failure of effort. That’s a sign the work has been done in the wrong place.
This conversation opens every Discovery Session. By the end of it, I have a picture in my head of what’s going on. Now I need to see it.
Why film your movement?
With your permission, I film you moving. Walking. Standing. Bending. Turning.
Then we sit down and watch the video together.
This is where people see their asymmetry for the first time. One hip sits lower. One shoulder rides higher. The weight drifts to one side.
To the untrained eye, it’s hard to spot. So I point it out. I slow it down. I pause it.
And I tell you, “We’re going to match this to what we find on the table.”
What is the difference between compensation and overcompensation?
Nobody is built evenly. You have a dominant hand, a side you sleep on, a leg you stand on while you wait in line. Your muscles adjust around all of it, all day. That is compensation. It’s normal. It’s how every body stays upright.
The problem is overcompensation. That’s when those muscles work too hard for too long. They tighten. They knot. They stop letting go. Over time, that tension can build into trigger points and adhesions. Eventually, something flares.
For the full picture of how this builds, read muscle overcompensation explained.
So there are two questions. Where is your body compensating? And how much?
The video and the table answer the first. Only the table answers the second.
How does the table confirm what the video shows?
Then you lie down.
I move your pelvis. I move your ankles. But I’m not only watching the joints. I’m feeling the muscles that move them. The ones that pull on your pelvis. The ones that control your ankles.
How the joints move, and how those muscles respond, tells me how your body is compensating.
Now we have two ways of looking. The video and the table. When they tell the same story, the compensation is confirmed.
Why can only the table show how much?
This is the part no video can do.
Next, I work around the area that’s bothering you. And I find out what level of overcompensation you’re in.
Some tissue softens under pressure and lets go. Some feels like rope. It braces before my hand lands. It holds on.
Two people can have the same compensation and very different levels of overcompensation. That level tells me how hard your muscles have been working, and for how long.
If you want to know what the rest of a session feels like, here’s what to expect on the table.
What is the goal of the work?
Compensation isn’t going away. It’s part of being human.
Overcompensation is what we work on. Session by session, the goal is to bring it back down, so your body goes back to compensating instead of overcompensating.
Three things to keep
- Compensation is normal. Every body does it.
- Movement shows where. The table confirms it.
- The table shows how much. That is what we work on.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal for one hip or shoulder to sit higher than the other?
Yes. Nobody is built evenly. A dominant hand, a favorite sleeping side, and a leg you stand on all shape how your muscles hold you up. That adjustment is compensation, and every body does it. It becomes a problem when the muscles doing that work start overcompensating.
Why does an old back or shoulder problem keep flaring up?
The pain can fade while the overcompensation underneath it stays. The muscles keep working too hard. Stiffness and lost range of motion linger. Eventually, something flares again in the same place.
Can a movement video show everything that’s going on?
No. A video shows where your body is compensating. It can’t show how much. Only hands on the tissue can feel whether a muscle softens and lets go or braces and holds on.
What does “level of overcompensation” mean?
It’s how hard your muscles have been working, and for how long. Two people can share the same compensation pattern and sit at very different levels. Tissue that softens under pressure is at a different level than tissue that feels like rope and braces before contact.
How many sessions does it take?
Most clients work through a six- or twelve-session plan. The level of overcompensation found on the table helps decide which one fits.
If you’re in Austin and your pain keeps showing up in the same place, book a Discovery Session by clicking Schedule Now.Illustration showing a client’s uneven hips and shoulders on video, a hands-on table assessment of the pelvis and ankles, and a scale from compensation to overcompensationThree-step graphic: movement shows where the body compensates, the table confirms it, and the table shows the level of overcompensation. Illustration by David Iler, LMT, CPT.
