Does anyone have an explaination video on how to do Joint Compressions?

I have a Wilbarger Brush and use it, but I could never figure out Joint Compressions.

I would also love more about this. Since I can't do Wilbarger till I have an OT to teach me...

Okay, here's the story on joint compressions. They are necessary when doing Wilbarger brushing. They help to organize all the stimulation that was just created by the act of the brushing itself. If you don't do the compressions, you have essentially just stimulated yourself without organizing or calming yourself. Do *not* do that!

Here are the points you want to focus on in joint compressions:
- Shoulders
- Knees
- Feet
- Hands
- Elbows
- Head

Here is one way to do it, though there are other ways. Whatever you do, make sure to do it evenly to both sides of your body. That's going to give you the best balance for you system, so I would advice doing both sides together, either simultaneously or in consecutive order.

To get the arms: Stand up and hold your arm straight, 90 degrees out from your trunk. Hold hand against wall or bar. Press into your hand firmly 10 times, then turn around, and do the same with the other hand. This will simultaneously give the pressure you need on your hands, elbows, and shoulders.

To get the legs: Sit down with your legs in front of you at a 90 degree angle. Keeping your legs resting straight on the floor, place your palms on the tops of your knees and press down on your knees (toward the floor) 10 times. Then, move your hands out to the front of your kneecaps and press inward firmly 10 times. This will get your knees, feet, and hips. (Also, if your arms were fairly straight, this gets your arms too!)

To get the shoulders: Tougher when by yourself, for sure. If you have someone else, just stand or sit up straight and have them push down on both shoulders simultaneously for 10 times.

If you're on your own though, I used to lay down on my back with my feet up against a wall. My head would be nestled right between 2 solid objects, one at each shoulder. Then, I would use my legs to push my shoulders up into the objects. It's not great, but it gets the job done better than trying to push down on your own shoulders.

To get the head: Very easy. Just stand or sit up straight, cup both your hands over your head, and push downward 10 times. Not much more to it.

Performing these should help improve your overall focus and sensory systems for a while. It is recommended to do this as quickly as possible after brushing, in order to get the maximum results from the protocol.

***Warning: PLEASE talk to an OT about this stuff. This is just a guide to take into consideration, but is not prescribed by an OT. Don't hurt yourselves here!


I hope this has been helpful for you guys. I'll probably add this to the wiki pretty soon for people to see later as well.

Very helpful. I wasn't exactly sure what the compressions were for or how they worked, so this makes better sense. Plus, this is probably the clearest explanation I've seen about Wilbarger and how it works. I've been very frustrated reading about that, mostly because I couldn't see how rubbing with a brush was going to do anything but irritate me.

An OT tried to explain it too me, but I was a space case by the time we got to the Joint Compressions.