The Integrator's Tool Set Richard F. Wheeler invented the Integrator's Tool Set to give bodywork practitioners a stronger, steadier, solidly reinforced, and secure grip. Beginning students can use it to reinforce, protect, align strengthen the muscles of their hands, wrists and forearms. Experienced practitioners will benefit from reduced working tensions and be able to use new combinations of holds, leverages and apply dramatically improved traction. Appropriate structural and dynamic support significantly extends the length and reach of a practitioner's career. Unsupported manual contact, as currently taught in all schools of bodywork, massage & physical therapy, requires a bodyworker’s hands, arms, shoulders, neck & back to generate considerable muscle tension in order to hold everything together to do the work. Richard's HandGrips and WristStraps enable both subtle & powerful work forces to be generated with dramatically reduced muscular effort and improved quality of touch for both the giver and receiver. A set of these tools is very low-volume and fits easily into pockets & bags. Richard has been practicing since 1971 and pioneering in the invention of functional aids and manual supports for bodyworkers and manual therapy practitioners since 1982. The advantages of his tool designs give them broad potential for creative application to many manipulation techniques, from those using the lightest touches to those demanding the most powerful grip and secure contact for traction or precisely controllable compression. Users report dramatically improved working comfort, sensitivity & three-dimensional perception. The Integrator's Tool Set has two components: HandGrips & WristStraps HandGrips are custom-cast, silicone rubber shapes held in the fist to solidify, support and reinforce the hand's structural integrity. HandGrips precisely fill the three-dimensional shape made by the loosely closed hand to stabilize and solidify its form. The casting material precisely captures curves, contours and skin textures with excellent resolution and produces a cast that gives very exacting and individualized support. WristStraps are wide strips of soft, modern polymer webbing made into a circle and connected with a plastic buckle to facilitate changing the size of the loop. The practitioner puts both hands through the loop and then holds or grips the ankle or forearm. WristStraps give the practitioner a plier-like grip and dramatically reduces effort in the hands, forearms and shoulders. The variable length can be changed easily and enables a practitioner to grip all sizes of anatomical structures, from the smallest to the largest & longest of human dimensions. This unique working geometry stabilizes & strengthens manual contact by flexibly supporting the back of the hands, wrists, forearms and upper arms. WristStraps function in many working positions as portable, flexible fulcrums that dramatically improve grip, contact & leverage. HandGrips & WristStraps may be used together. The advantages of each combine to synergistically reinforce each other. This is a very powerful, exceptionally stable & transformationally creative configuration. If you are climbing Mt. Myofascia, these are the ropes and pitons you need! Advantages » Lengthen holding and gripping time » Amplify and direct force with less effort » Deepen and stabilize contact » Increase mechanical stability and precision » Improve leverage & support proper working alignment » Generate bilateral support for applying working forces » Minimize chronic work stress in hands, arms, shoulder, back, neck & head » Reinforce familiar techniques » Discover and develop dozens of new treatment strategies Opportunities & Workshops Richard makes Integrator's Tool Sets for individual practitioners and groups. His workshops introduce beginners to the basics of tool use and, for more advanced practitioners, new leverages, combinations of grips, contacts, and treatment strategies. Workshop participants receive their own custom cast, correctly aligned and immediately usable set of tools. Individual appointments and workshops are scheduled on demand. Richard F. Wheeler Copyright Richard F. Wheeler, October, 2006

A    Unsupported contact requires constant stabilization efforts from the practitioner’s shoulder girdle.  Contact with the client tends to spread the practitioner’s arms sideways, forcing Pectoral muscles to work as compensating adductors.

Tension in the Pectorals restricts breathing and disturbs postural balance in the torso, neck and head. 


B    Supported contact stabilizes the arms and requires no holding or compensation efforts from the practitioner.  All energy expended can efficiently be directed into the client and the practitioner works with reduced effort and shoulder stress.