“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.”
– Carol Welch
At Pain and Performance Solutions effectively uses a wide
range of boy work systems and therapies to achieve muscle recovery and correct
muscular dysfunction. And one of the fundamental truths we have learned is that
the human brain is the major key to healthy movement – and recovery.
Eliminating compensation dysfunction and restoring proper function of the muscles is the primary purpose of a technique we use known as NeuroKinetic Therapy®. Through specific muscular challenges, the primary source of dysfunctions can be identified and eliminated.
Understanding NeuroKinetic Therapy®
Essentially, NeuroKinetic Therapy® is a corrective movement system and a complex bodywork modality. It is used for an assessment system and a rehabilitative technique to treat neck pain, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other issues.
It is based on the premise that, when an injury has
occurred, nearby muscles shut down or become inhibited, forcing other muscles
to compensate for the loss and become overworked. As a result, the compensation
pattern can create pain or tightness. NeuroKinetic Therapy® is performed by
applying light pressure that is resisted by the client. The strength or
weakness of each muscle and then be assessed to reveal the sources of injury
and retraining the client’s body in then undertaken to remove the compensation
patterns. This results in programming the body at the neural level.
David Weinstock co-developed this technique in the
mid-1980s. He is also the author of Neurokinetic Therapy®, an Innovative
Approach to Manual Muscle Testing. NeuroKinetic Therapy® and has used to treat
a variety of disorders. Weinstock describes NeuroKinetic Therapy® as,
“(a) corrective movement system protocol employing a system of precise muscle tests has the ability to change the programming of the Motor Control Center (MCC) in the cerebellum. The MCC coordinates all movement patterns in the body. It learns through failure.”
Neurokinetic Therapy® (also known as NKT®), is a form of natural therapy also used to correct learned movements and muscle functions within the body that cause joint tenderness, muscular pain and even contributes to poor posture.
Because it is also used as a healing “bodywork modality,”
similar to massage therapy, NKT® is often employed as a rehabilitative approach
for treating injuries and chronic pain.
What is NeuroKinetic Therapy®?
Many injuries, especially sports-related injuries, often don’t become apparent until more damage can occur. The tendency among athletes is often too “push through” the pain. By doing so, however, they can unwittingly neglect these injuries. And, as a result, they can become worse over time.
The human brain and body adapt to the results of injuries. While
our bodies do usually heal over time, left untreated they can cause more harm.
When an injury isn’t completely healed, or has deteriorated over time, we can experience
pain in other areas. And this is often the result of muscle compensation.
NeuroKinetic Therapy® assesses “coordination system
dysfunctions” that can result from several causes. These include muscle overuse,
repetitive stress and positioning, intense training, postural misalignment,
surgery, and traumatic injury. It works by communicating with what is known as the
brain’s Motor Control Center (MCC) in the cerebellum. The function of the MCC
is to coordinate and regulate muscular activity for proper body movement.
The MCC stores movement as a pattern, not as specific muscle
functions. This means that when a muscle is inhibited for a length of time, the
MCC finds a substitute muscle to perform the disabled function. Over time
movement dysfunction and pain will occur If this pattern remains in the motor control
center.
After an injury, the MCC shifts to a muscle compensation
pattern, which will continue unless it is restored by retraining. In a whiplash
accident, for example, the posterior neck muscles brace for the injured
anterior neck muscles. This pattern can endure forever unless there is some
intervention.
And that means the muscles that are supposed to perform a normal
movement are inhibited because of compensations, or coordination system
dysfunctions. Instead, other muscles known as compensators are now used to perform
the task. Unfortunately, left untreated, this can lead to muscle tightness,
stiffness, pain, and even more dysfunction.
We use NeuroKinetic Therapy™ to find and eliminate dysfunctional
movement patterns and restore functional movement. We do this by testing
muscles to identify which ones are compensating for other muscles. Once the
compensation pattern is defined, then the “compensator” muscle is released, and
the inhibited muscle is then neurologically retrained. The goal is to achieve
proper movement throughout the optimal range of motion repeatedly.
We use NeuroKinetic Therapy® as an effective modality for
rehabilitation and manual therapy as it not only identifies the cause of pain
and dysfunction but can correct it quickly and quite painlessly.
A Full Spectrum of Therapy Options Available to Help You
We will conduct a full examination to help us determine
which form of treatment is best suited to put you on your road to recovery. Because
our bodies will compensate for pain to allow us to function during our day, the
pain can shift around and lead to other forms of pain.
Our goal is to work through the sequence of pain and
dysfunction in order to get your body healthy and working properly, and to
achieve total recovery. Don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help and
will answer any questions that you may have.
You can reach us at (707) 636-4404 or by filling out
our online contact form.
