“You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.” – Dr. Seuss
Since no two human bodies are exactly the same, we provide a variety of therapies and techniques for treating chronic pain. Each of these techniques provides a different perspective on pain, and different methods for treatment, which allows every treatment session to be tailored to the needs and abilities of the patient.
Some cases respond best to movement-based rehab, such as with foot pain, while other issues respond best to soft tissue release, especially when rehabilitating from an overuse injury or a muscle tear, for example.
At Pain and Performance Solutions we strive to provide the very best care, and this means new techniques and great technology, which is vital to our success and to getting you your body working at its healthiest level.
An Overview of How We Work
We do not offer “physical therapy” in the strict, clinical and traditional sense of the term. We do work with your body and we offer a variety of therapy techniques to bring relief from muscle pain, much like typically physical therapy.
However, while physical therapy and our approach to movement therapy are somewhat similar, physical therapists face several limitations in the medical system. The result is that their patients have no alternative to typical treatments of over eight weeks or more of physical therapy from a therapist that has been instructed to work on a specific area of pain.
And this area is often not the root cause and the patient is then sent home with a series of generic exercises to follow.
Pain and Performance Solutions takes a broader and more holistic approach to pain relief.
Active Release Technique®, or ART® is a treatment therapy that we use quite frequently. It is essentially an advanced soft tissue treatment that was developed by Dr. P. Michael Leahy, a chiropractor and former engineer. After chiropractic college, Dr. Leahy studied his patient’s movements and eventually developed a new strategy for the treatment of muscles by combining engineering principles with his knowledge of biomechanics.
After holding an initial seminar to present his impressive clinical results in 1988 the Active Release Technique® was created. A good way to describe ART® is that it’s a medical treatment for muscles. We believe that it should be the first approach used for someone is experiencing pain or discomfort in a muscle or joint.
Applying ART® breaks up adhered and unhealthy tissues in the body. These conditions occur when muscles are subjected to an unusual amount of stress. When that happens the body attempts to reinforce the muscle through increasing tension and laying down collagen fibers.
While these fibers and tension can help adapt the body to the specific stress it is being exposed to, such as repetitive movement, they may also prevent proper tissue movement and sometimes result in issues such as carpal tunnel symptoms.
ART® uses a combination of pressure and tension by the practitioner and movement by the client to break up these collagen fibers and scar tissue. The result is restored normal range of motion and blood flow along with pain free movement, endurance, and strength.
Anatomy in Motion, or AiM, is analogous to a complete road map of the structure of the human body. The philosophy behind AiM philosophy is founded on principles of movement that are influenced by our most fundamental movement: walking.
At its core, AiM is a biomechanics philosophy that uses an assessment of how you walk, or a gait assessment, and your posture to discover the specific movements that cause problems.
Injuries can cause the body to make adaptations by either restricting movement in one part and compensate by overworking another part, or by preventing a certain movement altogether. Over time, these dysfunctions become the norm. More pain is usually caused by a joint or tissue being forced to move in a way it does want to or being overworked, which is why treating just the area of pain does not usually relieve the pain long term.
With the information gained in the gait assessment, the client can then be taught new ways to move that will encourage your body to heal.
NeuroKinetic Therapy™, or NKT™, is often combined with ART® to offer more precise relief of muscle tension and dysfunction.
ART® by itself provides powerful relief off excess muscle tension. However, we also understand that in some instances of dysfunctional patterns, simply releasing a muscle with tension isn’t enough to provide permanent relief.
NKT™, however, allows the ART® therapy to be applied more effectively and eliminate dysfunctional patterns entirely. NeuroKinetic Therapy™ accomplishes this by allowing us to test muscles to identify which ones are compensating for other muscles. Once the compensation pattern is defined, what we call the Compensator muscle is then released and the Compensated muscles are retrained neurologically to work correctly throughout the normal range of motion repeatedly.
Proprioceptive – Deep Tendon Reflex (P-DTR®) was developed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. José Palomar in 2000. P-DTR® is a comprehensive technique for identifying and correcting the body’s “information processing errors” to address acute and chronic pain, sensory problems, motor dysfunction, and a wide variety of other symptoms.
P-DTR® is based on the concept that proprioception, or sensation of touch, pressure, hot, cold, pain, etc., and the way the body processes this information, is critical for determining the body’s neuromuscular responses. In other words, motor function is not just determined by the motor system, but rather is modified by the inputs of proprioception receptors, or proprioceptors.
Most physical therapy and other therapeutic modalities usually deal with the physical elements of the body, while the fact is that much of the pain and dysfunction we experience is actually a proprioception problem. By applying a comprehensive approach of muscle testing and neural challenges, receptors can be identified, treated and normal function can be quickly restored.
The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA™) is a set of seven full-body movement tests that are relatively simple to execute and establish a foundation for a series of more complex tests that will provide a complete roadmap for treatment.
Traditionally, chronic pain treatment has focused mainly on the site of pain. However, we now know and understand that the cause of pain is often in a completely different location. This phenomenon, known as regional interdependence, occurs when one area of the body affects the function and muscular recruitment of another area of the body.
The seven test of SFMA™ approach identifies which movements are painful and/or dysfunctional. This allows us to determine which areas need to be assessed further.
The First Steps to Chronic Pain Relief
The first step in pain relief is letting us get to know you.
When you arrive for your first appointment, we will learn about your present pain experience as well as any history of discomfort. Experiencing relief from chronic pain can only begin when we understand where your pain started.
Your trust in us is key, as is your honesty. Ultimately, getting your body working properly and healthy is the only way to achieve total recovery, and that is our goal for you.
We are here to help and will answer any, and all questions that you may have, so don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact us at (707) 636-4404 or by filling out our online contact form.