I’ve never thought of myself, my professional designation, my purpose, my “WHY” as JUST a Registered Massage Therapist/Manual Therapist. There are very few medical professions that afford a patient an extended period of time (I personally schedule treatment times at 60-90 minutes) which permits the therapist the ability to really get to know the patients…
Since the late 1990’s I’ve constantly challenged myself to change the old inherited narrative (the Story) of Ligamentous Articular Strain Technique. Many of the books and texts instructing the “Myth and Trend” stories of how and why results were being seen, were completely unfounded, untrue and in some cases, completely imagined. To make the necessary changes, I…
Ligament Pain Referral Patterns Over my 22yr career I’ve recognized a distinct, immediate and ongoing problem. My patients were complaining of pain referral patterns that didn’t seem to match up with the standard trigger points, dermatome or sclerotome patterns. For years I researched scientific journals and resources, while continually charting the referral patterns described to…
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1988 Oct;11(5):400-8. Effects of altered afferent articular input on sensation, proprioception, muscle tone and sympathetic reflex responses. Slosberg M Abstract The influence of afferent articular and periarticular input on muscle tone, joint mobility, proprioception and pain is of considerable interest to practitioners using manipulation. It has long been hypothesized that dysfunctional articulations…
Do you do these 4 SI Joint assessment tests? the standing flexion test, the prone knee flexion test, the supine long sitting test, and palpation of posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) heights in a sitting position You may want to rethink your assessment techniques. Conclusion The intertester reliability of assessments of the presence of SIJ…
I remember being taught in school (as a student) and again remember my Co-Instructors instructing that the SI Joint could be measured for upslips, rotations, diagonal axis dysfunctions etc… Now I’m honestly uncomfortable using that terminology, communication and assessment of the structure. I am biased in thinking that we still have influence on the surrounding…
This is a great read. You can read the full article here Abstract Manual therapy has long been a component of physical rehabilitation programs, especially to treat those in pain. The mechanisms of manual therapy, however, are not fully understood, and it has been suggested that its pain modulatory effects are of neurophysiological origin and…
“This case highlights the successful conservative treatment of an individual with an irreparable rotator cuff tear and numerous comorbidities by using a multimodal approach including SC Joint mobilizations.” Full Abstract Massive irreparable rotator cuff tears can be difficult to treat conservatively, especially when the patient has multiple comorbidities. Although there is evidence to support interventions…
Here’s a nice paper documenting that patients with Knee OA pain had global decrease in deep tissue pressure sensitivity and had significantly lower resting pain after treatment of the joint tissues (joint Mobilization). Treatment of just the skin alone (manual cutaneous input) did not provide this same effect. Read the original abstract here Abstract Study Design An experimental…
I have to say that there is some pretty cool research coming out about this amazing muscle! Here’s the full research paper! Enjoy! Abstract The diaphragm is the primary muscle involved in breathing and other non-primarily respiratory functions such as the maintenance of correct posture and lumbar and sacroiliac movement. It intervenes to facilitate…