As 2011 comes to a rapid conclusion I would like to share some information that I have found useful in my private practice that has really given many individuals in chronic pain great HOPE!
An example of this just happened yesterday, I had a gentleman who suffered trauma to his rotator cuff area approximately twenty years ago. He was guided to Physical Therapy and seemed to be okay. Over the years he experienced episodes but they too would seem to resolve. As normally is the case there does come a time when resolution does not happen and the body rebels because it has no other choice.
What should a bodyworker look for in this case? The individual has been given a full range of motion blessing by the Orthopedic Doctor, a series of strengthen exercises by the Physical Therapist and still he could not put pressure on the shoulder joint without pain. During the interview part of the assessment I was able to watch his attempt at movement and saw many limiting aspects during his attempt to show me full range of motion. This led me to the following conclusion, his elbow was dysfunctional therefore causing an imbalance to the skeleton that took away joint spacing and therefore caused impingements. After completion of the interview, I was able to give him HOPE that this would be a short term relationship and he should have full use of his shoulder joints by the end of 2011.
I will keep everyone in suspense as to what I found for now, the point I want to make is that it is important for us as bodyworkers to give our clients HOPE. In many cases of allopathic medicine the answer is surgery, medication and/or you need to learn to live with it. In some cases this is true, but what I HOPE to give you as I write this blog is your own HOPE in how you are able to help individuals relieve their discomfort and reduce inner stress on the skeleton and internal organs so that a more comfortable lifestyle is attainable.
Okay, here is what I found for the individual that was diagnosed with bilateral rotator cuff syndrome. He had forward head posture caused by a bicycle incident where he concussed his skull and compressed his cervical spine. This process forced anterior rotation of the head of humerus in the glenoid-humeral joint and eccentrically contracted the rotator cuff group. His occupation is an accountant and spends many continous hours on the computer, therefore his hands are in a pronated position. When the hands are in a pronated position the head of the humerus needs to posteriorly rotate and allow the Scapula to retract to hold center posture. What was happening is the elbow joint was not permitting this process to take place. You were hear me talk about the turnbuckle effect of both the elbow and knee which permits the shoulder and hip joints to function unimpeded. Anyway what happens here is the carpal bones shift to compensate for this lack of movement to accomodate the brains desire to perform the movement necessary.
Treatment was provided that allowed the head to reposition itself on the shoulder girdle and the ligaments of the carpal bones were balanced. At completion of the first session we had his head on straight and he was able to completely move his shoulders and more importantly place pressure on the joints that would allow him to perform Yoga which he feels he needs for his mental as well as physical health. He now has HOPE that this will not be a lifelong ailment that would shut him down or even have corrective surgery that was not really called for.
It is my HOPE that I am able to give HOPE to not only bodyworkers but to the many clients who suffer or know someone who suffers from what is sometimes unknown pain. As we go through this we will be referring to Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® and Fundamental Movement Therapy(SM) which are theories and protocols that I have developed over the past 25 years. I will be adding to the blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays and look forward to your comments. Any questions please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Thank you and have a day filled with HOPE and many blessings.
Dennis Gibbons