Back to Basics 2
From the Desk of Dennis Gibbons, LMT
In the September 2009 newsletter article, I spoke of the many paths that were taken to bring Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® to where it is today. Over the years, many “new issues” of chronic and acute discomfort have been presented to this office. During the past five years, in particular, the exploration into the complex nature of these “issues” has inspired the exponential development and evolution of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® and Fundamental Movement Pilates℠.
Understanding movement patterns and how they relate to any form of postural distortion is one of the best ways for determining new treatment pathways. In recent months I have been working with dental malocclusion and its affect on balancing posture. These revelations have made considerable advancement in the treatment of TMJD, Migraine Headaches, Fibromyalgia, and even individuals with snoring problems.
Ligaments: What Holds Us Together
In the anatomy of movement, the bones or skeletal tissue are our primary movers; the joints permit this action to take place; and the skeletal tissue generates the movement. The key here is the joints, because they allow movement to take place. Holding the joints together is the ligament structure of the body. This connection makes the entire movement process possible. With this information in hand the development of a therapy technique to enhance the posture for proper movement has been approached. In studying the research on ligaments it also has been established that the collagen fibers have the fibroblasts cells necessary for repair, which are important to help the ligaments return to a more normal structure. A tried and proven manner of treatment has been developed to realign these tissues, and is now incorporated in all of the Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® sessions.
In recent months I have been working on how the body’s ligament system and the connective tissue creates a perception to how the body moves in its associated environment. By being able to incorporate this aspect I am now able to release the abnormal tensions on the tendons and muscles which create an imbalanced tensegrity to the posture. This imbalance is what disrupts the body’s homeostasis, consequently developing an environment for pain and discomfort.
The following are some definitions of the terms that will be discussed in this article:
• Proprioception
– The awareness of posture, movement, and changes in equilibrium and the knowledge of position, weight, and resistance of objects in relation to the body.
• Ligament:
– A band or sheet of strong fibrous connective tissue connecting the articular ends of bones serving to bind them together to facilitate or limit motion.
– A thickened portion or fold of peritoneum (the serous membrane reflected over the viscera and lining the abdominal wall) or mesentery (a peritoneal fold encircling the greater part of the small intestines and connecting the intestine to the posterior abdominal wall) which supports a visceral organ or connects it to another viscus (internal organ enclosed within a cavity, esp. the abdominal organs).
– A band of fibrous connective tissue connecting bones, cartilages, and other structures and serving to support or for attachment of Fascia or muscles.
– Dense bundles of parallel collagenous fibers that are often derived from the outer layer of the joint capsule, but may also connect nearby but non-articulating bones.
– Will function chiefly to strengthen and stabilize the joint in a passive way and are placed under tension by certain positions of the joint and slackened by others.
– Contain numerous sensory nerve cells capable of responding to the speed, movement, and position of the joint, as well as to stretching or pain. These sensory cells constantly transmit such information to the brain, which in turn sends signals to the muscles via motor neurons. The body is usually able to avoid damage or undue stress to ligaments through appropriate corrective action.
• Tensegrity in the Human Body
– The muscle-skeletal system is a tensegrity of muscle and bone. The muscle provides continuous pull, the bones discontinuous push. The forces between the bones and muscles are held in constant balance. This forms the basis for all our physical mobility.
– The sensory-motor system is a tensegrity of sensory and motor neurons.
– The sensory neuron is always sensing information – continuously pulling.
– The motor neuron only occasionally is involved in some motor action – discontinuously pushing.
(Definitions found in Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 14 Ed., and Anatomy Of Movement; Eastland Press, 1993)
These definitions have helped me acquire a better understanding of ligaments while revealing their significance as to how they affect the movement patterns of our daily lives. Whether we are washing our hands, brushing our teeth, eating or drinking, walking, sitting or laying down there are multiple combinations of movements taking place. If we are in our car, bed, home, a mall, school, church or synagogue, our environment changes all the time and that directly affects how our tendons and muscles need to work.
In basic movement our mind visualizes what we need to do, the body then perceives its surrounding areas and any limitations that it might present, informs the brain and Central Nervous System, and an electric impulse is sent to the necessary tendons and muscles to initiate the proper movement. The tendon will start the movement and relay to the muscle the amount of dynamic tension needed to create the movement. This proprioception is continuous, even as we sleep.
The following chart will demonstrate how long a muscle contraction lasts. Once the muscle has received the information from the tendon on the necessary dynamics, the whole process is complete in 97 milliseconds (less than 1/10th of a second). It is during this extremely brief time that the tendon, attached to the bony structure, begins the movement and it is the strength of muscle contracture that determines the strength of that particular movement. Fortunately, this is an unconscious movement, so whether we are walking, talking or breathing this process takes place in our unconscious mind.
As this journey takes place, a more complete therapy is being performed to ensure that many of the problems encountered over the years that have inhibited our ability to move correctly are now being challenged and corrected. The continuing journey for Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® and Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ is ever present at Chagrin Valley Wellness Center. It is this Wellness Journey© that will allow more individuals to move through life as efficiently and pain free as possible.
If you have any questions about any of the content in this article, or if you would like to contact a therapist for more information, please email here – appointments@chagrinvalleywellness.com
Good health and well being to all,
Dennis
If you have any questions about any of the content in this article, or if you would like to contact a therapist for more information, please email here – appointments@chagrinvalleywellness.com
Good health and well being to all,
Dennis