I will never forget my Professor's words of wisdom that were taught to me over 15 years ago.
I use them on every patient that I see and go back to them when a patient is not responding to my treatment.
Thanks Roz
They are:
1. Alignment Dictates Function: If the alignment is off the structure will not work. From the tube like structures in viscera to the bones in a joint, if they are even a millimeter off they will not function optimally.
In muscles this is substantiated by the principle of the Length Tension Ratio which states that a muscle will contract with greatest vigor when it is at a particular length.
2. You need to have Stability in order to Have Mobility: This comes into play with our core muscles. If our core muscles are not firing there is no fix point from which are muscles can move. It also explains why joint inflammation is such a problem. For every cubic centimeter of inflammation, a muscle shuts down by 1 percent. The muscles that are closest to the joints are our core muscles. Therefore, people who are inflamed are unstable and will lack flexibility. This rule directly contributed to my developing the ARMS release technique as well as the Position of Manual Stability.
3. Release, Re-position, and Re-Educate or just Re-position and Re-educate: If there is a non-structure dysfunction, meaning that if a limitation in motion is not being caused by an anatomical structure, then you would just put the body part where you want it to be (re-position) and re-educate. If however, a structural dysfunction is occurring, meaning that motion is being blocked or limited by an anatomical structure, you need to release it first, then tell the body where it needs to be (re-position) and re-educate.
If you are not having great success with your patients you may want to refer back to "The Rules".
