Neuromuscular Therapy

A Neuromuscular Therapist analyses an injury, pain site or dysfunction from a global (total) body perspective.

This means that, for example, the Therapist will not just treat the presented injury in isolation but will try to determine if there are other causal factors (poor posture, pelvic problems, imbalanced muscle systems) which may have contributed to or caused the injury.

The body is treated in its entirety and nothing is looked at in isolation.

Therefore, it is not unusual for a Neuromuscuar Therapist to resolve many issues in one treatment session.

Six factors which might cause or aggravate pain patterns are taken into account:

• Ischemia
• Lack of blood supply to soft tissues which causes hypersensitivity to touch
• Trigger Points
• Highly irritated points in muscles which refer pain locally or to other parts of the body
• Nerve Compression or Entrapment
• Pressure on a nerve by soft tissue, cartilage or bone
• Postural Distortion
• Imbalance of the muscular system resulting from the movement of the body off the longitudinal and horizontal planes
• Biomechanical Dysfunction
• Imbalance of the musculoskeletal system resulting in faulty movement patterns (poor lifting habits, bad mechanics in a golf swing or tennis stroke, computer keyboarding)
• Emotional well-being

Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT) is a very specialized form of manual therapy. A Therapist trained in NMT is educated in the physiology of the nervous system and its effect on the muscular and skeletal systems.

The Neuromuscular Therapist is also educated in Trigger Point Dry Needling and biomechanics and how to work in a clinical or medical environment.

NMT utilizes specific massage therapy, stretching (muscular and fascial), and home care to eliminate the causes of most neuromuscular pain patterns. This specific and scientific approach to muscular pain relief brings about balance between the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system.

NMT enhances the function of joints, muscles and biomechanics. It can be part of a comprehensive program, complementing all other health care modalities.

Therapists who have training in NMT can locate, treat and normalize:

• Trigger Points
• Myofascial dysfunctions within the soft-tissue system (which are muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia)
• Fibrotic Adhesions

Neuromuscular Technique utilizes specifically applied pressure which interrupts nerve impulses to the spinal cord, reducing the intensity of the sympathetic nervous system and activated injury patterns.
Direct pressure on the area of chronic pain pattern mechanically forces out toxic irritants that have accumulated at nerve receptor sites.

NMT often dramatically increases flexibility, balance, strength and energy by interrupting the pain pathways, improving circulation of the system of muscles that are at a deeper level and upgrading the health of the body on all levels.

Protocols for treatment of common pain syndromes combined with thorough knowledge of anatomy are the basis for success with NMT.

Following a neuromuscular therapy massage, any resulting soreness should fade after 24 to 36 hours.

The muscles that were tight should remain noticeably more relaxed for four to fourteen days, depending on stress, activity level, and severity of pain prior to beginning NMT treatment.