Release...Balance...Build

Physical Therapy At CHARM

Release

The first step to correcting altered neuromuscular control is to release the grip of the muscles doing the wrong job. Global up-regulation is a fancy term used for when a muscle designed to move is being used to stabilize your body in some way. Think about what your body does when you slip. Because of this huge feeling of instability, everything tenses up to protect you. Your body can release and recover from a slip, fall, pain, or trauma but some times compensatory patterns remain.

A global muscle compensatory pattern can be compared to a cast. The deeper stabilizer muscles underneath the cast of global muscle tension around them cannot be accessed. They cannot be turned back on because they cannot be effectively reached. Every muscle is busy doing a job even though it may be the wrong job.

So it is critical to release a muscle or group of muscles that are busy doing the wrong job, but when we do we must be ready to stabilize and balance the body with another more appropriate motor pattern. Re-establishing the right muscle firing, at the right time, and with the right amount of force is necessary for a balanced human body.

Balance

Unlike a building with a solid foundation at the base and floors stacked neatly above, we have feet, and a much different sort of engineering. The best engineering term to describe the human body is biotensegrity. Living / Tension / Integrity. Think of hoisting a sail on a sailboat. You have multiple ropes pulling at different angles and everything is just nervously flapping in the wind until you provide the appropriate tension. These forces provide a beautiful balance between enough tension to give the sail form, yet enough flexibility to quickly switch orientation, tack, catch the wind, and change direction. This begins to sound a lot like walking, running, playing soccer, tennis, or dancing to your favorite song. As we appreciate the dancer, we can see the stunning coordination between the muscles that stabilize and the muscles that create power and in the end precision and grace. We are truly designed to defy gravity. But how do we optimize our relationship with gravity so that we can enjoy efficient, balanced, and pain free movement once again?

At CHARM we utilize a variety of integrated treatment approaches to release the grip of muscles stuck in protection mode and then re-establish proper 3-dimensional movement with underlying stabilizer control. Two tools in particular provide our patients with a powerful therapeutic combination. The NEUBIE (Neuro-Bio-Electric) direct current stimulation, and the body weight off-loaded, closed kinetic chain, suspension method known as Redcord NEURAC – NEURomuscular ACtivation. In the hands of our highly trained therapists, the NeuFit method re-establishes proper neuromuscular access, and the Redcord NEURAC maximally challenges the dynamic stabilization of the neuromuscular system. Following a threshold tolerance scan with the NEUBIE and a NEURAC weak link test, your therapist will guide you through specific and targeted exercises quickly enhancing muscle balance, joint proprioception, body awareness, and coordination of proper motor patterns. Your renewed relationship with gravity is our goal.

Build

Once we have released protective compensatory gripping, tension, pain, and restored proper stability and movement patterns then you are ready to build strength in all situations. Under the one to one watchful eye of your therapist, in variable positions against gravity, and gently progressive challenges of rotation, intensity, instability, and load, we will help your body regain the confidence and capacity to respond correctly to all life has to throw at you and all you wish to throw back.

The purpose in all we do is that no one be afraid to move. At every age and with every level goal we will help you establish a concise and effective corrective exercise program to maintain the gains you have made and return you to doing what you love. At the heart of our therapeutic approach at CHARM is this concept of RELEASE, BALANCE, BUILD. We utilize our years of experience as athletes, dancers, moms, and movement experts to offer unique and comprehensive solutions. Whether you are an individual recovering from injury or surgery, the new mom or weekend warrior wishing to regain full capacity and strength, the student or professional athlete trying to reach the top of your game, we have the individualized attention and state of the art techniques to unlock your body’s optimal potential.

The mysterious injury to my abdominals following delivery of our first son made it impossible to stand up. Physical therapy at CHARM helped me regain strength in my core while working within the limits of my pain. I started feeling stronger as the pain began to subside. However, even as the pain started to subside, the lack of overall strength in my body postpartum was truly stunning. As an endurance athlete, I thought I would always be able to regain strength in my core, legs, and back. However, following pregnancy I found it hard to get my body to access all of my muscles — no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t do it. My therapist started me on Redcord exercises and direct current therapy (NeuFit NEUBIE) and after working together, I quickly started to feel like my old self.

Thank you for helping me get back to my pre-pregnancy self! I saw progress with every Redcord therapy and NeuFit session! Postpartum mamas, do not listen to people when they say your body will never feel the same after pregnancy – – it can feel better!!

Sarah