The Integra Blog

Finding the Cause of the Pain - Case Studies

“When will you get to my right hip, as that is what is hurting?”

Most of the time when we go to see someone for pain, the focus of treatment is on the area where you feel the pain. But what if the area where you feel pain is not the cause?

When muscles become weak, or inhibited, this creates a potential for instability around a joint. To prevent structural damage, the brain can compensate by increasing the tension from the remaining muscles. This shows up as muscle tightness.

As a manual therapy, Muscle Activation Techniques is unique in that the focus is not pain. MAT Specialists do not treat pain, they locate and treat muscle inhibition using a series of checks and balances. It is this muscle inhibition that may contribute to muscle tightness, dysfunction and/or pain.

Case Study One: When I had a motorbike accident several years ago, I was left with pain in my left knee. I couldn’t quite lock my knee out, walking was fine but I certainly couldn’t run. Luckily I was going through the MAT Specialist program in Denver at the time. Over the course of several treatments with Joel, it was apparent that my major limitations were actually in my right hip (not in my left knee).

Joel worked on the muscles around my right hip, based on the ranges he saw that were limited. Once we reached a stage of stability and balance between both my right and left hips, my knee pain disappeared, my knee extension was restored and I progressed rapidly back up to running again.

Case Study Two: Alex had lower back pain and had the pain for 6 years by the time she came to see me. During the MAT assessment, major limitations showed up in left hip internal rotation and left ankle dorsiflexion. Interestingly, she hadn’t mentioned that she sprained her ankle years ago “I didn’t think it was relevant!”

My objective with Alex was to improve her joint and muscle balance. We treated her hip and ankle several times over the course of a few sessions and sure enough Alex reported that her back pain had started to diminish after each session, until she was finally without pain.

What do this mean? Should we always work on the hips for knee pain and back pain?

Pain is a symptom of an underlying issue, which may be certain joint and muscle imbalances, but it is non-specific, subjective and therefore not really measurable. As a MAT Specialist, I have the benefit of of working with the muscular system, assessing for joint and muscle imbalances and muscle inhibition.

This allows me to determine if a person’s physical condition is improving by using objective benchmarks such as active and passive range of motion and muscle testing.

It allows me to look for root causes of issues; to test, treat and retest my theories, rather than chasing the symptoms. This approach combined with our emphasis on movement awareness shows up in client progressions as improved mobility, stability and movement, with less pain.

This post was written by Michael Goulden and posted on the Integra Facebook Fan Page, click LIKE below to subscribe to future content on our FB page.

Applying Science to Life

You have to train yourself to think scientifically, it doesn’t come naturally

A friend of mine said this to me the other day, and it set me thinking. The famous physicist Galileo Galilei (the one who chucked things off tall towers and realised they all landed at the same time) was one of the first proponents of the scientific method. This consists of five basic steps:

• develop a theory;
• design an experiment to test the theory;
• record the outcome of the experiment;
• check if it bears out the predictions of the theory;
• modify the theory (if necessary) in light of the results.

Pretty much any scientist anywhere, from the white-coated guy pouring chemicals into test tubes to the Einstein-like figure with the crazy hair scribbling equations on reams of scattered paper should be adhering in some way to this method.

The main characteristic of science is, therefore, that it’s outcome-based: if the outcome doesn’t match what the theory predicts you change the theory. If a theory or strategy is correct it should produce the results it was designed to produce: this makes sense, right? But do we apply this principle in everyday life? Or do we carry on implementing the same strategies, even if we don’t see results, in the hope that the “experiment” will suddenly start working?

Let’s look at exercise and nutrition: how many times have you heard someone say “my diet is great, but I don’t seem to have any energy”, or “my exercise program is brilliant, but I don’t feel like I’m really progressing”? These are typical examples of a strategy not producing the desired outcome. But because we’re not in a lab wearing white coats there’s a tendency to ignore the outcome and carry on implementing the same theory in the hope that things will get better (truth be told, people do this in a scientific context also, but they find it increasingly difficult to get funding!).

It can sometimes be useful to evaluate our daily activities in the context of the scientific method. We all have “strategies” for living, based on our theories of what’s right and wrong. But if these strategies are not getting us to where we want to be, in any area of life, consider one of two things: there may be something wrong with the strategy/theory; or… there may be something wrong with the way we’re implementing the strategy. And establishing which of these applies could save a lot of time.

This post was written by Martina Avellino and posted on the Integra Facebook Fan Page, click LIKE below to subscribe to future content on our FB page.

What is a Resistance Training Specialist (RTS)?

For Integra, The Resistance Training Specialist program is the missing link to the majority of exercise and personal training qualifications in the UK and the US.

If we are truly going to offer ‘Personal Training’ we need to know more than the latest trends and do more than impose our own individual bias about exercise. We want to be precise in our application of our knowledge, to get great results for each of our clients.

From Pilates, to strength training, to yoga, to stretching, to ‘cardio’, every small section of fitness has its’ own ‘Rules’ of exercises. Each type of exercise has a specific paradigm that excludes everything that is not part of that system.

“Don’t let your knees go past your toes in a squat”…”Pilates will give you long and lean muscles”…”Running burns the most fat”…”The CORE is the most important part of your body”

But how about designing exercises to fit the rules of the body? Each client is not the same and as such, we should not expect people to follow generic exercise rules.

The Resistance Training Specialist program is an education process specialising in the study and application of Exercise Mechanics. The goal being to truly understand your client’s body and the skill in manipulating all of the variables that comprise exercise accordingly.

The goal of the RTS program is objective decision making in the implementation of exercise through:

• Structural Anatomy - The “Inside View” of the body and exercise
• Exposing exercise myths and biases
• Mastering precision exercise
• Functional Continuum® strategies
• Exercise Mechanics
• Strategic Resistance™
• The continual assessment of our client’s needs, goals and expectations.
• The rate and form of exercise progression, and
• The risks and benefit of each movement.

Ultimately we look beyond method names and marketing to the objective factors, but does this mean that we throw away all of our education and experience?

No, it means we can be accurate and precise rather than following what is fashionable, traditional or the hot topic in the fitness magazines.

This means the RTS Exercise Professional knows more exercise variables, can offer more strategies and has more tools in their boxes to get clients results.

Each member of the Integra team has been trained via the RTS program. Rather than just acquiring more knowledge, we aim to continue to refine, explore and challenge for a deeper understanding.

If you wish to join the RTS UK - Facebook Fan Page, which is open to everyone, with articles and links from around the RTS community, click LIKE below

More about RTS: RTS, LLC work with fitness, performance, and rehab facilities of all sizes to help personal trainers, fitness professionals, health professionals and anyone who employs exercise as a modality to provide a unique and invaluable level of service to their members, clients, and/or patients.

They offer educational courses and programs nationally and internationally which allow them to further their mission of changing the perception of what exercise is and can be by bringing substance and objectivity to how we study, teach, and apply exercise.

For more information on the RTS123 program in the UK, or the RTS Mastery program that is offered in Oklahoma City, US - go here: www.rts123.com