#positional release therapy

[ptingatc]

Releasing Potentials

This past weekend, Dr. Tim Speicher and Dr. Sam Chen taught a course on treating the lower quarter with positional release therapy as well as giving a simplified approach to gait analysis. A lot of us were very excited about this course and by the looks on everyone's faces after the course, we were all enlightened and mind-blown. A lot of us were taught how to use PRT by our preceptors and second years, but we never understood why it works. Some of us are in disbelief that a therapy this relaxing can treat a patient who has had chronic pain completely.

The rationale behind positional release therapy takes the strain-counter strain theory to another level. When a strain occurs in the body, the contralateral side compensates for the strain by counterstraining and results in muscle spindle dysfunction. The muscle spindle is vital for sending information to the spinal cord about the muscle fiber's length and stretch velocity. When an injury occurs, we fire the pain receptors in A-delta and C fibers and cause a stretch reflex in the muscle fibers maintained by the firing of gamma motoneurons. The injury physiologically results in local hypoxia, leading to a decrease in ATP Instead of taking the direct approach of mashing the knot or "rubbing it out", we are shortening the muscle fibers and impacting the myotatic reflex and alleviating the neurochemical bonds of the myosin-actin complex. This in turn decreases the gamma firing and resets the muscle spindle and the local compression from shortening the muscle fibers increase blood flow and reduce hypoxia to the injured site.

For the sake of the PRT Institute, I will not describe the techniques, but I must say the results were amazing, just feeling how much looser and less tense our muscles were and that the tender points were virtually gone after treatment. It's amazing to have this therapeutic technique in our toolbox as budding clinicians. Afterwards, Dr. Speicher showed us a treatment protocol on how to treat sacroiliac joint fixation using PRT and other manual therapy techniques and therapeutic modalities. We may be treating pain, but everyone's body mechanics are different and can predispose chronic dysfunction and must be taken into consideration individually.

What I learned from that weekend was how patient we must be when applying this treatment but at the same time, have confidence in our practice. If we are confident in our abilities to treat patients, we can immediately treat the symptomatic pain on the first day of their appointment and figure out the dysfunction causing the unwanted symptoms. Treating the injury and considering the whole body system is a philosophy the CBU ATEP program takes pride upon. We also want to make sure that our patients are more than compliant, that they buy into what we believe in and feel comfortable and optimistic about the treatments we are doing for them. That weekend reminded me of how to balance eagerness and patience when learning new techniques and always stay open minded for more knowledge to come.

As for this week, it has been a whirlwind. My research group is currently finishing up our literature review for our study and our individual papers. There has been so much writing going on and our stress has filled the air, but our determination and curiosity has kept us focused and steady towards achieving our goals. When we finish our literature review, I hope to share with you all what we are studying and how excited we are for our study to unravel. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the future posts!

[zdozz]

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Pillows and Positional Therapy as Immediate Remedy for Acid Reflux

Positional Therapy

Positional Therapy

When we eat, the contents in the stomach normally proceed into the intestines with the aid of digestive muscle contractions, so  positional therapy might be a good treatment. However, for those who have acid reflux disease, the digestive contents travel back into the esophagus. And since the digestive materials contain acids, a patient suffers from inflammation in the throat which may be associated with pains in the abdomen and breastbone. Other symptoms include dyspepsia, vomiting, regurgitation, and respiratory-related indicators.

Acid reflux is a chronic health condition. Once it has started to transmit in the body, it will continue to inhabit indefinitely. Although treatments are available, symptoms usually tend to be applied repeatedly. And this means that treatments also need to be employed recurrently.

The act of stomach liquids backing up into the esophagus is actually normal. It also happens to those without acid reflux disease. In the case of acid reflux patients, however, the stomach contents have more acid than the normal and that the acid tends to stay in the esophagus for a longer period of time.

Positional Therapy or Natural Mechanisms

The human body, of course, has its own mechanisms to lessen the harmful effects brought about by the refluxed acids. An example of such is the salivary glands found in the mouth. These glands produce saliva, a liquid which contains bicarbonate. When we swallow, the saliva containing bicarbonates passes through the esophagus.

Bicarbonates have the ability to neutralize acids, which may have remained after an earlier regurgitation. Also, studies have shown that most cases of reflux happen during daytime. At this time, individuals are usually on an upright position. With the aid of gravity, reflux is minimized because the stomach contents are held back down. Moreover, when awake, individuals recurrently swallow. And this practice maximizes the benefits that saliva does in reducing the level of acids in the throat.

The mentioned natural ways of the body to protect itself are important in the maintenance of the esophagus. But saliva, swallowing, and gravity can only work when a person is in an upright position. During night time, when individuals are asleep, gravity cannot help much. Also, the saliva secretion is trimmed down and swallowing does not take place. It is for these reasons why acid reflux which comes about at night becomes more severe sore in the esophagus because the acids stay longer and therefore do more damage to it.

Acid Reflux and Pregnancy

Acid reflux can be more susceptible to the pregnant and obese. The increased levels of hormones during pregnancy and high levels of fats in the body can induce acid reflux because of the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter, a muscle that prevents the stomach contents from moving back to the esophagus, is reduced. As such, it will be easier for the partially digested contents to come back because less force is holding them back down. In addition, for the pregnant women, the pressure in the abdomen rises due to the developing fetus in the womb.

Positional Therapy May be Easiest Treatment

There are ways to help the body minimize the occurrences of reflux. One of the easiest to implement is positional therapy. This is done by elevating the head and the torso when in a sleeping position. Pillows, which are readily available, can be positioned to raise the torso at about six to eight inches. This position can provide maximum effectiveness in holding back reflux. Surveys have shown that the use of increased recommended elevation results to greater efficiency.

Click link for more information on positional therapy.