Motor dominance and Back Pain

August 29, 2009 – 9:15 am
Cerebral lateralization has been a hot topic in neuroscience for centuries. How does it apply to body patterns we see in clinic, i.e., does right motor dominance cause hypertonicity in highly innervated tissues such as iliopsoas, rotatores, multifidi, scalenes, suboccipitals? Recall that the 11th cranial nerve innervates the upper traps and SCM. Do you look for and/or expect to see certain repeated structural patterns possibly due to motor dominance? Check out this intriguing article in the new Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolutionary-origi...

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HOME STUDY CONUNDRUM

August 14, 2009 – 3:32 pm
In 2007, the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) surprised many in the massage and bodywork community with this announcement: Videos of any type could no longer be included in home-study and online courses unless NCBTMB-approved instructors offer one-day workshops to monitor and test home-study participants on the techniques presented in the videos. Furthermore, home-study reading material was restricted from displaying photos or diagrams of hands-on techniques without a one-day testing seminar. Bottom line: Continuing education credits could only be granted upon successful completion of the home-study program in addition to the one-day supervised workshop if any hands-on techniques were displayed in the material. Please read the full text including comments by Whitney Lowe  @ http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=7523&catid=251&title=home-study-ce-conundrum and chime in on the debate. Art Riggs, Tom Myers and I have been discussing this ruling for some time and finally decided to open it up for discussion. Comments are appreciated...

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Back Pain…& the short right leg syndrome

July 15, 2009 – 8:04 am
An exceptionally significant postural issue begging for a logical explanation is the ‘short right leg syndrome’. Although an inferred awareness of right-sided limb length shortness has existed for thousands of years with decades of published research available, no one has yet to produce a universally acceptable answer to these two basic questions: 1. Why the unusual frequency of short right legs seen in clinic? 2. How does this common limb length discrepancy relate to chronic pain and somatic dysfunction? How do you measure leg length...supine or prone and what's the difference?

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Gym or no Gym for Low Back Pain?

July 7, 2009 – 9:51 pm
While it could be assumed that people with back pain should not be exercising frequently, a new study by Robert Kell, professor of exercise physiology at the University of Alberta found that working with weights four days a week provided a significant decrease in the amount of pain and improved quality of life. In the study, groups of 60 men and women with chronic low back pain exercised with weights in two, three or four-day weekly programs, or not at all. Their progress was measured over 16 weeks. The level of pain decreased by 28 percent in the 4-day a week group, 18 percent in the 3-day group and 14 percent in those who exercised two days a week.  What do you recommend for your clients?

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Why do women hurt more than men?

June 25, 2009 – 1:41 pm
Some new developments concerning structural differences may also add fuel to the gender phenomena fire. Several biomedical journals have published articles implicating inherited anatomical factors. Studies indicate that, as a group, women have forty percent less neck musculature than men, yet the female head still represents approximately eight percent of a woman’s total body weight which is the same percentage as in males. These conclusions could help explain why many more women, on average, suffer from migraines, osteoporosis, degenerative disc disease, and forward head postures than men.  Manual therapists are keenly aware that pain does not afflict the two genders equally. Most medical literature points to consistent findings that women report more musculoskeletal pain than men, and additionally—the females’ experience seems to differ significantly from that of their male counterpart. Some researchers believe this discrepancy is due to biological issues since female activities are typically comprised of a different set of ...

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Happy 80th B’Day to a living legend…Philip Greenman

March 17, 2008 – 1:20 pm
Last week my friends at MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine threw a wonderful surprise party for my friend and mentor Phil Greenman in Tucson. We must recognize these Giants "on whose shoulders we stand" for their great contributions to touch therapy. My advice is to seek out the old enlightened manual therapists and get some sessions. Ask if they would be willing to share some of their techniques in a tutorial form. You'll be surprised at how many of them are eager to divulge their little therapeutic secrets but never get approached about it. Have any of you had any experiences you'd like to share? In touch...ERIK

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Erik and Aaron Mattes in Costa Rica

January 6, 2008 – 7:25 pm
Aaron’s Active Isolated Stretching will address neck, shoulder, and extremity pain & Erik’s Myoskeletal Alignment will teach SI joint, scoliosis and low back corrections. Geo writes: “I can’t wait to work with you and Mattes in Costa Rica this May…what is the focus of the work you guys will be presenting?” Geo, I can only tell you that the workshop description posted on my website says that Aaron will be focusing on neck, shoulder and extremity problems and I’ll be covering low back, scoliosis and sacroiliac pain. However, when we get together it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen or where we’ll end up. Most people who’ve studied with Aaron are familiar with his contagious energy, passion and boundless knowledge, but few realize what a prankster he is. Aaron and his wife Judy have been close friends with Teri (my wife) and I for many years. At one point, I worked in ...

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New Year’s (Therapy) Resolutions.

December 21, 2007 – 11:21 am
When walking or running try activating the ipsilateral gluteus maximus muscle on heel strike. Squeeze it hard with each step! This simple muscle activation tip will do wonders for restoring foot, lower limb and pelvic balance. Try it first for a week (works best at first barefooted or with non-suported shoes). What do you feel happening in the rest of your body as a result of this simple muscle activation cue? What are your knees doing? Do you feel a change in positioning of your pelvis in the sagittal plane as you walk?  Erik

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Holiday Stress and Low Back Pain

November 5, 2007 – 3:03 pm
Welcome to my first Blog entry. With the Holidays in full-swing, do you see an increase of stressed clients in pain? I seem to have more clients complaining of low back pain during the Holidays. Sacral torsions from prolonged standing with weight-bearing on one leg (Mall Back) is common. Do you think the sacroiliac ligaments are getting strained or possibly piriformis syndrome from increased walking, stooping and bending? Thoughts?

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Hello world!

October 31, 2007 – 10:03 am
Erik Dalton, Ph.D., shares a broad therapeutic background in Rolfing® and osteopathy through innovative pain-management workshops, books and videos. Developer of the Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques® and founder of the Freedom From Pain Institute®, Dalton is dedicated to research and treatment of chronic pain conditions. Freedom From Pain Institute workshops and home-study courses are approved by NCBTMB, Florida Board of Health and most state certifying agencies. Visit www.ErikDalton.com to subscribe to free monthly pain-management newsletters.

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