Neuromuscular Therapy
When the body undergoes stress, be it mechanical, postural or emotional, it often attempts to compensate for the pain or loss of mobility in one area by overusing another area. This can cause changes in the way the brain's signals communicate with the muscles, and too many such changes can result in an even greater reduction of mobility, muscle fatigue, and sometimes even depression, as some parts of the body are called upon to do the work of others.
Such neuromuscular changes are harmful to the body as they produce further physiological dysfunction. It's a progressively destructive cycle, as the stressed and weak areas are never forced to get any stronger because the rest of the body is compensating for their loss. And meanwhile, the areas that are being overworked end up also suffering from stress, which means the body must rearrange the workload again and again until eventually nearly every possible muscle group is in pain.
Neuromuscular therapy treatment (NMT) aims to stimulate the reflexes associated with the source of the problem, be it a joint or muscle, in order to redirect the body to use those functions instead of compensating elsewhere. NMT involves an assessment of the client's posture, and soft tissue manipulation; massaging the tissues with light strokes at first, and progressively getting deeper. This technique helps reveal areas of tension, contracted tissue and hypersensitivity.
Clients who have suffered from chronic pain in one particular area (lower back, neck, a specific joint) will most likely be in need of at least some NMT treatment in order to experience full relief.
