Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT)
What is Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT)?
The St. John Method of Neuromuscular Therapy is a system of hands-on soft tissue therapy techniques that balance the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and nerves) with the musculoskeletal system (muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones). NMT considers five principles that cause pain and utilizes physiological laws to correct those imbalances. The principles of NMT are:
- Postural distortion – Every movement that we make begins and ends with posture! The body will automatically compensate for muscular imbalances resulting from the body's movement off ideal alignment, as a result of gravity, repetitive strain, static loading, weakness or injury.
- Biomechanical dysfunction – faulty movement patterns resulting from postural distortions.
- Ischemia - lack of blood flow, water and oxygen to soft tissues which typically cause sensitivity to touch.
- Trigger points - rapid firing of nerve impulses into areas of the body which may be far from the actual site of pain. Trigger points are often formed due to weakness, overuse and/or trauma.
- Nerve compression or entrapment - pressure on a nerve from bone, cartilage, or soft tissue. For our definitions, when a nerve is entrapped between soft tissue and soft tissue or soft tissue and bone, we define this as nerve entrapment. Pressure on a nerve from soft tissue is the most common type of pain and always causes ischemia. This is generally simple to fix. When a nerve is compressed between two bones, we refer to this as nerve compression. This is less common and also often repairable, but not always.
Your First Appointment
Your first session will begin with discussion of your complaints and health history, followed by an analysis of your posture, biomechanics and other causes of your pain. Based on the results of the initial consultation, we tailor your regular sessions to your individual needs. You will receive a detailed explanation of the therapy to be performed, how you will be affected by it and our follow-up recommendations designed to decrease soreness, fatigue and aide in your healing process. We will also provide specific exercises, etc. for you to maintain the work to prevent recurrence of pain.
What Is Postural Evaluation?
You stand comfortably wearing a swimsuit, workout clothes, or your underwear – whichever you prefer. Men wear a pair of shorts. Measurements are taken at various points on your feet, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and head. The same measurements are taken in a non-weight bearing position on one of our massage tables to make note of any change. We will review the results of the evaluation and formulate a treatment plan.
What Happens during the NMT Session?
There is a big difference between ‘deep’ work and ‘specific’ work! NMT is specific. After we go over the results of your postural evaluation, we choose the areas to be worked on. Depending on the therapy to be done, you may have to remove some of your clothes or all of them. We often work with clothing on. You will always be comfortably draped under a sheet. As an area is treated, it is uncovered, then re-covered after treatment. The amount of pressure used will not be any more than necessary to perform an effective treatment. You are encouraged to communicate to us the level of comfort or discomfort you feel at any time. Your treatment may include stretching or movement exercises as part of the session or to be done as "homework."
What Happens After the Session?
This work is potent, effective and changes structure (posture, alignment and movement). After treatment, we again discuss how you are feeling and what has changed since we began. We will find out if we are closer to or farther away from your treatment goals. We may give you some "homework" to do for the next session. These are usually movement exercises or simple soft-tissue treatments.
Often, we encourage yoga or Active Isolated Stretching as an adjunct to your therapy to maintain the work that has been done, if deemed appropriate. Your scheduled visits will range from 2 to 10, depending upon a variety of factors: age, nature of injury, length of time you have an injury, nutrition, hydration, risk factors, etc.
Neuromuscular therapy is a major part of totally naturally whole body healing and health maintenance. We are proud of a 98% success and return rate of clientele. We are happy to work closely with your physician(s) and communicate our protocol so that they may better understand the nature of our work.
For more information, please see our ads in the NE Wellness Guide.
In the meantime, please feel free to call our office or email me with any questions.
“Neuromuscular pain relief unlocks the body, permits normalization of physiological disturbances and restores basic homeostasis. Neuromuscular therapy dampens sympathetic overdrive, mimicking the favoring action of a beta-blocking drug. It removes noxious stimuli within the body that are responsible for muscle spasms, blood vessel constriction and the pain-disease cycle of chronic misery. NMT has succeeded when a variety of other treatments have not helped.”
-- Ray Wunderlich, M.D., author of Kids, Brains, Learning
Rates
Optimal Health Group provides competitive rates for corporate or multiple purchases of therapeutic bodywork. Currently our rates are as follows:
- $45 half hour
- $40 each for 5-10
- $35 each for 11-15
- $30 each for 16 or more
- $80 one hour
- $70 each for 5-10
- $60 each for 11-15
- $50 each for 16 or more
- $110 1.5 hours
- $95 each for 5-10
- $80 each for 11-15
- $65 each for 16 or more