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Dynamic Muscular Therapy
Dynamic muscular therapy aids in the healing of chronic athletic injuries through a combination passive manual therapy and active directed movement to resolve the physical road blocks to fluid movement and correct inefficient movement patterns. Passive and active therapies, such as massage and yoga, have, of course, been aiding people for hundreds of years. What is unique about dynamic muscular therapy is that it combines a passive mode (orthopedic assessment and treatment through passive manual therapy) and an active mode (strength and conditioning assessment and exercise prescription) to specifically address the athlete’s goals. The process is intensive. It involves examining the movement patterns developed over time by the activities we choose and the injuries we have incurred from our activities. This requires an exhaustive history be taken. A thorough orthopedic assessment must then be carefully executed to isolate specific chronic injuries. Finally, a multifaceted strength and conditioning assessment must be undertaken, which includes an analysis of the needs of the sport as well as an assessment of the athlete’s condition. Only then can it be determined what type of manual therapy and exercise program is appropriate – if any. If the athlete’s condition is such that they need to be referred out to a health care professional, it is done so immediately, without hesitation. The focus of dynamic muscular therapy is athletic performance. General health and fitness, although monitored very carefully for the safety of the athlete and weighed heavily in exercise prescription, are not by themselves objectives. However, if a non-athlete is open and dedicated to the same type of change and challenge that athletes embrace, then the process can be tremendously rewarding for them as well. As of the writing of this piece, a full third of the clients in our care are not engaged in athletics. All that is really needed is an acceptance of the need for change, the desire to overcome one’s pain, and the willingness to embrace physical activity to improve performance.
Elements of Treatment Manual Therapy
The manual therapy techniques employed are varied, but
cross-fiber friction
(also known as transverse friction) is often used on microtraumas to help
resolve their characteristic accumulation of scar tissue. These types of
injuries are found in muscles, tendons, and ligaments and are often the
result of repetitive physical stress.
Myofascial techniques are used on the connective tissue elements to help resolve adhesion, restore balance, and decrease physical stress on the body due to imbalance. Numerous types of stretching and neuromuscular facilitation are used to incorporate the both passive and active elements of the soft tissue when establishing the appropriate length of these tissues and the range in the joints they support. Lastly, effleurage, petrisage, and tapotement are utilized to decrease excess tension, warm the soft tissues, and influence local fluid circulation. Manual techniques are used in combinations for specific therapeutic objectives which in turn are always part of a full program of dynamic muscular therapy. The goals of the program and the specific objectives of the treatments are agreed upon by both the therapist and the athlete, but the therapist decides which techniques are most appropriate and design the treatments themselves. Active Therapy The central focus of dynamic muscular therapy is the active element, corrective exercises. For the most part, manual therapy is only used as a tool that enables us to engage the active element of the therapy, which allows us to heal more fully and functionally, putting an end to the injury/re-injury cycle and allowing us to excel. As the athlete heals, manual therapy decreases as active therapy increases. When used in conjunction with a physical therapy rehabilitation program, for example, the athlete may be referred by the physical therapist before they are fully functional in their sport to decrease tension and help resolve scar tissue. At this stage the role of strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) is simply to prevent the athletes systems from becoming de-conditioned. Since we are not a training facility, manual therapy does dominate the session at this stage. As the athlete regains functionality, the corrective exercise aspect of dynamic muscular therapy begins to contribute more and as the athlete becomes stronger, manual therapy is only needed occasionally to help keep performance at its peak. Most athletes are not engaged in a physical therapy program, but are hindered by chronic pain due to accumulated scar tissue from old injuries or imbalances in their body caused by training, competition, and activities of daily living. These represent the majority of the Soarbody population, where some manual therapy will be introduced to begin to resolve a chronic condition, but corrective exercises will be introduced immediately. The exercises are custom designed to meet the athlete’s needs and is as unique in design as the athlete and their sport. Taking an athlete out of chronic pain to excel at their sport is a complex task that involves manipulating all the systems in the body over time. It requires an in depth understanding of the needs of the sport, the needs of the athlete, and the physiological systems that are called into play. Because the athlete must execute most the program on their own, much of this information must be taught to them. This not only provides the athlete with the tools to excel at their sport, but to prevent athletic injuries in the future. This is a quantum leap up the healing spectrum. |
Within the therapeutic world it is commonly accepted that healing and growth
occur in the presence of motion. It is when we stagnate, refuse to move and
change, that our wounds begin to slowly cripple us, robbing us of much of
the joy in life. Although a common experience to all people, it is perhaps
most keenly felt by the most physically active amongst us, the athlete. 
When paired with appropriate exercise
and stretching routines, cross-fiber friction can be an effective tool to
help heal the lesion and prevent the