NeuroMuscular Reprogramming

How Stress Makes Us Ill

Published: 19 July 2023
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
1 Comment
Categories: Brain Function, Hacking Your Nervous System, Handling Stress, Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic

Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic Functions of the Nervous System:

Our nervous system has 2 interweaving sides: excitatory and vegetative. The excitatory side takes care of emergencies and the vegetative rest and regeneration. When we are stuck in a chronic tension pattern from a past accident or incident or a prolonged period of unremitting stress our ability to heal ourselves is seriously impaired. A new client came in for a free neuromuscular assessment/consultation. She’d been such a hard driving producer that her whole nervous system collapsed into chronic fatigue and inability to heal. The result was systemic infections that wouldn’t heal. The antibiotics further destroyed her gut biome and compromised her ability to take nutrition out of her food. She put on weight and had no energy for exercise. The end point was extreme: bed ridden for 2 years, too weak to walk, with PTSD from all the attempted interventions. This sketch of her situation (many details have been left out) is a perfect description of the failure to thrive that is marked by a fixation in the sympathetic side of the nervous system.

What the Parasympathetic side of the Autonomic Nervous System does:

  • Meditation; enables you to reach states of at oneness.
  • Relaxation; the ability to calm the mind.
  • Digestion; secretion of enzymes and moving of the bowel
  • Restoration; the efficiency and priorities of our body’s cellular metabolism are directly affected by whether we are at ease or anxious
  • Sleep; the ability to access the deep sleep states of youth.
  • Cell regeneration; all the metabolic chemistry that is used in healing and making new tissue.

What the Sympathetic Nervous System does:

  • Constricts blood vessels; raises blood pressure
  • Shortens breath and limits it to the chest muscles
  • Contracts pupils and produces focused “tunnel vision”
  • Reverts to reactive responses based on past experience
  • Inhibits higher brain functions (conceptual, integrative, problem solving and creativity)
  • Suppresses immune response
  • Disintegrates learned, refined movements and smooth muscle tone (colon)
  • Produces physical awkwardness resulting in loss of self esteem
  • Difficulty focusing and concentrating
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep or waking up still tired

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Chronic Stress creates Sympathetic Hyper-arousal or Hyper-vigilance.  Muscles are tight constantly in an overall hypertension ready for the need to fight, flight or freeze; always “at the ready.”
Areas expressive of the “the startle reflex” such as the back of the neck and elevation of the shoulders, sub-occipitals, eyes, low back, calf muscles, psoas and iliacus maintain the most tension.
The end result:
  • Chronic tension and pain in muscles, especially those expressive of the startle reflex
  • High levels of stress hormones and tension over time create high fluid levels in the tissue.
  • Stiff, sore muscles, poor circulation, taut, pale and thick skin
  • High fluid levels produce poor cellular nutrition, sluggish energy metabolism, poor recovery time from activity, and cell wall fragility.

We teach you how to shift your clients from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic in NeuroMuscular Reprogramming. NMR is a practical tool to include in your practice including and not limited to: physical therapists, massage therapists, physical trainers or movement educators. A new 4-part series to becoming a certified NMR therapist starts September 29th. Get 16.5% off when you sign up for all 4 classes! Sign up here.

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What Can Be Done About Frozen Shoulder?

Published: 4 December 2022
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
No comments
Categories: Handling Stress, NMR Efficacy, Stress, Techniques

The Emotional Component

I have heard that frozen shoulder can follow an emotional trauma.  A former student came in to see me as a client. She had recently gone through two losses of people dear to her.  She developed frozen shoulder.  I’ve also heard that frozen shoulder will go away on its own after a couple of years. Can that process be speeded up? Yes, it can.

Any condition with an emotional component as history requires checking for Contralateral Coordination Dysfunction. Muscle testing reveals ALL shoulder muscles are weak. Brain Buttons turned on some of the muscles, but the shoulder is still dramatically dysfunctional. Many external rotation functions are inhibiting the internal rotator of the Subscapularis.**

Once internal rotators were working, we worked adhered and rigid shoulder tissues.

4 NeuroMuscular Reprogramming NMR® treatments

4 neuromuscular reprogramming treatments one month apart has almost completely removed the restriction and pain.

Now that the emotional factors have been addressed, in session 2 we were able to deal with some of the peripheral dysfunctions created by the main restrictions in the shoulder. We also began to work with the support and function of the neck muscles and how they contributed to the shoulder dysfunction.

In frozen shoulder, the muscles of shoulder depression dominate those of elevation. The client cannot lift their arm. Neither can they internally or externally rotate to a full potential ROM.  External rotators are usually inhibiting internal rotators to begin with… 

Resolving Scapular Adhesions in this case of Frozen Shoulder:

First, I addressed Scapular Adhesions, specifically…
Lt Rhomboid AND Lt Coracobrachialis inhibited Lt Teres Maj, Subscapularis

PMC inhibits Post Delt; Traps; Supraspinatus

The next layer of dysfunction:

Lt Subscap inhibits Lt Infraspinatus AND Supraspinatus (int rot’n inhibits ext rot’n) This was revealed after decompressing the shoulder with traction and tissue manipulation to reduce tissue rigidity.

More neck work resolved Lt Scalenes inhibit Rt Scalenes.
Lt OCI inhibits Rt OCI
Rt OCS inhibits Lt OCS
Lt Rec Cap inhibits Rt Rec Cap
(Yet another seeming reversal in dysfunction is now apparent as the neck compression issues of rotation and counter rotation are resolved.)

(Next session we need to connect the low back to Lt neck and shoulder.)

The Final Session: Pain on movement is gone, but details remain

Lt Sterno-Clavicular Joint is stuck (immobilized).
Infraspinatus inhibits Subclavius; Serratus Posterior Superior (SPS); Subscapularis
Ant Serratus inhibits Ant Deltoid. (Remember that Infraspinatus and long head of Tricep inhibited Lt Lat and Infraspinatus was the most fixated muscle in the superficial shoulder
area.)

The synergist of Subclavius, PMC is likewise inhibiting Subclavius; also P. Delt and Bicep.

Now we begin to see the layer of dysfunction under the layer we’ve been able to work with.
Subscapularis inhibiting Teres Major; Teres Major inhibiting Subscapularis (how can this be? An increase in the ROM in the joint reveals YET ANOTHER layer of dysfunctional synergistic muscle relationships.)

Teres Minor inhibits PMC AND Subclavius (once again we are looking at reciprocal inhibitions).

Rt Obliquus Capitis Superior (OCS) inhibits OC inferior (OCI); Lt eye tracking. Rt Eye tracking inhibits Lt OCI. Needs more work.

Did extensive tissue mobilization throughout the structure of upper chest and all through the arm muscles.   

Client is quite satisfied with her progress but still can’t ‘lift’ her hand behind her back to the range it was before.  These details will continue to progress with more work, but 4 sessions is extraordinarily fast to accomplish freedom from pain on movement.

NOTES:   *In the case of True Frozen Shoulder, the medical approach of forced manipulation under anesthesia is called for.

**(PT approaches given for frozen shoulder begin with exercising the external rotator functions of the shoulder. Since external rotation is usually dominant in frozen shoulder this would seem counter indicated.)

 

 

3 is The Key to Learning

Published: 28 November 2022
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
No comments
Categories: Brain Function, Handling Stress, NMR Efficacy, Self Help Techniques

3 is the Key to New Learning.

The Body Learns Through Repetition.

The first level of learning is getting the message through to the muscles. This involves neurological learning. Neurological learning boosts the brain’s learning facility which is usually knocked out by stressful experience, accident or trauma. When you try something new for the first time, your coordination system doesn’t know how to do it. When you try it again immediately there may be a glimmer of ‘almost’ understanding. It is only on the 3rd try that your coordination system begins to really ‘get it’; and OWN the new movement possibility. Sometimes it takes even longer than 3 repetitions to get it, but 3 is the maximum number of ‘trys’ that should be engaged on the first time around.

Repetition Exhausts the Nervous System.

Unlike the muscles, the nervous system becomes quickly exhausted when pushed too hard to do new activities. It is important to understand and expect that anything you just tried, your body intelligence will continue to integrate even as you sleep. (This has been validated in movement physiology research). When you perform the same activity the next day you may find it much easier.

First you have to prepare the body for new learning.

This is where NMR starts.  

The 1st Important Consideration in Corrective Bodywork: https://vimeo.com/395854829:

New NMR Trainings begin January 13 – 15th 2023 in-person or Live Streaming via Zoom. 

Find them at NeuroMuscular-Reprogramming.com/events.

For more information on our upcoming trainings, you can visit our Facebook Event Page, and remember: 

3 is the Key to Learning. 

NMR® Certifications begin soon around the country.

Published: 25 December 2019
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
No comments
Categories: Uncategorized

NeuroMuscular Reprogramming NMR® is a detailed and thorough structural bodywork used to assess and correct imbalances in coordination. It reprograms coordination dysfunctions at their source, in the Cerebellum of your brain. It acts as a kinesthetic conversation with the body that imprints new information in the motor control center of the brain, replacing damaged imprints created by trauma, injury, surgery, or repetitive strain from ergonomically inefficient use patterns.

It applies a simple protocol to any two (or more muscle used in sequence) to assess if those muscles are reciprocating well or being overused in compensation patterns. In the process of discovery the opportunity for correction is immediate and easy. The ABA protocol will enable you to resolve any neuromuscular sequencing errors. Learning NMR will give you a structured strategy for an integrated approach that gets the job done fastest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZklwXeBzHU

Function by function, muscle by muscle, motor coordination coherence is restored and your body is once again able to benefit from conditioning activities. In some cases the results are so immediate and dramatic that the conscious mind finds it difficult to follow. This is why NMR is called “The Missing Link” in the Rehabilitation process: it is a necessary step for the body to truly recover lost connections.

The Missing Link in Rehabilitation article is available from this link: https://neuromuscular-reprogramming.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/NMR-MissingLink-for-website-4_15.pdf

NMR used in conjunction with Physical Therapy, Fitness Training, Sports Medicine or Chiropractic is the fastest track to full recovery post injury.

Completing Modules 1 – 4 enables you to become a Certified NMR Therapist. The next NMR series starts in Mill Valley CA Jan 31st, Dallas Feb 21 – 23rd, Asheville NC May 1 – 3rd, and May 29 – 31st in NY city. Modules must be taken in order. To find out more about certification go to: NeuroMuscular-Reprogramming.com

NMR will make your current work more effective and long lasting.
You will find solutions for previously difficult to resolve tension problems.
Sign up for all 4 Modules at once and save $400. Sign up for 1 & 2 at once and save $200.

Conditions the Medical Profession Cannot Help

Published: 1 May 2018
Written by Jocelyn Olivier
1 Comment
Categories: Brain Function, Handling Stress, Self Help Techniques
I thought to share this email exchange with a student from the east coast as it contains tips on handling abnormal conditions that clients can’t find solutions for in the medical world….
Hi Jocelyn-
I had a quick and sort of random question. I have a client who has hyperacusis in her left ear which is basically a super sensitivity to sound. She’s had it ever since she got in a big car accident in her twenties (she’s in her seventies now). She really has never found any solutions for it and it interferes with her ability to do everyday things.
I was wondering if you know anything about it and if neuromuscular work could be any benefit? She has told me she’s had trouble with that entire side since the accident.
Just curious if you’ve ever encountered anything like that!   A

 
Hi A
As far as the whole left side being ‘different since the accident’, that sounds like shock/trauma shutting down communications between the hemispheres. Don’t underestimate the power of Brain Buttons. Sometimes I use them for a good 10 minutes of the session along with a lengthy teaching about how stress turns off communication between the hemispheres and has some VERY predictable shifts that it does in our metabolism.
 
One word of warning: People who have had a condition for a long time may argue with your assessment and resist the work and so, often they get to keep the condition, because they find the therapist wrong or simply stop seeing them. I worked with a woman just like that at a Triathlon. Because I am so sure of what needs to happen I am able to command attention to what I am saying instead of allowing the recycling back through trauma experiences and remembered pain over and over again. She retold parts of the story to me repeatedly during a 1/2 hour tune up. Remembered tension recreates the tension.  Putting one’s attention on the space around you is another way to get away from being trapped in the trouble. 
 
I’ve never encountered anything like hyperacusis after an accident, but I encounter things I’ve never encountered most days these days. Trust your instincts. I listen carefully and imagine how the body shuts itself down and stores information as pattern recognition in what Milton Erickson would call ‘Compelling Personal Reference Experiences’.  These are the imprints the body/mind takes at moments of great danger to our survival.
 
Since she’s had this condition a long time and is now fairly old, my solution for the hyperacusis would be to wear a good sound modulator earplug such as drummers use. They are fitted to your ear. If I were her, I would wear it whenever I was in an environment with noise or even while watching TV.
 
Be well, stay happy, Jocelyn
For a FREE NEUROMUSCULAR ASSESSMENT to see if NeuroMuscular Reprogramming would be useful to you, call 415 388 9945.