No joint or muscle has a brain of its own. Muscles and joints don’t make the decision to be tight, weak, or cause pain or instability. And yet, when we see a professional or take matters into our own hands to heal and become pain-free, we often treat the muscles or adjust the joints.

A muscle’s behavior and actions are controlled by a governing system: The Nervous System.

The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. (Yes, there’s more to it, but we’re keeping this brief.)

The classic approaches to pain or injury management typically involve treating the muscles through massage, stretching, or strengthening, as in physiotherapy or massage therapy. Another common approach is to “adjust” the joints into a more ideal position, as in chiropractic or osteopathic adjustments. These approaches are often used together, where muscles are massaged, joints are adjusted, and exercises are prescribed to stretch or strengthen muscles to maintain a more optimal position.

But what if the muscles are still being told to be tight or are being inhibited by something else?

In the process described above, we are treating the end product—the state of the muscles—rather than the underlying reason for the muscles being in a certain state or behaving in a particular way. This means we might be managing the symptoms rather than addressing the cause.

If a muscle is being told to hold tension and remain tight by its governing system—the nervous system—then you can massage and stretch it all you want, but there’s a strong chance it will return to being tight because that’s the signal it’s receiving.

Since this therapy does not correct the signal, you’ll often need to go back for another treatment, and another, until the body learns, heals naturally, you learn to manage it long-term, the doctor decides on surgery, or you give up and accept that you’ll have to live with it.

Just for the record, I’m not criticizing any of the treatments mentioned above. I’m simply asking: should we begin the treatment process at a level higher than the muscles and joints to reduce treatment times and achieve better outcomes? Should we treat the governing system—the nervous system—first?

It is both my opinion and experience that if we assess and correct the inputs of the nervous system to our musculoskeletal system, the treatment process would be much shorter, and clients would become pain-free much faster.

In my practice, I use massage, therapeutic tools, and exercises, and I sometimes refer clients to a chiropractor or osteopath to help them become pain-free and take control of their injury or pain as quickly as possible.

However, before doing so, I assess and correct the function of the nervous system. This often has a profound effect, leading clients to require only 1-5 sessions without needing adjustments, massages, stretches, or strengthening exercises.

If it makes sense to you to work with the body’s controlling system, then take action now—fill out the form or send me a message.

Kieth

Mobile 07989587621