Courses

The skepticism I had 42 years ago, as I graduated from a Physical Therapy program, regarding models of education and health care practice remains with me today. I pursued a Masters in Public Administration to learn how cities, administrations, etc. collaborate and communicate for the benefit of the inhabitant. I learned a lot about business, how the top of the pyramid develops and what paradigms, courageously were successfully encountered and embraced.


When I read the forward of Dr. James Calson’s book ‘ Physiologic Occlusion’ I remember thinking about his comments about “societies” and how much I agreed with his philosophies. He wrote, “Dental societies, associations, foundations, and academies sponsor journals and other publications for the dissemination of scientific articles to the dental community. It is interesting to me that all are accompanied by length bibliographies. I wonder who wrote the first dental paper and what the bibliography included.  Sometimes it seems that authors are compelled to have large bibliographies to satisfy the critics and skeptics of new and compelling information. Could it be that they are afraid to ‘stand alone’? Afraid that they won’t be accepted on the merits of their own work? Afraid to say anything that is not based upon the work of others who are already accepted and respected in the dental community? I may be wrong in that assumption, but I don’t think so. Copernicus, Einstein, Columbus, Leonardo da Vinci, and many others challenged the current thinking of their age, and today we live with the benefits of their Paradigm Shift.”


Having the opportunity to share and discuss my thinking regarding the Stomatognathic System with someone whom I have always considered a silent mentor, for so many reasons, is truly an honor. This opportunity, probably will not come again in our lifetimes, and for that reason alone, I am so grateful. Dr. Carlson is a giant when it comes to education and paradigm shifts.

 
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

- Ron Hruska

Someone once said, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” So, it is with those of us who are “students” including me. For almost 30 years I have been traveling from home, both here and abroad, to many countries around the earth to share what I have learned to be true. In so doing, I have met several hundreds of people most of whom have been kind and hospitable including everyone at PRI with Ron, Jason, Jennifer, and RJ being tops on my list.

I was also most impressed by the level of the content of all the information that Ron and Jason presented.
My “world of dentistry” would be wise to listen to the knowledge and information that is being presented in all of your programs.
That might just make a difference between “knowing and guessing.”

- Dr. James Carlson

CLICK HERE to view the full photo album.

Posted May 25, 2022 at 9:07PM
Categories: Courses Clinicians Science

Science is all about expanding the realm of human perception and human sense. Life is both. This tertiary course allows me to discuss how a change in perception and sense of the visuo-spatial cortex, hemi-chest compression, upper extremity reciprocation and lower extremity alternation of mass management can influence dominance or patterned design outcomes.  A change in perception related to any one of these components, changes perception associated with the other three. This predominant component patterning, precedes our cortical and associated physical, physiologic and psychologic dominance in moving ourselves forward.   I asked two individuals who attended this course to provide some honest, visceral feedback about the material that relates to the assessment and treatment of functional cortical dominance. Thank you Andrew Hauser ATC, CSCS, RSCC, PRT and Robert George DC, PRC for the following insights.

"I feel like I could write quite a bit about this subject as everything I felt like I learned in Vision& conversations from both you (Ron) & Heidi all came flooding back, and then some. It integrated all of it, and I appreciated how good of a job you did regarding bringing up what was backed by research. Simple, complex and everything in between. It's tertiary for a reason, there is no doubt, but it felt like I could finally share what I had learned from you that others hadn't yet experienced. It put it into words. I'm sure each course will be different, yet the golden thread will remain.

Where to begin?! The FLM course brought concepts from the previous vision courses, advanced integration and the primary courses and truly integrated them into what is driving the show on a daily basis. Being able to take all the phases of gait and break them down through our visual processes, hemi-chest airflow, upward limb alternation and how the lower half is responding & supporting these components of forward locomotor movement was a revelation. Understanding the biased-cortical / hemispheric "need for speed" and our abilities, as practitioners, to slow everything down may have turned this into a course on psychology, that wasn't a course on psychology. I think they just took the lid off of Pandora's box." - Andrew Hauser

"Last weekend Ron presented FLM and for this faculty member it was an experience that opened the door wider to PRI tertiary principles.  Integrating Hruska hemispheric components of vision, hemi-chest wall airflow and upper limb alternation first, then considering lower limb alternation, really cemented the basics of forward locomotor movement.  The course also opened the door to more questions for me especially when Ron was talking about the “trombone” effect of near and far vision for FLM.

I called Ron after this course today with not only questions but a realization that this last weekend so many light bulbs went on in my head that opened a gateway to somatosensory topics.  I must confess when I took the vision course several years ago, I didn’t understand much after words!  I was just learning to teach the basic mechanics of primary course work and was overwhelmed by what seemed to be a really complex subject.  After this past weekend, not only did the vision course make more sense, but tertiary course concepts from Cranial Resolution and Occlusal Cervical Restoration became more clear as the sensory and motor components of coordinated and balanced movement were revealed.

One of my questions for Ron was regarding Functional Cortical Dominance.  In our talk today, Ron was discriminating between cortical dominance as well as individual pre-dominance developed over time.  In Postural Respiration, we present the very basics of the left half of brain contributing to right sided dominance.  But the discussion is much more complex including what we see, hear, feel, sense from the ground, temperature, where sound is coming from and the visual kinesthetic sense of movement and flow of things going past us.  This is a short list of sensory input in addition to a psychological component of how we respond to the mystery of being alive for a sense of well being!

In a recent walk I had in nature with Ron and Robin, the topic of discussion was the very human hunger and need of having a sensual experience in nature for our mental and emotional wellbeing.  Filling our senses the sight of waterfalls, rivers flowing into pristine lakes, seeing  the varieties of color, wildlife and trees  all fill a need for a sensual experience.  Ancient natural sound that we have heard as humans for thousands of years like the sound of wind in tall trees, flowing water falls, a thunderstorm and the sound of wildlife including birds and a coyote call are all in our DNA.  The mille-second processing of natural sounds orient us in time and space and even feeling the wind on one side of our face gives us a sense of direction and orientation as well.  Becoming conscious of and feeding all of our senses we all hunger for but have become unconscious or disconnected from in a converged modern world.  These somatosensory experiences expand our awareness, feed our mind and emotions beauty and inspiration and allow for the joy and freedom of movement that is rare in a paved over, domesticated and confined modern experience we just assume is “life”.

 Sensory processing though our five senses is a complex, multilayered experience affecting all parts of our brain all at once with horizontal and vertical movement, flow and forward motion and a mental and emotional response that is processed unconsciously and consciously instantaneously.

Ron asked be for a brief recap of my brief discussion today and as I see it as movement specialists in PRI, expanding and becoming more conscious of our own sensual acuity with the purpose of understanding not just human movement, but providing a path to more sensory awareness, internal mental and emotional fulfillment and well being for our patients and ourselves is a worthy endeavor." - Skip George

Posted May 24, 2022 at 9:51PM
Categories: Courses Science

I recently had another great oppurtonity to teach Pelvis Restoration at the home of the Postural Restoration Institute. This was the third Live Stream course that I have instructed and it was truly one of the best! I had a smaller live group of 6 on site attendees and over 20 Live Zoom participatents. I did my best to stay focused on the introductory concepts, tests and treatments for pateints suffering from Pelvis related dysfunctions. I enjoyed the discussions regarding patterns, positions and PRI as it relates to frontal plane control of the Pelvis. I really enjoy discussing Pelvis Respiration as it can benefit so many patients and give PRI therapists a greater understanding of how the thorax, inlet and outlets all integrate to stabilize our pateints. Thanks to RJ for being my Mystro this weekend. He always takes good care of me and our students.

Posted May 12, 2022 at 1:56PM
Categories: Courses Science

The clinicians of Lancaster General Hospital are pros at hosting PRI courses. Last weekend’s Postural Respiration course was their seventh. This instructor had moments of déjà vu, since LGH was the location of the first PRI course I attended, back in 2007. Two participants, Deborah Schrodi, PT, and Cathy Ingram, PT, were also in attendance at that very course 15 years ago! The surrounding Amish community, who eschew automation, provided an interesting contrast to our modern way of life and its epidemics of myopia, asthma, and loss of movement variability. These modern ills can be traced, by-and-large, to technological “advancements”.   

Underscoring the Institute’s interdisciplinary mindset, the class was comprised of a mix of clinicians, including physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, athletic trainers, massage therapists, and personal trainers. Many were new to the science, while others had multiple PRI courses under their belt.

 

The Institute continually works to update course material, adding research articles and patient photos and videos to illustrate and support course concepts. Our left and right hemi-diaphragms are different in size and have differences in abdominal support.  This “static asymmetry” creates a teeter-totter effect within our body, keeping us reflexively alive and providing a starting point from which to move. When this teeter-totter situation reaches a tipping point, we have only a “totter”. The right side remains pinned-down, grounded, and compressed. The left side is held aloft, remaining ungrounded and decompressed. We cannot thrive in this state.

   

Our patterned, maladaptive hemi-diaphragm position and activity has consequences on movement, physiology, and behavior. Humans require oscillating compression and decompression of our lungs and rib cage to provide movement and ensure the health of our tissues, most notably the nervous system. An outward sign of this lack of oscillation is breathing pattern dysfunction, such as belly breathing, chest wall elevation, and superior T4 syndrome, the underpinnings of many of the syndromes that we treat.

Postural Respiration is a lab-heavy, hands-on course, better taken live, if possible. Participants came away proficient in performing and interpreting PRI’s objective tests to identify overactive left IAC, right BC, and B PEC chains of muscles and the pesky superior T4 syndrome. These patterns need to be inhibited so that we can efficiently and effectively inhabit the environment around us, without deleterious effects on our neuromusculoskeletal system.

A huge shout out to Frank Mallon, DPT, PRC, owner of Renaissance Physical Therapy in near-by Philly. Your expertise and instruction on the nuances of the Institute’s non-manual and manual techniques was invaluable!

     

Thank you to all who asked questions and provided clinical comments, keeping the energy level high. Thank you to our models, who enhanced the learning experience: Kirsten Ditzler, DPT; Kelly Faller, PTA; Eileen Herman, PT; Isha Mody, PT; Joesph Newton-Pretko, DPT; Kyle Price, PT; Lori Shearer, PTA and Michael Polejav, PT who all helped facilitate our learning.

Thank you to the LGH clinicians for your efforts in set-up and clean-up. I appreciated the opportunity to present this material at the place where my PRI journey started.

Posted May 5, 2022 at 9:06PM
Categories: Clinicians Courses Science

The pacific northwest has been a PRI hot bed for several years. The enthusiasm for the science and clinical application of PRI is palpable. It was my honor to have the opportunity to teach a fantastic group of movement professionals in Seattle. We had five PRC's in attendance for this newly updated I&I course.  

This course is the perfect gateway to several PRI courses, including Cranial Resolution, Forward Locomotor Movement, and the Primary Non-manual Techniques Workshop. Our conversation starts with introducing the neurological learning process that the body needs in order to inhibit patterned behavior: alternating compression and decompression. This important concept is the foundation we build from as we progressed from the calcaneus to the femur and pelvis and into the scapula.

 

Founded in the concept of alternating compression, we were able to delve into medial and lateral hamstring relationships, as well as when and how to apply the right serratus anterior and subscapularis into a program. Along the way, the necessity of compression of talar bone and calcaneus, and management of pelvic inlets and outlets provide the necessary sense the body needs to allow the body the freedom it desires above T8.

I cannot thank the staff from Alpine Physical Therapy enough. Jeremiah Ferguson, DPT, PRC, Christopher Murphy, DPT, PRC, and Eva Bilo, DPT, were the perfect hosts. A huge shout out to their friend who was kind enough to loan us his projector for the weekend. It would have been a very different course without his generosity. My sincere thanks to the Alpine crew for all of their help.

We were fortunate to have a great mixture of seasoned PRI veterans as well as several who are relatively new to PRI. My thanks to Trevor Corrado, Jeff Fjelstul, David Shamash, and Katie Schaner for their willingness to ask questions.  In addition to the Alpine staff, it was wonderful to have Erin Coomer, Zach Hawthorne, Wren McLaughlin, and Betsy Baker-Bold contribute their experience and perspective to the audience. It was helpful to have others in the audience provide their clinical validation to the topics of I&I.

Many thanks for a wonderful experience in a truly gorgeous region of the country!

Posted April 13, 2022 at 4:09PM
Categories: Courses Clinicians Science

Pro-Active Physical Therapy in beautiful Fort Collins, CO hosted Cervical Revolution this past weekend. This was a unique gathering of not only first timers to Cervical Revolution but seasoned veterans of PRI including a total of four faculty members and four PRC/PRT's. Included in the group was a local dentist, Dr. Behar Esmaili, who brought an enthusiastic perspective on how occlusion affects the entire physiologic and postural system. The subject of a stomatognathic consideration to the cervical, cranial and occlusal system with the cervical spine as the primary driver of the system was reinforced this weekend.

Postural Restoration is an interdisciplinary institute and that was reflected in the backgrounds of the attendees. Cervical Revolution bridges a gap, as does PRI, with many professions with respiration sacred to physical therapists, the atlas/spine with chiropractors, the cranium with osteopaths and occlusion with dentists. Mix in ATC's and fitness professionals for performance and this course, as well as every other PRI course, has a wide appeal and utilization for many health care disciplines.

Having four faculty members in attendance is rare unless a course is given in Lincoln and the energy with vast clinical expertise of Louise Kelley, DPT, Jason Miller, DPT and Craig Deperschmidt, DPT was appreciated by all. Louise Kelley, DPT will soon be ready to teach Cervical Revolution and her ability to describe testing and non-manual techniques, especially the Standing Stomatognathic Squat, was a "bonus" contribution to the weekend and was also greatly appreciated. The discussion of the A/O articulation being highly neurologic/autonomic went from a theoretical consideration in opening remarks to real lab experience when several "extension driven" students, with PRI Cervical repositioning non-manual techniques, got to experience first hand what neutral feels like. Thanks to all of the Pro-Active Staff for hosting this past weekend and this entire group of professionals that took time out of their schedules to "revolve" with us!

Where Would We Be Without Interference? Our Recovery Depends On It.

After talking about the molars influence on “grounded” movement and the canines influence on “guided” exploration, I become more mindful about the direction, both the Institute and these teeth have always had on the influence of “posture”. Our recovery of food going down the wrong “pipe”, our recovery of losing our balance when slipping on a rug, our recovery of mis-pronouncing when using familiar vernacular, our recovery of our visual focus when we misjudge objects in the distance, our recovery of our anti-gravitational unilateral abdominals, hamstrings, and triceps, our recovery of our breath......etc. all require a sense of ourselves, our interoception, our ‘centric’ presence, that is given to us through occlusal and podal interference.   

I have evolved my life around these human grounded and un-grounded concepts of reference and restraint guidance. And I am only hopeful, as illusory as the concepts, research and corollaries that were provided in this very highly integrated course on teeth and feet are and can be, that health care providers will appreciate how to “recover” better through the integration of the ‘floors’ the maxillae, and the ‘floors’ the feet depend on for postural balance. I am enlivened for those dentists and movement specialists who decide to immerse themselves into the world of recovery, by addressing how to put the neck to rest, through pterygoid, palatine, and plane alternation. The resonance of recovery is the most grounded state one can accomplish. Simply because the action, the guidance, and sense of limitation, which is what the sense of interference provides, protects and relaxes our necks and essentially, us.

If after reading this, you become more curious about our need for balance built off of interferences, please consider taking this course, offered on October 14th and the 15th, or consider attending this year’s Spring Symposium on “The Stomatognathic System: An Interdisciplinary Approach In The Management of Spatial Navigation and Structural Strength” on April 22nd and the 23rd.

Melissa Truska, thank you for balancing me out those two days. With you on my left and Jen Platt on my right, I felt so grounded and supported, as a presenter in front of a screen of so many I truly wanted to personally interact with, individually. There were countless questions, that were answered by Jen Platt. I appreciate her so much. Her talent and historical presence in this Institute allows me to do what I appreciate doing. And that is presenting material that has foundation, regardless of how familiar one is with that foundation of science. PRI applications and techniques, are built off of and around my beliefs, practice and principles. And Jen and her staff keep me, the faculty and all of us grounded, secured and consistent, in a world full of confusion and mis-interference.

Posted April 1, 2022 at 2:12PM
Categories: Clinicians Courses Science

I had a wonderful time teaching Pelvis Restoration in Bradenton Florida!  Thank you IMG Academy for hosting , Megan for being my lab assistant, and the course attendees for learning with me for the weekend.  

As always, we went into detail of the pelvis position anteriorly and posteriorly and left and right in the pelvis inlet and outlet.  How this position influences compression and decompression of the pelvic inlet and outlet and how the respiratory and pelvic diaphragms assist in treating the L AIC and PEC patterns to allow for lateralization to the left and right.  The course attendees stated that understanding PRI objective tests to assist with inhibition/facilitation of the L AIC and PEC polyarticular chain of muscles to assist with treatment to restore reciprocal and alternating movement was helpful.

It was a great class with great energy!  Thank you for spending your weekend with me.

Posted March 29, 2022 at 8:03PM
Categories: Courses Science

Without a doubt, the opportunity to present the science of PRI to a live group of movement professionals was a great sign to me that we are getting closer and closer to the resumption of our previous "normal" lives. I had never had the pleasure of speaking in Massachusetts previously, and it was a wonderful experience. The newly updated Impingement and Instability course provides a neuromechanical explanation of the "why" behind many PRI concepts and how to apply the science to a variety of conditions and patient populations.

We were able to link the scapula to the calcaneus, femur, and pelvis, so by the time we got to scapular instability, we have the freedom to discuss other avenues of treatment and concepts that we previously were unable to discuss. This is the course we have the opportunity to dive into the concept of talar wobble, balancing hamstring activity, and the pressure sensitivity of the scapula.

Our exploration into the value of pressure management and how pressure is the "Morse Code" of postural and body awareness, as well as how the body learns to make changes to movement strategies was lengthy. This course provides the opportunity to go down some rabbit holes that we ordinarily are unable to proceed into in other courses.   

My thanks to the entire Train Boston crew for a great venue and very welcoming experience. It was an honor to have three certified individuals attend the course: Mike Mullins, Donna Behr, and Phil DeNigris. It was wonderful for me to have your questions and feedback, and those who were newer to PRI appreciated it as well. Thank you for a wonderful weekend and getting back to "normal."

Posted March 28, 2022 at 8:57PM
Categories: Courses Science

I had a great time this weekend in Lincoln NE, at the Postural Restoration Insitute. I had the pleasure of teaching Myokinematics of the HIp and Pelvis to 12 in person and 55 live stream attendees. The Institute continues to grow and it was my pleasure mentoring both Jason Miller and Craig Depperschmidt. They were not only my lab assistants for the weekend, but they both jumped right in to help me teach the Sunday afternoon clinical application of both facilitation and inhibition non manual techniques.


I really enjoy teaching and helping both new and seasoned PRI clinicians along their PRI journeys. We had some great discussions on the differences between orientation (uncompensated) and compensations that are commonly seen at the FA joint when a pelvis gets positioned in a L AIC pattern. No two courses in PRI are taught the same and this course was no different. I had the privilege of sharing my 20 years of PRI clinical experience and 11 years of teaching with this weekend's course attendees. We had fun using some of my favorite musicians references Lady Gaga (born this way), Beyonce (to the left) and new to 2022 Dua Lipa (Levitate)! Go get those 5/5 HADLT and see those patients levitate off the table! Cheers until we meet again PRInation! Thanks to Kevin Fay for giving me yet another musical reference from Idina Menzel (let it go) to help us all remember how important inhibition is early in a program!

Posted February 23, 2022 at 4:53PM
Categories: Clinicians Courses Science
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