Science

A few days before I was to present Postural Restoration, I reflected back to the number of times I had taken this course during my 17 year journey in PRI. We were fortunate to have nine movement specialists taking their first PRI course, and with the exception of two attendees, no one else attending the course had attended Postural Respiration previously. Since it was almost everyone's first voyage into this course material, I wanted to really focus on two topics that had escaped me in my previous attendance of this course: what/why/how surrounding Superior T4 Syndrome, and why do the R low trap/tricep and L serratus anterior/low trap hold such high significance in PRI for management of the BC pattern.  

We had lively discussion surrounding human asymmetry and how that asymmetry feeds into patterned respiratory mechanics, as well as the potential detriments of patterned breathing. Once we had the foundational concepts secured, we could move into the prevalence of the R BC pattern and what tests we could use to determine if the R BC pattern was overactive. Using the algorithm found on page 48, we were able to walk through manual and non-manual treatments, as well as spend a lot of time defining why and how Superior T4 Syndrome presents itself, and how to uncover the presence of Superior T4 Syndrome as a pathological, or "phony", respiration strategy.   

Algorithms are used frequently in PRI as a means to learn and improve ones ability to apply PRI concepts, particularly if the learner is new to PRI and the science behind it. Again, using page 48 as a backdrop, we were able to progress through why the R low trap/triceps is a necessary piece of R BC inhibition, but also why the L serratus anterior/low trap are necessary for security after proper management of Superior T4 Syndrome. We were also able to spend time in lab going through several of the non-manual techniques that support the manual techniques presented in this course. Since inhibition is such a huge part of PRI, we were able to focus on several non-manual inhibition techniques surrounding those individual who present with B PEC or B BC findings.

Being able to present this course in the clinic I work in with fellow PRC, Donna Parise-Byrne, was great. It was also rewarding to have fellow PRC, Jill Maida, in attendance as well. My thanks to Gail Trubow, Brock Mitchell, Anne Farkas, and Heather Pappas for their help during labs and asking great questions. We really had many great questions and dialogues over the course of the weekend. Thank you to all who attended the course as we took every precaution possible to ensure everyone felt safe, while still receiving the course content at a level that each individual needed.

Posted September 14, 2021 at 3:36PM
Categories: Courses Techniques Science

This past weekend I had a great time teaching and mentoring 23 students right downtown Baltimore at FX Physical Therapy. The host site was in an amazing historic former bank building. We literally were in the bank Vault!  It was great to be back out on the road. I have enjoyed being home with family and friends during the Pandemic, but there is nothing like getting on a plane, renting a car and showing up in person to teach a Live course.


Matt was an amazing host as were his staff. We had students fly in from Oregon and New Mexico. It is so fun to meet new students and introduce them to the science of PRI. We discussed AF and FA position and strength as it relates to balancing out normal human asymmetries. I had a evening out with my college room-mate. It seems like yesterday when we were students at UVM. Just the weekend before, Chris and I took our youngest daughter Devon to college at NC State. Teaching the following weekend was a nice distraction from this life event. One of our course attendees is the ATC for NC State Basketball! Go Wolfpack! This class asked alot of questions, engaged in great clinical discussions and I think they are ready to hone their PRI skills over the next several weeks. I love adding new clinicians to the PRINation!

Myokinematic Restoration, Postural Restoration Institute

Posted August 30, 2021 at 9:02PM
Categories: Courses Science

For many of us who have taken PRI courses over the years, Lincoln, Nebraska, often becomes a home-away-from-home. This has been particularly true in the last two years with the inception of PRI live-stream courses. It has been such a blessing for PRI to reach so many people via live-stream. In total, we had 78 people attend Impingement and Instability, with 20 of those having attended the course in previous years. However, only 5 individuals had attended the new and upgraded version of I&I before this weekend. Having six people live and in person was such a gift. It was an honor to have 11 PRC's and PRT's in the audience as well.

This course is a clinician's course, and we are able to make a lot of connections and links between several PRI courses in one weekend. Yes, this is a dense course with a lot of great information. The advantage of the live-stream is that all the attendees received the recording of the course for two weeks to listen to the material again. The ironic part of the "new" version of I&I is that a lot of the material is unchanged; the context and neurological links between the floor on the ground and the "floor" under the scapulae are significantly changed. This allows the attendee to further appreciate the "why" and "how" behind non-manual activity application and selection.

   

This course is dripping with neurology and is a gateway for the attendee to attend the PRI Forward Locomotion Movement, Cranial Resolution, Occlusal Cervical Restoration, and the new Voice Box course. We build off the three PRI primary courses to delve into how to apply those basic concepts using a higher level of decision making based on a neurological sensory framework. Hopefully, we were able to provide the attendees with that appreciation and help prepare them for future PRI courses.

My thanks to RJ Hruska for orchestrating the entire weekend. He was very helpful to me, and made my job much easier. We got so many great questions over the weekend, and we were able to answer most, if not all, of them.  And having six people live in the building provided an additional layer of questions and feedback. My thanks to Benjamin Sandman for his help with our calcaneal sensorium demonstration. He said it perfect when he said he was surprised at how much better he could sense the ground under his L calcaneus even after the demonstration was over.  

It was truly and honor to have attendees from 14 countries. It is amazing to think that this technology exists, and I am very thankful that fellow movement specialists were willing to spend time with us, even from the other side of the world. Even though most, if not all, of the 72 of the live-stream attendees were in their homes, it was comfortable for me as well to be in my home-away-from-home and spend some quality I&I time with so many like-minded peers. 

Posted August 26, 2021 at 4:19PM
Categories: Courses Techniques Science

What a great weekend in Virginia Beach, VA. Thank you Julie Blandin and Thrive Proactive Health for hosting Pelvis Restoration this past weekend. We had 32 course attendees and 18 of them were attending their first PRI course and several were attending their second course. It was amazing to collaborative and integrate with Physical Therapists, Movement Specialists, Trainers, Massage Therapists,  Physicians, and Physicians Assistants.  Lisa introduced the “Reflected” Head” of the Rectis Femoris Muscle. The proximal attachment site, attaches just superior of the acetabulum. I feel this “Reflected Head” also assists with flexion or forward rotation of the anterior inlet. I had never heard of the Reflected Head of the Rectis Femoris until this past weekend. Isn’t is so amazing to collaborate and learn from each other?!!

The course participants not only appreciated PRI repositioning or neutrality thru the Adduction Drop Test, but also appreciated how the Pelvic Ascension Drop Test and Passive Abduction Raise Test not only demonstrate frontal plane control for stance or swing phase of Forward Locomotor Movement, but also inhibition of muscle. The Hruska Abduction List test also assisted the Health Care provider with how to apply and select PRI non-manual techniques for their patient after the pelvis is repositioned. PRI tests will assist you with your PRI application with your patient.

Posted August 20, 2021 at 4:47PM
Categories: Courses Science

After a nearly 18-month hiatus, it was a thrill to present Postural Respiration to my fellow clinicians in the very place the science originated. The combination of live and zoom attendees -- PTs, PTAs, ATCs, Massage Therapists, Chiropractors, Students, Strength and Conditioning Specialists, a Pilates Instructor, and a Kinesiologist -- hailed from the US, Canada, Germany, and Ireland.

The weekend was devoted to the asymmetrical, patterned thoracic diaphragm and its influence on the autonomic nervous system, patterned movement, and the brain’s sense of itself in space. We learned that our asymmetrical body is a necessary design for survival and is kept “in check” when we engage in varied activities throughout our lives. However, most of our patients-clients fail to do so, which kick starts pain, pathology, and injury.

As the Olympics come to their conclusion, it seems apt to compare PRI’s treatment approach to a track relay:
Leading off and exploding out of the blocks are the abdominals (internal obliques and transverse abdominus), which enable full lung expulsion of air and establish the (left hemi-) diaphragm ZOA.
The second leg, the diaphragm itself, now pulls air in with an adequate ZOA and hands off the baton to the third leg…
…the rib cage, whose external rotation and internal rotation properties are restored, particularly in the left posterior mediastinum and right apical and lateral chest wall regions.
Finally, our anchor leg, the lungs, bring the baton home. They now have the space to expand into and out of regions that were previously closed off, for the health of the many vital vessels that travel in, around, and through the thorax.  Moreover, the restoration of alternating, reciprocal lung compression-expansion produces alternating, reciprocal movement, both simple and complex.

More HERE

Ample lab time was devoted to assessment of the patterned body so that each attendee had confidence come Monday morning with replicating the tests on their patient-client. Instruction in manual rib cage techniques was also heavily emphasized, so that attendees had both observational and tactile sense of patterned air flow. Finally, many non-manual techniques were discussed and performed, including when and why you choose them and how to coach your patient-client through them.

Thank you to all of those who asked questions. You enhanced the course experience for all. Thank you to our avatars Brett Dougherty, PT, Matt Mandich, SCCC, CSCCA,  Joshua Werk, ATC, CSCS, and Tammi Zimmerman, LMT for allowing us to bring the tests and techniques to life.     

Thank you to Justin Pastoor, MS, CSCS, for your clear verbal instruction while tests and techniques were demonstrated.  

I now fully understand what Ron means when he says he couldn’t have presented the material with the same easy flow and energy without the assistance of Jen Platt. Thank you for ensuring there were no technology glitches, deftly navigating the camera angles, monitoring questions, and keeping this instructor and live attendees well-hydrated and fed.

Looking forward to seeing many of you again as you continue your PRI journey!

Posted August 18, 2021 at 3:40PM

We are excited to announce that we will soon begin offering a PRI Mini Residency Program, a formal program of post-professional education and mentorship for PRI-minded healthcare and movement professionals that is designed to enhance one’s understanding and application of PRI concepts, objective testing, and patient/client management. The foundational science from the Postural Restoration Institute’s three primary courses will be strongly emphasized by all PRI Mini Residency Centers, however each PRI Mini Residency Center offers a unique environment and experience, and many residency centers will also include exposure to interdisciplinary integration with other healthcare or movement professionals.   

This PRI Mini Residency Program is designed for healthcare or movement professionals who are self-directed learners, have completed the required PRI coursework, and would like to enhance their clinical reasoning, interpersonal communication and dialogue using PRI terminology with other professionals as well as patients or clients, and application skills of the science of Postural Restoration® through one-on-one clinical education and mentorship with a PRC or PRT professional at a PRI Mini Residency Center.

To learn more about this 6-week PRI Mini Residency Program, please CLICK HERE! And stay tuned for more information coming soon to our website, including information about the approved PRI Mini Residency Centers and the application for those interested in completing a PRI Mini Residency Program!

It would be a colossal understatement to say that the last 18 months have been a substantial change for everyone on the planet. However, for this one weekend, it was very refreshing to get a slice of normalcy. It was my distinct honor to teach Myokinematic Restoration to a group of movement specialists in Lombard, IL. It was exceptionally refreshing for me to interact with this diverse and eager group of peers.  

Our exploration into normal mechanics and eventually transferring into the patho-compensatory mechanics that can result from living and performing in a pattern. Discussing which muscles are properly positioned compared to muscles that are poorly positioned allowed us to proceed to testing. This is the only course in PRI that allows us to explain and have lab time specific to the Hruska Abduction and Adduction Lift tests. The relatively small class size provided us ample opportunity for lab on Day 2. This course has always had a lot of lab time built into it, and we had nearly 7 hours of lab time. We were able to explain and perform 16 PRI Non-manual activities. It was a blessing to have that much lab time.

 

It was wonderful to have a PRI veteran, Ryne Gioviano, in attendance. Having his perspective and insight with very helpful. Brandee Barbee, Terris Hightower, Ryan Daniels, Kasia Galica, and Shirley Montoya were exceptionally helpful with their questions and perspective. It was an honor to have Dr. Stephen Sikorsky in attendance as well. Having a chiropractor in the audience provides level of clinical experience and expertise that is undeniable and very helpful to fellow attendees.

 

Thank you to those who attended as it felt closer to normal. Here's hoping we all get back to normal sooner than later.     

Posted August 10, 2021 at 3:26PM
Categories: Clinicians Courses Science

2021 Summer Semester Class in Review

What an honor to be invited to teach PRI for a 6-week summer selective course at High Point University this past May-June to PT students in their third year!  A big “Thank You!” to the staff at HPU and especially to Dr. Dora Gosselin, PT, DPT, PCS, C/NDT, former student, and colleague of mine for the invitation!  Seventeen eager students chose this selective and did a fantastic job receiving the science. They asked thoughtful questions and provided helpful feedback at the course end.

In six 4-hour classes, we were able to get through the concepts of Asymmetrical Human Design, Respiratory Zone of Apposition (ZOA), Neutrality, Right-Sided Dominance, Alternation, Respiration, Lateralization, and an Introduction to Scoliosis. We tackled 9 PRI tests and 15 non-manual techniques in 8 hours of lab.  We ended with 2 assignments to give them an opportunity to explore and apply the science of PRI.  They dove into the literature to see if they could find, review, and then present an article that compared the right side to the left side of the human body in any area of PT.  Then, they applied their new knowledge by performing 3 PRI tests and 3 non-manual techniques followed by PRI re-testing to identify changes to a human body of their choice.  These two projects/class presentations served to be learning experiences from which we all benefitted.

I was very lucky and grateful to have the incomparable Dr. Jennifer Smart as a lab TA with me on non-manual technique day!  The students’ learning experience was audibly enriched by her presence! Thank you, Jen!

Finally, thank you to Ron Hruska and Jen Platt, founder, and executive director, respectively, and the Board of Directors of the Institute for allowing me to use PRI materials for teaching, for their generous support, as well as for creating the science!

We are hopeful to be able to teach more students again next year!  Thanks again, Dr. Gosselin and staff, for welcoming me into your state-of-the-art technology classroom fully equipped with treatment tables and anything else an instructor could want!  What an awesome experience!

Posted July 29, 2021 at 8:24PM
Categories: Science

This workshop was a first for Jen Platt and I. Opening the workshop with discussion on corollary consequence, correspondence and compensation allowed us to “look” at the top-down influences of PRI Corollary Movement in each of the 12 secondary and tertiary techniques that Jen chose for us to cover. She did a great job in organizing these techniques, laying them out and selecting techniques that offered the attendee a wide perspective of application. Normally, we do not list testimonials after a course.  (You can find testimonials by courses by going to the ‘Programs and Courses’ site on our website).  However, after reading the feedback that Hannah compiled, I felt it would be helpful for those who may be interested in taking this course in the future, as well as to read what the ‘first-time’ attendees had to say about it.

 “I have already listened to at least 60% of the course material. I cannot tell you how much it helps to have the content available to go over again. This course put so many things together in regard to patterning. There were so many lightbulb moments into why things may fall apart for the patient at home with their exercise program because of the brain influence in regard to patterning. The word sense is so different than finding and feeling. Sensing something different in the body especially when sensing one thing can help the patient sense another area is HUGE in regard to making a program successful. Walking away from this course has had one of the most dramatic effects on putting the whole picture together, especially with the ability to go back and review it again. I hope that you can continue to offer the courses on zoom. I also wonder if any of the other recorded courses that were offered through zoom could ever be available as a take home course. It is nice to have that available as an option. Also wondering if Ron was ever going to put all the 33 corollary exercises together now that we understand the corollaries. I know that the other exercises are from other courses but we never had the corollaries with them. Thank you again for everything you all do!!!!”

“This course will allow me to progress all of my clients over the coming months and was a fantastic guide in sensory integration that I felt was a missing puzzle piece.”

“I have learned it in neuroanatomy but only in an abstract manner - now it becomes more meaningful for my work. Thanks!”

“I've always known the importance of multi sensory "sense", but this took my understanding a step further for sure”

“It feels like this course was a missing puzzle piece in my application. This made it much more straightforward to progress and cue clients”

“1. Greater confidence with technique selection 2. Deeper understanding & appreciation re: critiquing and cueing for a clients understanding of both positional and integrative sense”

“This course material will likely allow me help clients move to a higher level of motor learning much more efficiently and with less cognitive load (corollaries > references) especially in a fitness setting, but obviously also with rehab clients.”

“This is one of the MOST relevant courses offered by PRI to my area of practice in my opinion, moving away from more "attention intensive" movement practices towards integrated sense of corollaries will allow all of my clients, from pro athlete to rehab, to experience and sense the task at hand rather than trying to juggle a more cueing intensive task.”

“Thank you again for supporting the growth of PRI nation. We love you and this course was fantastic. When entering a black hole, one needs a guide named Ron Hruska. I can feel the effort, the labor of love, the hard work that has been put into this course (and all other courses). Thank you PRI team for continuing to lead the way. You inspire me to be better. Much love from Alpine PT in Seattle.”

I could not give this course, the way it was presented, without the direct input, production, and guidance that Jen provide both me and the audience. So grateful for her many roles she plays in this Institute, but now, because we know each other so well and the overall intent so well, the delivery and message is seamless, sincere and solid. This truly was the Institute’s first multisensory movement workshop that reflected the strength of the corollary movement sense needed for natural cognitive processing built around vestibular-ocular reflexive correlations. We also could not have made this workshop the ‘virtual reality’ workshop it was without the live presence of Amy Morris, PT, Phil DeNigris, CSCS, Rua Gilna, CPT, SFG1, PN1, and Dave Drummer, DPT, PRC. Their patience with my Socratic style of teaching and their willingness to objectively communicate what they felt, sensed, experienced and struggled with made multi-dimensional processing understandable and appreciable.

Thank you again for coming to Lincoln and participate in the manner in which each and every one of you did.  

Posted June 22, 2021 at 8:31PM
Categories: Courses Techniques Science

I really do not believe there is any non-PRI course that introduces and integrates the right brain with the left brain for forward movement, forward based anticipation, forward hemispheric automaticity, and forward movement dependency on patterned lateralized sense of flow, developed around the visual system, hemi-chest cavities, upper and lower extremities, like this one. I take in consideration the primary course references, as the Forward Locomotor Clinical Corollaries are considered, in the selection of one of ten eccentric left hamstring or right quadricep bi-hemispheric PRI techniques that are considered for forward locomotor movement (FLM) efficiency.
Simply put, I hope that those who attended this tertiary course will be able to preserve forward propulsion through panoptic imagery and cortical documentation, chest decompression and cortical documentation, upper extremity lift and cortical documentation, and lower extremity push and cortical documentation, with those who are having difficulty recognizing exchange from these bi-hemispheric senses. My exasperation of “Please write this down, even if it’s only in your head”, is my way of saying “please sense these cortical documentary journaling” that are required for left hemispheric functional logic and right hemispheric gestalt, structured around these four FLM components.

Forward Locomotor Movement, PRI Gait Cycle, Gait, Postural Restoration Tertiary Course, Ron Hruska


It was a wonderful two days of exchange between 50 plus attendees. And I enjoyed every minute talking about the facts behind limb movement and pendular displacement that’s necessary for us to ‘walk”.
As I write this today, my seventh grandchild and my first granddaughter, Vivien walked for her first time, ten complete FLM cycles, without support. The video makes her grandfather smile because her 13-month-old brain and body, represents the human lateralized hemispheric components of forward movement that gives her the intra personal and inter personal gifts of life she will use to perfect her FLM personality and patterned pendular print. She felt flow, freedom, fun and fifial love.

Posted June 15, 2021 at 5:00PM
Categories: Courses Science
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