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Welcome to the Postural Restoration Community! This is where you will read the latest industry news, hear about upcoming events, find helpful deadline reminders, and view a plethora of additional resources regarding our techniques and curriculum. The great part about it is--not only can you can view the entries we post, you can also post about the things that matter to you. Did you find an interesting article about a technique you learned in one of your courses? Do you have a patient case study you want to share with other professionals? Simply click "Submit an Entry" and follow the easy steps towards getting your information published in the PRI Community!

Blog Posts in September 2021

The greatest part of being a part of the Postural Restoration community is the people. It always has been and always will be. The people within this community are open minded, passionate, eager to learn and not afraid to push the envelope. They care for their patients and client’s well-being sometimes greater than their own. And, what amazes me daily is the global reach this community has. On a daily basis I find myself in contact with like minded individuals in places like Egypt, Iran, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and so many others. Attending this years AAPMD Collaboration Cures conference in Atlanta, our 4th meeting to date, seemed to me as wide reaching as our expanding global community. Especially after 2 years of diminished in person contact. Meeting people and reuniting with past collaborators and friends in person is more important now than ever, and it was sorely missed.

This community of integrated minded professionals allows us to present an introduction of PRI concepts to Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Myofunctional Therapists, Myologists, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Medical Doctors, Neuro Optometrists, and others. To many the introduction of neck neutrality, body position, grounding (whether through the floor of your mouth or the floor under your feet), or arm wing among other common concepts we strive to teach and grow, are often welcomed and already being looked at and discussed but in different ways through different models. And sometimes individuals have never considered these things at all, and often times prefer to not go there. This dichotomy of professions coming together to agree and disagree from numerous perspectives on numerous subjects, is truly fun to be a part of.

Thanks to Brad Gilden, who has been instrumental in our involvement over the years, Ron Hruska was given the opportunity to teach twice over the course of the three-day PT Track and meeting. His talks included “Malposition of Airway Axial Alignment and Stomatognathic Common Compensatory Conflict” and “Peripheral Visual Cortical Influence on Central Ventilation”. And for the first time we were joined by faculty member Louise Kelley who has become involved in the AAPMD through her recent webinar and presentation of “Connecting Ground Sense and the Airway Through Arm Swing”. It was such an honor to have her presence, alongside ours, to not only present things through her own light but to strengthen our mission of collaboration as an institute with many of the individuals and organizations in attendance. If you have the chance to join Louise for a PRI course, her didactic yet easily understood ability to present material will not go unappreciated.

Posted September 30, 2021 at 3:20PM
Categories: Science

I recently had the pleasure of joining Tassie Cantrell and some of the accommodating Cantrell Center staff for a course in Myokinematic Restoration course in Warner Robins, Georgia.

An energetic group of learners ranging in PRI experience from PRC’s Samantha Anderson, Jamie Lochner and Cindy Rice, to anticipatory new learners like Kaitlin “not Katie” Blankenship and Sunshine Walton took to the task of learning PRI introductory concepts, theory, rationale, special tests and treatment algorithms. This group flourished during lab demonstrations with tests and according lab practice on various techniques designed to treat specific special test findings.

Myokinematic Restoration, Postural Restoration Institute, Primary Course

Myokinematic Restoration, Postural Restoration Institute, PRI, Primary Course

This instructor especially appreciated the attention to detailed questions about designing treatments to oppose FA and AF compensatory movement strategies inherent in human movement as well as the effort of all students during lab applications. One of my favorite things is watching clinicians bring the science of PRI to life during labs and case studies when applying didactic concepts, and this group excelled!

Thank you each for joining me in Georgia to perpetuate the science of PRI Myokinematic Restoration, I thoroughly enjoyed my time teaching this course!

Nestled among the hemlocks and Douglas firs, with Olympic National Park beckoning in the distance, IRG Physical and Hand Therapy in picturesque Mill Creek, WA, opened their doors to host Postural Respiration.

The clinicians in attendance were energetic, collaborative, and engaging, hailing from the worlds of physical therapy, massage, athletic training, and chiropractic. One attendee, Samarpan Buchalter, DC, plans to return to, of all places, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and the indigenous Yanomami Tribe to introduce the Postural Respiration concepts and techniques. PRI keeps expanding its reach!

The theme of the weekend was that of the twisted diaphragm, created by its left and right-sided differences in girth and abdominal support. Coupled with a preference for right stance, this twist creates on-going and un-relenting asymmetrical air flow patterns and a tendency toward hyperinflation. Individuals don’t recognize they’re in this state and don’t know how to resolve it. Through non-manual and manual techniques, we learned to help our patient-client by first guiding them to sense and maintain left abdominal functional concentric and eccentric activity, or a left zone of apposition (ZOA). Lung and rib cage regions that, in the pattern, are restricted, can now expand with a left diaphragm that is more respiratory, and less postural, in its role. We learned the importance of “reach”, a huge PRI concept, since it promotes diaphragm ZOA, normal thoracic kyphosis, rib cage internal and external rotation, and spinal rotation. Furthermore, reaching inhibits overactivity of the over-worked and over-trained pecs, lats, and paraspinals. The net result is alternating, reciprocal airflow for efficient breathing and effortless forward locomotion.

Thank you to models Samarpan, Christa Byler, LMT, Jonette Ford, PT, Christopher Gant, PT, and Joshua Schwartz, PT, who graciously allowed me to demonstrate objective tests and techniques. With their help, we were able to identify various patterns of overactivity and learn of their injury histories that supported the findings. Erin Rajca, PT, PRC, was instrumental in providing clinical pearls from her many years of experience, offering one-on-one expertise in lab, and acting as my human GPS Sunday morning when my Waze app was stymied by the clouds! Finally, a huge thank you to Jennifer Wright, PTA, ATC, our host site coordinator, for all the work you put into making the weekend run smoothly. Your generosity and effort were much-appreciated!

Posted September 21, 2021 at 4:58PM
Categories: Courses 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 10:36AM
Categories: Courses Techniques Science

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