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!
We had a fantastic panel of speakers for this years Annual Interdisciplinary Studies Summit and are looking forward to the same level of presentations next spring!
Abstracts are due in 2 weeks on July 15th!
Consider sharing your passion incorporating PRI into you or your clients lives with the PRI community as a whole!
Can’t wait to hear what YOU have to share!
It was such a pleasure presenting this course material to a European audience! These attendees, with their strong interest in PRI and numerous questions across all four days, made the Postural Respiration and Cervical Revolution courses as interactive as ever! Questions mainly concerned the clinical application of course concepts related to the human species’s asymmetrical body and the impact on nervous system processing to produce desirable (and undesirable) movement. Attendees shared their clinical perspectives, providing a collaborative vibe and ancillary information that deepened our understanding of course concepts. And what a diverse set of perspectives we had, from osteopaths, physicians, chiropractors, physiotherapists, to a hand specialist, speech and language pathologist, pelvic floor specialist, yoga and massage therapists, sport scientists, personal trainers, … and Simon Holmlund, who is leaving the field of IT to pursue a degree in physiotherapy.
Postural Respiration was presented the first weekend. We guided our “patients” to a left diaphragm ZOA, via non-manual and manual techniques, to direct air flow into regions previously closed off in the thorax. Doing so enables our center of mass to alternate from the left side of our body to the right and back again during upright movements. Considerable time was spent discussing the meaning behind the objective tests, guiding clinical decision-making using our treatment algorithm, and learning how to coach the techniques.
In the interim week, my husband, Bruce, and I took in the sights of Munich, including a basketball game at the German National Championships, and decompressed with runs through the English Garden, hikes in the Bavarian Alps, and quite a few pints of German lagers.
Next up was Cervical Revolution, which introduces a chain of muscles, the TMCC. This chain on the right side teams up with the familiar chains, the L AIC, PEC, and R BC, to hold us in the right hemisphere. We thread concepts of Myokinematics, Pelvis Restoration, and Postural Respiration into the discussion of the neck (on the left and right) and cranial positions (the left and right spheno-basilar synchondrosis and articulations between the spheno-temporal, spheno-maxillary, and occipital-temporal bones). We discover additional “floors” – beyond what’s under our heels – that have a profound impact on movement: namely the left and right OA articulation and the left and right occlusion. The
language of the brain, frequencies, are produced by the alternating compression of these floors.
Thank you to all who stepped up to act as patient models for tests and techniques: In Postural Respiration: Courtney Fearon, Victor Grunack, Kelly Hudson, Justin Lam, Lucas Peter, Andi Roessler, Roman Steinweg, and Sean Yau. In Cervical Revolution: Julia Felber, Andi Roessler, Seana Ryle, Pauline Staneker, and Max Wolter.
A huge thank you to Timas Peteraitis, Physiotherapist and PRC, who was an enormous help during lab and who added to class discussions. Timas, you are a natural educator. I wish you well on your path to teaching at the University level. Finally, thank you to our hosts at the beautiful Lindebergs Academy: Regina Frank, Lorenz, and Daniel Mueller. The PRI faculty have enjoyed your hospitality through the years, and we look forward to the continuing collaboration to spread the science of PRI!
– Louise Kelley
In collaboration with the AAPMD, Jennifer Smart, PT, DPT will be presenting this Free Webinar on June 19th, from 9:00 – 10:00 PM EDT
The Autonomic Nervous System, and especially how it integrates with the Central Nervous System, can be a daunting topic. This conceptual presentation, based extensively on current research, is designed to give a clinically applicable overview so that all attendees, whether dentists, movement specialists or clients, gain an understanding of:
Jennifer Smart, DPT, PRC earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland in 1985 and her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina in 2009. Early on she worked in England, balancing her time between working in a Rehabilitation facility that specialized in treating adults with Hemiplegia and an orthopedic outpatient clinic. What Jennifer noticed was that the hemispheric differences that were so obvious and accepted in people who had had strokes, were also present, albeit to a lesser extent, in most of her orthopedic patients. She even presented research at a symposium on the ‘Biomechanics and Orthotic Management of the Foot,’ where she questioned why they consistently found relatively more baseline pronation in the left foot of their healthy control subjects.
Jennifer’s clinical career continued to ping pong between neurologically and orthopedically defined worlds, from working with Olympic Heavy Weightlifters and competitive cyclists to taking a deep dive into the treatment of people with Parkinson’s Disease. She became LSVT, PWR! and Rock Steady Boxing certified, she attended the Parkinson’s World Congress (twice), she developed a tandem cycling program and a Parkinson’s Exercise Retreat.
Through researching Parkinson’s Disease, Jennifer began to appreciate predictable neurological behaviors that also seemed to be driving so many of her other “normal,” orthopedic patients. In 2012 Jennifer was introduced to Postural Restoration (PRI), which provided her with explanations and scientific support for the patterned asymmetries that she had been seeing. She became PRI certified in 2015, she presented at a PRI Symposium on Basal Ganglia Disease in 2021 and the following year Jennifer was invited to join the PRI faculty to teach Cranial Resolution, a course that covers how nasal respiration influences (and integrates) our autonomic and central nervous systems.
Jennifer continues to teach (and constantly learn) while working with a variety of patients at a small, outpatient clinic in Oriental, NC. She also remains a boxing coach for people with Parkinsons. And, after having spent years sailing small boats across both the Atlantic and the Pacific, she is now more content sailing locally, while doing her more extensive traveling by bicycle
Register Here:
We are excited to introduce and congratulate the Postural Restoration Trained™ (PRT) Class of 2024! PRT is the result of completing multiple advanced PRI courses, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the science through completion of the PRT application, and successfully participating in practical and analytical testing. This past weekend, four professionals earned the designation of Postural Restoration Trained™ (PRT) under the direction of Ron Hruska and Jennifer Platt. This year, we were honored to have Colby Mamigonian, CSCS, PRT, assist with the testing process.
The Postural Restoration Institute® established this credentialing process in 2011 as a way to recognize and identify individuals with advanced training, extraordinary interest and devotion to the science of postural adaptations, asymmetrical patterns and the influence of polyarticular chains of muscles on the human body as defined by the Postural Restoration Institute®. The PRT credential is available to Certified Athletic Trainers, Certified Athletic Therapists, Exercise Physiologists, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists, and Certified Special Population Specialists, who have completed the course requirements, application and testing process. With the addition of this class, there are now 72 PRT professionals throughout the U.S and Internationally.
To view/download the photos, click here.
Back Row (L to R): Michael Zhao and Colby Mamigonian
Front Row (L to R): Ron Hruska, Eric Phillips, Kasia Galica, Karla Hollan, Jennifer Platt
The PRI Credentialing Scholarship Deadline is approaching soon! If you are interested in applying for this $2000 scholarship towards either PRC or PRT credentialing, please submit your essay by June 15th!
The PRI Credentialing Scholarship is available to candidates who may otherwise be dissuaded from applying for PRC or PRT credentialing solely by their current financial circumstances. Candidates must be eligible to submit an application for PRI Credentialing this year. (Please note: This scholarship is NOT for the PRI courses, but rather is for PRC or PRT Credentialing. There are four pre-requisite courses that must be completed to be eligible to apply for PRC or PRT Credentialing.)
In your essay, please share your story of how you got to where you are (i.e. how you became interested in PRI, do you have any mentors or colleagues supporting you on this education journey, etc.), your current professional and financial situation, what PRI credentialing means to you, and why you feel you are deserving of the scholarship. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please email your essay to platt.jennifer@posturalrestoration.com, no later than June 15th.
Essays will be reviewed by the Board of Directors, and the scholarship recipient will be notified by July 15th. If the recipient does not accept the scholarship and complete the credentialing application and testing that year, the scholarship will be awarded to an alternate. Depending on the number of applications received this year, the Board of Directors may choose to select more than one scholarship recipient.
About Us
All Systems Health was founded with the goal of creating worldwide access to top-tier health interventions and unified decision-making to navigate towards a better quality of life. We combine the knowledge base of several disciplines (currently 14) to deliver mastery-level health intervention on a complex human system. With an interdisciplinary team of professionals, we are empowering the individual to work more efficiently towards their peak health. The Physical Therapy department is specifically working on creating a universal movement system where real-world application, with the use of machine learning, is more predictable, reliable, and repeatable. All Systems Health is an unadvertised small business located in Silicon Valley CA.
Full-Time Physical Therapist
Job Description
All Systems Health is seeking a full-time physical therapist capable of treating complex patients in the outpatient setting. Many patients come from a distance and frequency of follow-up appointments is 1x/2-4 weeks. You must be comfortable interacting with a highly educated patient population consisting of CEO/founders, PhDs, engineers, physicians, dentists, authors, VCs, professional athletes, etc. A portion of the role will involve basic data collection, video production, and assisting in evolving a comprehensive clinical model. Because of the unprecedented unification of principles, mentorship will be needed.
Priority will be given to those candidates that are comfortable working in a high-standard environment. Expect you will be working with talented, motivated, intense, and interesting co-workers and external providers. You must be willing to relocate to the Bay Area/Silicon Valley.
Responsibilities
Requirements
To Apply
Deep in the heart of west Texas located at Elite Physical Therapy in Abilene is where Postural Respiration was taught this past weekend to a diverse group of students from different disciplines and even different countries from halfway around the world. Having a diverse group of students from physical therapy, chiropractic, strength and conditioning, and massage therapy always makes for lively sharing of perspectives.
I had the pleasure and opportunity to have two PRI faculty members, Kasey Ratliff, DPT and Craig Depperschmidt, DPT, assist with teaching, demonstration and lab for testing, non-manual techniques, and manual technique applications. Their presence added so much value for a nurturing learning environment especially to those new to not only Postural Respiration but to PRI as well.
Craig is in the process of learning how to teach Postural Respiration. He did a perfect job describing Anterior Interior Chain (AIC) testing followed up by non-manual techniques to establish re-positioning and neutrality on day one as a foundation to address the brachial chain (BC) on day two. His description and choice of techniques helped one of the students he was demonstrating with find and feel left hamstring and left abdominal wall reference centers. This demonstration provided objective changes that all of the students could observe and begin to understand how to shift laterally from one side of the body to the other to balance the natural asymmetries of the human body. From this foundation the journey into the brachial chain had a firm start for understanding delivery of air pressure sense into the thorax as it provides movement and center of mass variability throughout the entire axial skeleton. Craig will be awesome teaching this course.
Superior T-4 is always challenging for anyone new to Postural Respiration. On day one describing dynamic respiratory considerations with patterned respiration as it relates to accessory muscle of respiration overuse resulting in thoraco-abdominal pathomechanical breathing is an entirely new concept. Slowly over two days Superior T-4 was weaved into the conversation and repeated several times so that by the afternoon on day two the class was well versed on what it is, how to diagnose and how to treat with manual techniques and a home PRI non-manual program starting with Left Serratus and Left Lower Trap then progressing to Right Triceps and Lower Trap.
A significant focus was placed on how to apply a PRI program for our patients. Part of the art of PRI is not only knowing what technique to choose, how to describe and “coach” it for our patients or clients, and then how to progress as described on page 4 in the appendix regarding the Overview of Right Brachial Chain Position Progression and Treatment Guidelines. This takes time and practice to continually master PRI principles and every journey into knowledge starts with basic steps.
I wanted to thank Kasey Ratliff for assisting in not only reading out technique directions during lab but answering questions for students throughout the weekend. She also assisted me in any technical difficulties through the weekend with my PowerPoint “clicker” and her helpful insights for the use of that piece of equipment was vital to ensure a nurturing educational environment!
Thank you for Gad’s group that made the long journey from Taiwan to attend this course. And most especially, thank you so much to physical therapists Kerry and Brian at Elite Physical Therapy for hosting another PRI course. Your support is greatly appreciated! To all, keep stepping into PRI!
– Skip George
Last month, at our first annual Interdisciplinary Studies Summit, we presented the PRI Director’s Dedication Award to three very deserving individuals who have had such a positive impact on our Institute. The PRI Directors Dedication Award was established in 2012 to recognize individuals’ ongoing dedication to their advancement in PRI. To date, we have presented this award to 20 individuals and an award recognition plaque, is displayed at the Postural Restoration Institute® in Lincoln, Nebraska, recognizing each of the PRI Directors Dedication Award recipients.
Torin Berge is a Physical Therapist at the Hruska Clinic here in Lincoln. After being born and raised in Colorado, Torin graduated from PT school at the University of North Dakota in 1999. He then spent 12 years practicing in North Dakota before moving to Lincoln, Nebraska.
Torin has worked at the Hruska Clinic since 2011. He and his family moved to Lincoln from North Dakota for the opportunity to work at the Hruska Clinic. He completed his first PRI course (Postural Respiration) in 2006, in Crookston, Minnesota.
In 2012, he earned the designation of Postural Restoration Certified™ (PRC).
Since joining the Hruska Clinic, Torin has continued to be able to grow in his understanding and knowledge of the science of PRI, particularly with a multi-disciplinary integration mindset. The ability to integrate the science of PRI with Podiatry, Dentistry and Optometry has led to a greater understanding of the highly integrated system that is the asymmetrical human. With his co-workers, he helped establish and manages the Hruska Clinic’s multidisciplinary PRIME program which brings patients in from across the globe to work with their multi-disciplinary team.
Torin is one of the most selfless individuals you will ever meet. He is always putting others first, and he has always been one of the first to help out when help was needed across the parking lot at PRI. Despite his family’s very busy schedule, he never missed a webinar and Ron and I can’t tell you how much that meant to us.
In 2023, Torin joined the PRI faculty to assist this Institute in teaching and organizing material related to voice, sight and autonomic behavior. His experience and exposure to the complexities of the diverse patients seeking help through PRI intervention is unsurpassed. Torin is an educator and a schoolmaster. Together with his wife Leslie, they have 5 very pedagogic children. All of us here at the Institute and at the Hruska Clinic related to his calm, and resourceful ability to make sense out of ‘nonsense’.
Heather Carr is a Physical Therapist in Alexandria, Virginia.
Heather is founder and owner of One 2 One Physical Therapy. Through her years of practice and a plethora of continuing education, Heather has developed a holistic framework and approach to physical therapy. She views the human body as a complex, multi-dimensional entity comprised of physical, emotional, mental and energetic elements.
Heather holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy (University of St. Augustine, 2008); Master of Science in Physical Therapy (Boston University, 2002); and a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies (Boston University, 2000). She is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist (OCS, 2008) and holds a Certification in Manual Therapy (MTC, 2007).
Heather took her first PRI course in 2013 and went on to complete PRC credentialing in 2015.
Fueled by her strong belief in the importance of proper nutrition in treatment, Heather completed the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner certification program through the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA, 2015).
In 2016 Heather became certified in Biofield Tuning, a sound healing modality.
In 2017 Heather began her work as a certified facilitator through the Phoenix Center for Regenetics. The Regenetics method is a series of energy activations that provide holistic healing.
Heather has been so instrumental in the PRI community. She started the PRI Google Group several years ago and she continues to manage this online community board for PRI providers to connect and learn from each other. She has presented at past PRC/PRT conferences, and will be speaking tomorrow at our inaugural Interdisciplinary Studies Summit. Heather was also the first person to introduce us to Brad Gilden and the AAPMD (American Academy of Physiological Medicine), a group that many PRI providers have since had the pleasure to be involved with, including attending and presenting their annual Collaboration Cures event, webinars and more.
Heather Engelbert is a Physical Therapist in Eagan, Minnesota. She graduated from the College of St. Catherine with her Master of Physical Therapy degree in 1999. Heather began her PRI journey in 2002 at a Postural Restoration course in Des Moines, IA. She completed her PRC credentialing in 2007. She has had extensive training and advanced education in the areas of hip impingement (FAI), pelvic dysfunction, postural restoration, knee dysfunction, gait analysis, manual therapies and mobilizations.
In 2009 and 2010, because of her interest and experience in pelvic health, Heather was asked to assist Lori Thomsen and Ron Hruska with the development of the Pelvis Restoration course. The amount of hours and time that she put into that course will never be forgotten, and we are forever grateful for her mentorship and guidance with that course.
Heather owns New Heights Performance Physical Therapy in Eagan, MN, which is one of only four Postural Restoration Centers™ in Minnesota.
In 2022, Heather completed her Doctorate (PhD) in Psychology from Capella University. Her dissertation was titled, “The Ability of Perfectionism to Predict Treatment Outcomes for Adult Patients Completing Physical Therapy”. She later joined us to discuss her dissertation on PRIVY Episode 309. And she isn’t stopping there, because she is truly a lifelong learner. We are so honored to have her here with us this week, and we look forward to the day that she is presenting at our Summit in the near future. She’s already told me that her abstract is almost finished.
Congratulations to these 2024 PRI Directors Dedication Award recipients!
It was a great two days teaching Pelvis Restoration. Our furthest in person participant came all the way from Hong Kong—thank you Tim! Several participants were taking their first and second courses through PRI. I was so humbled to teach via live stream and in-person to so many amazing practitioners. Thank you!
Pelvis Restoration dives deep into the nuances of position of the anterior and posterior inlet and outlet with the left and right sides, to better understand muscle inhibition and facilitation. It can be overwhelming, but as one course participant said you “just need to walk thru it.” Understanding this information will assist you to “walk through it” more easily to manage patients in the clinic. It’s about regulation of compression and decompression via pelvic and rib position for ascension and descension of the pelvic and respiratory diaphragms. It will affect the spine, SI joint, hip flexors, hip impingement, knee, foot/ankle, neck, thorax, and pelvic floor. The empowerment from knowledge and understanding of the science of PRI and its application of the pelvis—“just walk through it.”
– Lori Thomsen
It was my great pleasure to be asked back to Quincy, IL, to teach Myokinematic Restoration. They are a great group of people, and are really engaged in PRI. Most of the Myokinematic courses are filled with movement specialists who are new to the science of PRI. For this course, we only had 7 attendees who had never take a PRI course before, and several who had taken several courses. It provided a different experience for all the attendees to have so many experienced PRI practitioners attending a Primary course.
My thanks to Kristin Thompson, PT, for another great course. It was great to see so many attendees coming this weekend who had attended Postural Respiration last year. It was great to have our PRI Mini-Resident, Annamaaria Kangas helping me with the labs for this course. We were fortunate to have an entire afternoon of lab, which provided everyone with the opportunity to feel many PRI non-manual techniques in themselves. Thanks to Eann Diller, PR, Patrick Kistner, PTA, ATC, Sam Wilson, Yvonne Robison PT, and Macy Huber, PT for wonderful questions. I look forward to seeing how this developing PRI hub that is Quincy, IL, evolves over the next several years!
– Dan Houglum
In 1848, a gold nugget was found in the Sierra foothills of California at a place called Sutter’s Mill that started what would be famously known as the “Gold Rush” where thousands flocked to find their fortune. Last weekend in Sacramento, CA at Sutter Health, a class of nearly all new to PRI or Postural Respiration students enthusiastically discovered new nuggets of insight into posture being delivered through air pressure sense into a thoracic wall and how that influences patterns, position and dynamic posture of the entire axial skeleton.
This course was what I would consider very homogenous since more than 85% of the students had never taken this course. Breaking down digestible pieces for everyone new to PRI can be a challenge since all of our courses have the potential to be a significant paradigm shift in reasoning and application.
The similarities of the attendees were that most were new to PRI while the differences included PT’s, a DC, an OT, massage therapists and strength and conditioning personnel . Not only were those professions represented, but a dentist was present who is taking a more broad or holistic approach applying PRI principles to his practice from what we mention as a stomatognathic perspective in Cervical Revolution and our Occlusal course. Sharing how occlusion, respiration and mandibular appliances integrate was an advanced discussion with him that was professionally stimulating and confirming!
As the weekend progressed and students began to sense changes in themselves after non-manual and manual techniques were practiced and applied, the enthusiasm for these first timers to PRI began to build. For one OT, her response to PRI was essentially “where has this been my whole career?” When new students ask which course they should take next or what is the process for PRC or PRT certification, it is a good sign that curiosity and motivation is significant!
One of the questions was how does a tricep influence the position of a scapula, especially the right side? How is it that it is like a left hamstring on a left ilium?
When the right arm is extended and in a fixed position, especially with an active left abdominal wall resulting in a left ZOA, the static contraction with a right arm reach has a positional effect resulting in posteriorly tilting a scapula much like a left hamstring has the potential to posteriorly tilt or reposition a left ilium. This can be seen in the non-manual technique, “Left Stance in Left AFIR Position from the Left AIC Pattern with Right Upper Extremity Resisted Reach.” Or in a “Paraspinal Release with Left Hamstrings”, it can clearly be seen that the tricep is engaged positionally to posteriorly tilt a scapula. Both of these techniques are in the Right Lower Trapezius and Right Tricep section of the manual and since the long head of the tricep attaches to the infraglenoid tubercle of the scapula and then to the olecranon process of the ulna, not only does the tricep extend a humerus or ulna, but it also has the potential to position a scapula from a fixed position of the hand and forearm.
Many thanks to all of the students, including one of my patients who is a massage therapist and flew in from Salt Lake City, that attended with much enthusiasm and attention to this course. Thank you to Taylor Lewis, Ph. D once again as my faithful lab assistant. Thank you much to Anne, Erin and Susie at Sutter Health for providing such a professional location and facilitation of Postural Respiration and future PRI courses. It is the behind the scenes facilitation of location, food and a learning environment that enhances everyone’s next step into their PRI journey and makes the job easier for PRI faculty.
– Skip George
Written By: Dan Houglum
Impingement and Instability is my favorite course to attend and teach. It’s a bridge between the PRI Primary courses and the rest of the PRI Secondary and Tertiary courses. We discuss the application of the science of PRI in a clinical manner. My goal in teaching the course is to help you leave a better clinician.
We had a great group of attendees for the most recent version of I & I. This course is continually evolving and changing based on feedback we get, as well as the questions we get during the course. We had a great mix of very experienced clinicians, several PRI certified attendees, and several other who are relatively new to the science of PRI. It is a wonderful challenge to present the material that can be absorbed by someone who has taken the Primary courses, and go deep enough into the clinical weeds to satisfy those who have attended many PRI courses and have been using PRI clinically for many years.
This course is laid out to specifically address the thing that the body responds to the most: pressure. We go through the wealth of research behind the science of PRI, as well as lay out how and why the brain learns new movement strategies. We take the concepts from the PRI Primary courses and expand on them by linking them to pressure management. We spend a lot of time going through ground-based pressure management, as well as how to manage all of the human’s floors.
It was a pleasure to spend time with Loc Rao, PRC, Cody Gilliss, PRC, Alan Lee, PRC, and Jarrett Kolich, PRT. These are all great people, and I was honored to have them attend. Their questions were exceptional and helped drive the course. I really appreciate Rhiannon Dickison, DC, Elizabeth Markous, PT, Tara O’Brien PT, Daniel Loub, CSCS, and Nikki Smith, PTA. Their questions were vital to help us understand and re-state concepts for all of us. Thank you for slowing me down and helping all of us learn.
This course was re-written several years ago to better align with the neurological concepts of the rest of the PRI secondary and Tertiary courses, in addition to the Postural Respiration course. If you have taken the three Primary courses and want to learn how to apply PRI concepts at a more advanced level, then this course is for you. It is a gateway to the PRI Cervical Revolution, Cranial Resolution, Forward Locomotor Movement, and Voice Box Resonation courses. I hope to see you at Impingement and Instability later this year!
If you have any questions, we are here to help.
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