Community News

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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. 

Hello fellow scoliosis practitioners and PRI NATION! We are offering our STRATER Level One course via Live Stream In October!

A 3-Dimensional Approach for the Conservative Treatment of Scoliosis

LIVE STREAM: Saturday October 2nd and Sunday October 3rd, 2021

15 CEU’s from North Carolina Physical Therapy Association

This introductory lecture and lab course is designed to teach scoliosis practitioners assessment and treatment techniques for adolescents and adults with curvature of the spine. Participants will gain a greater understanding of:

• Tri-planar asymmetry in scoliosis
• Factors determining risk of scoliosis progression
• Spinal precautions
• Understanding curve patterns
• Safe performance of ADLs
• Screening and evaluation of scoliosis
• Reviewing x-rays in scoliosis
• Bracing in scoliosis: types & necessity
• Specific 3-dimensional treatment techniques
• Special considerations for adults with scoliosis

All course instructors hold multiple, advanced certifications pertaining to clinical management of scoliosis and actively treat patients with scoliosis as the core of our practice: 

Susan Henning, PT, PRC, SBC-C2 

Jean Masse, PT, DPT, PRC, OCS, ATC, SBC-C2 

Lisa Mangino, PT, DPT, C/NDT, PCS, PRC, SBC-C2

See also instructors’ related publication in: Innovations in Spinal Deformities and Postural Disorders

For more information, please see our flyer!

To Register, go to https://straterscoliosis.com/course-registration

We hope to see you virtually in October!

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.

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!

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.     

The Cantrell Center for Physical Therapy and Wellness is hosting Myokinematic Restoration, a primary course offered by the Postural Restoration Institute, September 18-19. This course is without pre-requisite so if you’ve been wanting to learn more about PRI, attending this course is a great way to start!

Register at least 4 weeks before the course to receive the early registration rate:
https://www.posturalrestoration.com/programs-courses/introductory-courses/myokinematic-restoration 

About the Course

The course description from www.posturalrestoration.com explains that "this advanced lecture and lab course explores the biomechanics of contralateral and ipsilateral myokinematic lumbo-pelvic-femoral dysfunction. Treatment emphasizes the restoration of pelvic-femoral alignment and recruitment of specific rotational muscles to reduce synergistic predictable patterns of pathomechanic asymmetry. Emphasis will be placed on restoration, recruitment, and retraining activities using internal and external rotators of the femur, pelvis, and lower trunk. Guidance will be provided on how to inhibit overactive musculature. This will enable the course participant to restore normal resting muscle position. Participants will be able to immediately apply PRI clinical assessment and management skills when treating diagnoses such as piriformis syndrome, ilio-sacral joint dysfunction, and low back strain.

About the Course Instructor

This course will be taught by Jesse Ham, PT, CMP, PRC.  His biography from www.posturalrestoration.com shares that "Jess graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2004 with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy.  He began his career in Rapid City, SD at an outpatient orthopedic clinic where he worked for 8 years.  As part of a team of 10 PT’s, Jess had become an active participant in continuing education.  Jess’s focus on serving Western South Dakota with lifetime fitness, health and root positional cause versus peripheral symptom modification fit with PRI concepts seamlessly.  He took his first course in PRI in 2006, which evolved into a now passionate interest in Postural Restoration®.  When able, he took additional courses and coordinated PRI courses as a host clinic.  In 2012, Jess earned the designation of Postural Restoration Certified™(PRC) as a result of 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®.  At the start of 2013, he joined About You Physical Therapy with the goal of becoming a Postural Restoration Center in the near future.  He thoroughly enjoys his time with patients and feels called to teach postural restoration, as it was and is central to him remaining in the profession of physical therapy.  Jess is a husband and a daddy first and loves spending free time with his favorites—his wife Carrie, and his daughters Alexa, Jenna, Macie and Lillie."

About the Course Site

The Cantrell Center for Physical Therapy and Wellness, a privately-owned physical therapy clinic established in 1992, has been a Postural Restoration® Center since 2008.  A Postural Restoration® Center is defined by PRI as "a place of business where at least one individual is Postural Restoration® credentialed (PRC or PRT) and all other individuals on staff who are eligible for credentialing have completed two or more PRI-sponsored courses."  We’re proud to be the only Postural Restoration Center in the state of Georgia, having two PRC clinicians on staff (both of whom will be in attendance of the Myokinematic Restoration course hosted by the Cantrel Center Sep. 18-19).

Located just an hour and half from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the Cantrell Center makes for an ideal location for out of state travelers.  The Cantrell Center is located nearby exits from the interstate and has multiple hotels within walking distance, adding to the convenience of attending a PRI course hosted by the Cantrell Center.

To learn more or to register, visit:
https://www.posturalrestoration.com/programs-courses/introductory-courses/myokinematic-restoration