Diakadi Fitness located in the City by The Bay, San Francisco hosted its first PRI course this past weekend. Attendees came from as far away as Japan and Ottawa, Canada and represented a wide range of professions including physical therapy, chiropractic, dentistry, athletic training, strength and conditioning and massage therapy. Over 2/3 of the class were first time attendees to a PRI course with many in attendance their first time taking Postural Respiration. The shift in thinking from a more traditional orthopedic approach to concepts like lateralization, balancing asymmetries, neutrality, stabilization vs. motion control, the effect of the diaphragm on the direction a pelvis will turn with ribcage kinematic influence on spinal rotation and how to test and treat via PRI principles was profound for the group. As always, pathomechanical compensations for breathing defined by Superior T-4 syndrome were discussed in detail and presented a new "paradigm" or way of observing and thinking how reliance on accessory muscles can create dysfunctional patterns of breathing and movement. One new attendee volunteered and briefly discussed the effects that PTSD can have creating a sympathetic response affecting every system in the body. He was in the military for four years then a firefighter/paramedic for six years and the lesson is each person brings a unique history with them into our clinics. In addition, he grinds his teeth at night so integration with other health professionals is always a must when needed. Thanks to Caleb Chiu and Joe Cincinelli for lab assisting and Tiana and Andrea for helping with sign ups and hosting duties!
