Community News

Every December I reflect on my past year personal and professional activities, a few days before beginning the Advanced Integration course.  My inner wellness usually transforms during these four days because of the way I feel connected in real time with real bodies, who have real interest in how our bodies transform by revolving and evolving around axial sagittal verticality and appendicular horizontal integration.  I need this eye-level connection with other people to complete my year and to advance myself, as well as the science I am so obsessed with.  This past year, as challenging as it was, advanced all of us because we needed to connect with technology in ways that we never have before; to revolve, evolve, and transform with other people.   

Technology is value neutral. It becomes value non-neutral, depending how one uses it.  The amount of time I spent this last year in some virtual space, or in the space above my neck, by observing bodies above the neck, is overwhelming.  However, because of my need to connect with real people, real bodies with real interactive interest, I had to do so with eyes primarily, that were all at eye-level with mine. Body language became eye language.

This opportunity to interconnect, virtually, reduced my isolation and actually advanced me in so many ways.  I have never been more prolific or productive, in my life, like I have been this year. New courses composed, books  read, research reviewed, interdisciplinary collaboration, etc. all reduced potential obsolescence because of technology.  Who would have thought a little virtual reality would advance us, like it has.  

Therefore, it just seemed natural, that after a year of virtual wellness, we would host an Advanced Integration course with 11 people (PRC applicants) actually sitting to the left and in front of me and 100 people sitting in a ‘Hollywood Squares’ box, slightly to the right and also, in front of me.  It advanced all of us who were in attendance.  We received the best of two worlds of advanced postural restoration presence.  This advanced technology seemed so value non-neutral challenging, so futuristic, so non-elementary, so alive and yet so unimaginable, because we were all not in the same room and breathing in the same space.  Everything we did the year before, now feels so retro.

This December my inner wellness rose to a new, novel and an unnatural high. And I am sure all of the future December PRI Advanced Integration course attendees will reflect on the how “real”, integration feels during these four days, in real time, with real bodies on one side of the room and real faces on the other, all because of value non-neutral technology.

I want to thank Dan Houglum, MSPT, ATC/L, PRC, Lori Thomsen, MPT, PRC, Jean Masse, DPT, OCS, ATC, PRC, Lisa Mangino, DPT, PCS, C/NDT, PRC and Jen Platt for making this course so connected and so advanced, in a time where there is so much uncertainty.  

We are excited to announce and congratulate the Postural Restoration Certified (PRC) Class of 2020! PRC credentialing is the result of completing multiple advanced PRI courses, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the science through completion of the PRC application, and successfully participating in practical and analytical testing. This week, 11 clinicians earned the designation of Postural Restoration Certified (PRC) under the direction of Ron Hruska, Lori Thomsen, Dan Houglum, and Jennifer Platt earlier this week.

The Postural Restoration Institute established this certification process in 2004 as a way to recognize and identify those 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 PRC credentialing program is available to physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, and chiropractors who have attended PRI courses, demonstrated a thorough understanding of the science through completion of the PRC application, and successfully participate in both clinical and analytical testing. To date, 226 professionals have earned the designation of Postural Restoration Certified (PRC).

To view/download the photos click here.

Back Row (L to R): Ron Hruska, Tracey Blain, Molly Miller, Brad Gilden, Amy Brown, Yohei Takada, Dan Houglum;
Front Row (L to R): Jennifer Platt, Corina Carlson, Danielle Cardinale, Deanna Elliott, Danielle Juckett, Nicole Davison Moore, Paige McNerthney, Lori Thomsen

What a fun experience it was to be able to connect with the 37 participants from last month’s live stream pediatrics course! With the new format, we were able to reach attendees in Japan, Canada, Poland, and India! James and I also brought the PRI science to 6 new (“VIP”) clinicians! Further, the audience was made up of yoga instructors, OT’s, personal trainers, and of course, PT’s. The participants seemed to enjoy the many videos of PRI treatment with children of all ages and all skill development levels. We were even able to do some demonstrations with kids! A special shout out to Jen Platt, Nancy Hammond, Libby Lostetter, and anyone else who let us use your children for a spotlighted kid demo! And the adult attendees who participated in demonstrations were also greatly appreciated as it brought a nice richness to the learning experience.

I’ve since been in touch with some of the attendees to see what they thought about the new format and a common comment is how nice it is to have the recording of the class for 10 days following the weekend to go back and review and refresh! It worked out so well, we are planning another Live Stream for August 28-29, 2021 with hopefully a couple in person courses as well. Check out the schedule, and tell your friends! Lastly, huge shout out to co-presenter, James Anderson, producer, RJ Hruska, as well as to Hannah Hankins and Jen Platt for all of the scheduling, manual edits and production, technical help and behind the scenes planning that putting a course like this together requires! And last but not least, thanks to Ron Hruska for the genius foundation! Hope to see you in 2021!

We all have patients that have a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior that was more than likely built around lateralized pattern strength and movement, that affected both horizontal and vertical cycles of compression and decompression at the pelvis, abdomen, thorax, paranasal sinuses and third and fourth ventricles of the cranium. Focusing on reformatting new methods on how to integrate adductors with abductors, internal rotators with external rotators, or flexors with extensors is a challenge in itself, but when someone’s cycles of rhythm are not in synchrony with that effort, the end result of recidivism is more than likely not the result of erroneous effort or program design. It more likely is a representation, to some degree, of the autonomic nervous system’s role in neuromodulation of the patient’s familiar central nervous system’s past effort. Body motor function, in general, has strong somatic nervous system bias, built by positive reinforcement from past voluntary motor patterning. Successful resolvement (self-regulation, self-healing or self-regulation) of this ANS, CNS and SoNS imbalance requires our vagal nuclei and basal ganglia to respond to cyclical oscillatory rhythm, without a response of threat (ergotropic response) from the ANS.

On-going repatterning occurs with every nuance in life. Our asymmetrical design allows us to remain rhythmical because all three of our nervous systems are dealing with input that is received from two sides of the body, that are purposefully designed for different functional cycling; not bicycling but biologic-cycling. Having the opportunity to relate our clinical relapse dilemmas to research that support effort to program activities that harness patterned laterality and cycling threat through cranial freedom from body dependency on the neck, is something I always look forward to.

The 33 virtual attendee’s interaction, through comments and questions forwarded to Jen Platt and directly to me, during this two day course, enhanced the discussion on how the tone of our body is tuned by ANS tension, and how clinical regulation of cyclical flow of air and frequency of sound, can enhance midrange physiologic outcomes for acceptance of novel physical construct. Cathleen deSmet PT, PRC thank you for your inquisitive and thoughtful questioning and verbal reasoning and verbal repeat of the desirable answer we were trying to achieve. It absolutely benefitted every participant. Alice Lam DDS, you have no idea how much I appreciate your attendance and input. It simply helps everyone when you ask a question from a dental perspective. Greer Mackie PT, DPT, your enthusiasm and smile warmed me and reinforced my passion. Jill Maida PT, DPT, MDT, PRC, your title as “oscillatory” queen will remain with you through my eyes for a long time, simply because your presence invokes oscillation. Rachel Smith DPT,PRC your Sunday dialogue on the ‘centric’ elements of patterned autonomic features  was so appreciated and kept us all engaged. And finally, Jessica Tidswell PT, ATC,PRT, what can I say about someone who I believe has integrated, is integrating, and will continue to integrate the “laterality” of all three neurologic systems, simply because you were born to do so. I really enjoyed seeing and interacting with this entire class of dedicated autonomic, asymmetric, autonomous minded people and look forward to teaching it again in May of next year.  

Boy is was good to be back teaching a live course this year. It was food for my spirit to have human interaction and comradery. My fellow colleagues that attended this weekend’s Pelvis Restoration Course were also grateful to be attending a live course as well. We all needed it. We did it safely for our community and each other. We had four professionals attending their first PRI course and several were attending their 3rd course or more this weekend. I feel the class took away the value of the pelvic inlet and outlet positioning needed not only to achieve left stance and right swing, but the value of this positioning to integrate with the respiratory diaphragm in the thorax for the left and right sided hemi-pelvis’ to compress and decompress to allow for Forward Locomotor Movement. Having a smaller class size afforded more personalized lab time for PRI tests, techniques, and practice. It was a fun fun weekend to teach and to learn. Thank you IRG for hosting Pelvis Restoration in Mill Creek.

The greatest directional influence on our body’s tensegrity and tempo is forward movement. All of our integration of planar function and neurosensory function is correlated with our environment moving backward; as we cough, speak, walk, reach, chew, listen, sit, watch, etc. The slightest forward movement of the head, arm or leg, is cortically recognized and managed through vestibular related memory and reflex, and cerebellar coordination of the somatic motor sphere. Our ground and space around us are “ours” when we move forward. No one else possesses this personalized biopsychosocial and psychophysiological event. The benefits associated with forward movement, far out weigh those of moving in any other direction. And that would include the wonderful gift of “falling” backward, only to “catch” ourselves, by reaching forward, with a head, arm or leg.

The greatest benefit of having lateralized cortices for integrated visuo-spatial, hemispheric chest, upper limb and lower limb alternation is bipedal, upright forward locomotor movement. Between five million and seven million years ago, some apelike creatures in Africa began to walk habitually on two legs, through savannas, using visuo-spatial propulsion, inter and intra arm pull, and hemi-chest compression.  They never could have walked from Africa into Asia and Europe, two million years ago, if they did not first make and flake crude stone tools with their upper limbs, a half million years prior to that time.   Their arm function was necessary for their respiratory chest endurance to travel and for their peripheral view as a safe voyager.

The modern form of a human, as we know of today, depended on this earlier pre-existent, hemi-cortical dominance, approximately 200,000 years ago, for refinement of existential forward movement that revolved around the establishment of culture and community.  How we shape, grow, pattern and build our behavior and our body, depends on how we move objects that are in front of us and to the side of us, toward us and to the back of us, with inter and intra-limb pull, chest compression, and visuo-spatial propulsion; all allowing us to move forward, like our 200,000 year old ancestors.

(Sarah Petrich, @drsarahpetrich, Instagram)

Our industrial commercialism, capitalism, and careerism, in the present time, has contributed to our heads moving forward, objects in front of us moving forward with us, and objects or environments on the side of us, all moving forward together at some, or all of the time during “walking”. We are on an ecological and evolutionary timeline where the human, in his and her civilization, are doing everything they can to move themselves forward efficiently, in an existential sense. Unfortunately, because of the un-natural commodities around them, they are also moving the entire environment and world around them, with them. Our cortices developed in size because of the need for cortical interplay, as we became dependent on each other, through our sense of movement, space, communication and balance from our eyes and ears, chest walls and cavities and upper and lower limbs. Concrete pavements, straight walls and fast-moving transport systems did not develop today’s unhealthy and unnatural imbalanced forward locomotion. It did however, help bring out the biological rivalry we so often see in our patients, between their two eyes, ears, arms, chests, and legs; and furthermore, contributed to the more recent world of over lateralization for survival of the fittest, fastest and flattest (spine) humans.

(Sarah Petrich, @drsarahpetrich, Instagram)

Homo Sapiens, and the way they move themselves forward, are still evolving and the four components of corollary cortical function are outlined in this course, simply because these four components and the degree to which they are used with and by each other, will reflect on the future’s researcher and anthropologist studies of Holocene human climate of forward movement patterns. Our social climate, our environmental climate and our health climate reflects the demands and challenges we place on our own bodies and thus the environment that encompasses these human patterns of addicted adduction of four of the most precious resources are bodies possess.

I personally, want to thank Jen Platt who consistently and constantly puts up with me and my insane requests to put material together that has never been put together, to my knowledge, in the manner that we have, with outlined research that supports the forward movement, that we should respect. I have been looking forward to teaching a course like this for many years. Therefore, it is hard to summarize my feelings about this topic and the opportunity that this year and the staff around me, presented me. Such a gift. Personal gratification is extended to all you who are observant, and watchful of this journey, of broadening the environment and evolution that is responsible for the patterned world we live with and in, today.

(Nancy Hammond, @integrate360, Instagram)

I had the wonderful fortune to visit with Dan Houglum MSPT, ATC/L, PRC the day before this course was presented via live stream, beginning on Aug 22nd. Dan’s insight on the Institute’s past, present and upcoming future is always appreciated and questioned by me, simply because he places events, courses, course material provided in two or more courses, timelines, and approaches in an aligned state, for comparison, contrast and collocation. He and his career time have grown around this juxtaposition. He has an intuitive sense of how organizations operate by addressing and assessing this operational behavior, and therefore, he enjoys watching, and participating in, the delivery of the Impingement and Instability course; that was initially offered in 2007 without the ability of the attendee to compare it to another pre-existing course.  

The fact that the first course in February of 2007 can be compared to the last course presented in August of 2020, allows one to quickly see the similarities and the advancements. The fact of two courses, with the same title, written by the same author, can be placed close together with contrasting effects is called a juxtaposition. The juxtaposition of these two courses portray an image of position of bones in 2007 and a position of sense of these same bones in 2020. Dan took his first PRI course in 2004 and has had significant juxtaposition moments since. Juxtaposition is a word that describes the contrasting effect of two things that are placed side by side or close together. For example, two course manuals, with different dates and yet with the same information, may have juxtaposition when one of the courses have been updated, advanced or added onto. Another example of juxtaposition, is this course itself, by looking at cortical function of the human’s two sides of the body that are parallel to each other or “next to each other”. Instability on one side of the body may need to occur when the other side of the body, in the same region, is referencing impingement or the contact of two bony or joint surfaces. One side needs to cortically “loosen” up while the other side can “tighten” up.

This ‘positional juxtaposition’ helps us appreciate the need to experience instability, to remain on guard and prepared, as well as the need to experience impingement, to remain confident and in control, when we lose sense of composure. Parallelism of our two sides of our body, and their associated neurologic and orthopedic juxtapositions, has always been a strong interest of Dan’s, and having him by my side, when I taught this live stream course, gave me and everyone that was present, a considerable amount of favorable comparative contrast.

We are excited to announce that registration for our newest secondary course "Forward Locomotor Movement" is now open! Make sure to visit the course page, to read more information about this new course! The first opprotunity to move forward with this material is schedule for October 3-4th, dont miss out!

Course Description

This course offers the attendee an opportunity to re-examine ‘gait’, ‘ambulate’, ‘walking’, ‘bipedalism’, and ‘locomotion’ by addressing the cortical coordination of the human limbs that are responsible for individual forward locomotor movement patterns. Neurological and physiological dominance is designed around introspective habituation and compensation, that reflects physical predominant hemispheric loading and cortical hemi-spatial flow. A comprehensive, and up to date, review of literature and research on cortical dominance and associated pre-existing dominance factors that define interlimb and intralimb interaction during forward movement of the body, is offered. Arm and leg control, and overall associated motor function of human swing, support and propulsion will be addressed through asymmetrical gravitational balance effort and anti-gravitational eccentric considerations. Both, arm and leg control, and function in human locomotion, will be dissected and described, as a novel introduction to integrated upper and lower extremity movement, and hemi-spatial awareness and hemi-chest activity will be outlined, for all phases of forward locomotor movement. Clinical recommendations for individual introspection of forward locomotor movement will be provided throughout the course. Eccentric control of functional cortical predominant patterned limitations on locomotor movement, along with multisystem guidelines for reweighting balance through limb use, will be provided through the use of PRI non-manual technique application.

Page 22 and ‘The Room Where It Happens’  

On page 22 of this very updated course, the first bullet reads; “After significant reflection on historical ‘patterned occlusal pathomechanics’ of the teeth and corresponding feet over the years of clinical integrated interdisciplinary practice, I believe the human neck is the greatest neuromechanical mediator and indicator of treatment outcome.”  It was so enjoyable to put this course together and be able to write page 22. The organization and the establishment of content, beginning with a discussion on teeth and feet provisional occlusal interference, fulfilled my intense desire to explain how teeth and feet interfere and intercede on each other. Having twelve dentists present and willing to learn how postural mechanics are regulated by appendicular skeletal musculature interplay with oral facial skeletal musculature, was so gratifying. These dentists will play a major role in the future restoration of non-integrated feet and teeth mal-occlusal patterning. The interaction of these dentists, with other PRI minded, movement professionals, will help define what “true postural” occlusal restoration entails.

On page 22 of this very futuristic course, the second bullet reads; “Restoring normal occlusal patterns of function at specific stages of tooth to tooth contact/interference and foot to ground contact /interference, reduces cervical pathomechanics and related symptomology." This is the intent of this course …

I hope many more professionals, in the future, will want to be on page 22 where  “PATTERNED OCCLUSAL PATHOMECHANICS AND THEIR POSSIBLE UNDERLYING BIOMECHANICAL CONTRIBUTION” influence on interdisciplinary intervention decision processing, begins. I truly feel that there will be more of us in the future that will want to be like Hamilton, in the recent musical, when he said to “Mr. Burr, Sir”; “I want to be in the room where it happens.”  I believe all of our descendants, along with interdisciplinary minded professionals, will “want to be in the room where occlusion happens”.

Ron Hruska is excited to be an upcoming presenter for the AAMS Virtual Congress Reimagined. This virtual congress is featuring over 100 speakers in 9 tracks, over the month of August. Ron will be presenting on Friday, August 14th, on "Postural Interplay Between the Tongue, Teeth and Throat – A Novel Model of Interdisciplinary Integration". Virtual congress attendees are able to participate via live stream for the upcoming presentations, and attendees will also receive access to all presentations on demand until October 1st. CLICK HERE to view the program and register at www.aamsinfo.org/2020-congress.

We are excited to announce the release of our newest product! The Restoring Alternation Patient Guide is now available! This guide has been put together to help bring awareness to the activities that we perform regularly in our daily lives.This 16-page guide outlines several daily activities which are commonly performed in dominant or patterned positions, and demonstrates alternate ways and instruction to perform them. Copies of this guide can be purchased through the Institute, to provide and discuss with your patients and clients, the importance of decreasing the over-dominance of one side of the body, and using both your left and right sides with alternation and balance.

Customizable Guide

 Customization, including your business logo and contact information is available on the back cover of the guide. Here are four examples of the templates available for customization: 1 photo, 2 photos, 4 photos and up to 8 photos (this template should be used if you want to display up to 6 staff photos/credentials).

Non-Customizable Guide

This version is non-customizable and includes the history and information about the Postural Restoration Institute!

Click HERE to preview the inside of the guide.

Shipping is included on all orders, and ships directly to the shipping address provided when placing your order. Feel free to Contact Us with any questions you may have! Grab your Guide today to help your patients and clients alternate in their daily lives!

A big shout out to Josh Olinick for his inspiration to complete this customizable guide!

Just this past week, we made the decision that we WILL host the Advanced Integration course as both a Live AND a Live Stream course. To allow for social distancing, we will limit the live in-person attendance here in Lincoln to 36 participants, and then an additional 100 attendees will be able to participate in the course via live stream on Zoom. This could of course change depending on the COVID restrictions nationally and/or locally, however this is our plan as of today.

*Candidates accepted for PRC testing will be required to attend the Advanced Integration course in-person in Lincoln, NE (if they have not attended this course in the past).

For anyone who is planning to apply for PRC testing (who has not previously taken the Advanced Integration course or if you were planning on taking the course again before PRC testing), we recommend that you register for the LIVE in-person Advanced Integration course ASAP to guarantee your seat. PRC applications are due by September 15th. Advanced Integration will take place in Lincoln, NE on December 3-6th, followed by PRC testing on December 7-8th.  

We will take all necessary precautions and added safety measures, including requiring masks, to ensure a safe environment for those attending Advanced Integration and PRC testing in Lincoln.

This is always an exciting time of the year for us, and we are really looking forward to this four day course and PRC testing to wrap up 2020! If you have any questions, please contact us!