News

We are excited to announce and congratulate the Postural Restoration Certified™ (PRC) Class of 2024! This was a special week for us as we conducted PRC credentialing following our 22nd year of the Advanced Integration course, and heading into our 25th year as an institute! From the first class in 2004 to this most recent group of clinicians, we have had 257 clinicians complete PRC credentialing, spanning 38 states and 7 countries. You can search for PRI credentialed providers on our Find a Provider map.

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. Earlier this week, 7 clinicians earned the designation of Postural Restoration Certified™ (PRC) under the direction of Ron Hruska, Kasey Ratliff, Skip George, and Jennifer Platt.

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.

CLICK HERE to view the full photo album.

Back Row: Robert “Skip” George, Yoshi Fujii, Marlyn Bravo, Desiree Parham, Joshua Speckman, Jennifer Platt

Front Row: Ron Hruska, Mayami Oyagani, Brynn Babb, Saundra Brogan, Kasey Ratliff

In the seventies there was, and still is, one of my favorite rhythm and blues band from the Bay Area of California named “Tower of Power”. Their best known album is “Back to Oakland”, and this past weekend PRI was back in Oakland at Alta Bates Medical Center Physical Therapy where Cervical Revolution was hosted. Cervical Revolution is the conduit to introducing bottom up as well as top down concepts from the cervical spine, cranium, and occlusal system that first require an understanding of the most important neurologic articulation in the body called the atlas and occipital bone. This is where the brainstem is located and is highly sensitive to position, movement, and especially pressure from a head that is forward on a neck that has lost its normal 30 degrees of lordosis. If that 30 degrees is lost, then 30 degrees of mid-cervical lateral flexion and 30 degrees of rotation is lost as well.

The cervical spine, or “tower of power”, on which the cranium is supported, needs to be free to rotate driven by bilateral muscle balance in all three planes of movement coordinated together. When the body is patterned, or repetitively shifted to a dominant side, the neck knows it and responds with a predictable sequence of deep muscles called the TMCC, or the temporal, mandibular and cervical chain. There are eight muscles on each side of the cervical spine, cranium and jaw that compose the TMCC and when one side becomes dominant, and it always starts with the right, it then becomes difficult, if not impossible, to fully shift the mass of the entire body to the left. This weekend the beginning description of  Cervical Revolution is that this is a right stance course! Through the L AIC, the right BC, and the right TMCC, humans all become laterally shifted to the right side driven by neurologic, respiratory, and anatomical asymmetries and bias. In this course there was ample time for demonstration and lab starting with five objective tests for the cervical region that assesses movement in all three planes of the cervical spine with a mantra 30-30-30! Non-manual techniques where then provided to not only provide re-positioning to neutral but for the ability to alternate and rotate side to side.

Referring back to the musical album “Back to Oakland”, there is a famous song called, “So Very Hard to Go”, and with one of the tests, Cervical Axial Rotation, it is typically “very hard to go” or rotate to the left! In fact, our functional cortical dominance makes it difficult to shift and rotate a pelvis onto the left leg as well as the right, internally rotate a left ribcage for delivering air pressure sense into a ribcage, and even establishing a better visual field on the left in order to alternate back and forth left to right side! When patterns and position become dominant over time in the neck, pathology in the body and even the cranium will be a consequence.

This course also provides an understanding on how the TMCC’s on either side of the neck are needed to be balanced to provide stability of the neck and allow proper mastication with a jaw. When you aren’t chewing, a jaw needs to be free to shift side to side just like the rest of the body to help keep a neck free and mobile! If the neck is not stable, then muscles of mastication become dominant on one side further reinforcing a biased pattern and position that does not allow for balanced alternation of the entire body side to side. If the muscles of mastication are attempting to stabilize a cervical spine and cranium, then the cervical spine muscles attempt to aid and abet chewing which further reinforces this pattern called the right TMCC! This whole process in this course begins with the atlas and occipital bone position and expands into the cranium including the sphenoid, temporal bones and mandible. If atlas and occipital bones aren’t free to rotate, oscillate or alternate, the rest of the body will know it including the cranium, jaw and visual system!  Not only that, but the CNS, ANS, and RAS will be affected over time simply starting with the atlas and occipital bone. This is why Cervical Revolution is the gateway to our tertiary courses!

Two of the students in this course I met five years ago at this facility when I taught Postural Respiration and thank you Shaun and Joan so much for hosting PRI and providing such a professional space to work and teach in. Shaun and Joan get there early and leave late to facilitate the success of every course attendee. And thank you both for being my drivers! Austin and Maxwell, great to see you again after teaching Postural in Sacramento in April 2024 and for your trust to return to a secondary course. Sura, Jai, Nick, Tin your presence and questions moved us along in a most helpful way and was just great. Morgan, thanks so much for coming in from Juneau, Alaska! That is a long haul and your questions where so helpful. And Holly! All the way from Vancouver, Canada to attend your first live course after taking all of the primary courses remotely. Your life experience, responses to techniques and questions helped teach the course. I also have to include everyone in that sentence as well in terms of what you brought including interest, energy and best of all, curiosity.

-Skip George

It was a world champion kind of weekend in Scottsdale as 3 attendees were part of the LA Dodgers organization! We had a variety of attendees from chiropractors, ATCs, strength & conditioning/personal trainers, and physical therapists. The morning started off learning the intricacies of the terminology (based on osteopathic terminology) when discussing position of the pelvis and femur and how significant this can be before initiating treatment.

I love that this course offers so much lab time to test and discuss the objective measures to confirm the didactic material from the morning. Learning the Hruska Adduction Drop Test was our confirmation bias for the left anterior chain pattern as identified in all attendees this weekend. We ended the day with repositioning techniques and learning about respiration and the value of an exhalation.

The next day, the Hruska Adduction lift test humbled most as we assessed the ability to be able to “shift” successfully in the frontal plane. We discussed treatment at all levels of this lift test to be able to prescribe treatment appropriately. I took a “patient” through the myokinematic hierarchy and it was valuable seeing the progress in the ability for the patient to obtain neutrality and improve on the lift scores within just a few techniques. The power of PRI never ceases to amaze me. Thank you to our gracious host Dynamic Performance and Brennan Hodge for the awesome hospitality.

– Kasey Ratliff

It was great to be back in the Windy City teaching Pelvis Restoration.  Thank you Donna and Pilates Central for hosting us this past weekend. It was a weekend filled with new course attendees and others expanding their journey in PRI.  The “brain twists” this weekend:

1. The pelvic diaphragm (floor) has a left and right side.
2. Muscle don’t have origins and insertions, but rather attachment sites and can influence the position of bones.
3. The frontal plane importance of our ability to move side to side.
4. The concept of compression and decompression with position and airflow.
5. How the pelvis influences the spine all the way up to the neck and all the way down to the foot and ankle.

The energy and enthusiasm for this science was high and the quest to learn more from these practitioners was astounding.

Thank you for the gift of time and allowing me to teach.

– Lori Thomsen

“An Interdisciplinary Approach in the Intervention of Patterned Visual Orientation and Visual Perception”

By Ron Hruska

Vision is the product of the interaction of four components, anti-gravity, centering, identification, and the speech-auditory process. This is the first sentence of the introductory section of the course, and was written by AM Skeffington in his 1964 ‘Introduction of Clinical Optometry’ course. The anti-gravity system is responsible for balance and posture. The centering system is defined as an attentional and orienting system for selecting where the body, head and eyes are directed.

Our hemi-environments, and their associated occupancy of our body, require vertical visual vestibular vigilance. How we direct ourselves, place ourselves, and use the space activity around us and the air-flow in us, all depend on our midline and center experiences, as related to our vestibular sense and visual perception.

A course attendee wrote, “I am pouring over the course notes and your attention to detail for this course was so well done!!!  I appreciated how you took each journal article and highlighted the importance of what you gained from their insight regarding vision, sensory input, pedal sense, and the ability move forward.”

Another attendee wrote, “I appreciate all the work and research that went into this. The recognition of all of the research considered was important for the optometrist that attended the course with me. I think that was quite valuable and I appreciated the main points of how to recognize the value of ground-up position and input before refraction was stressed . .. “

Our mechanoreception is built around standing and upright movement on two feet, using two upper extremities, and the cortical visual processing associated with this upright proprioceptive control. Therefore, this course outlines how to arrive at binocular alignment at distance, when standing, to reduce misalignment tendencies, overuse of visual vergence, and visual vestibular instability related to depth imperception.

If you want more information on how to clinically involve and incorporate both eyes with both feet, equally, as much as possible, for acceptable vertical behavior, then this course was organized and is being offered for you.

Steps for Recovery, a Postural Restoration Certified Center and home for this past weekend’s Postural Restoration course, has offered its patients the Postural Restoration model of care for many years. Several of their clinicians, Ashley Arensdorf, PT, Lauren Cochran, OT, and Katie Stephens, PT, were in attendance to sharpen their PRI skills. In addition, nearly a third of participants were newcomers to the science of human movement. They were treated to the collective wisdom of three PRC-credentialed clinicians, who elevated the course for all: Craig Depperschmidt, PT, Lisa Mangino, PT, and Sangini Rane, PT.

Postural Respiration, the flagship course of the Institute, weaves concepts from our other primary courses, Myokinematic and Pelvis Restoration, and serves as a precursor to many other PRI courses: Cervical Revolution, Human Evolution, Cranial Resolution, Voice Box Resonation, and Forward Locomotor Movement.

Our patients/clients often are clueless about where our diaphragm is and how it moves and functions and how our rib cages become stiff and patterned. Furthermore, they often function in a state of hyperinflation, with poor neuro-sensory awareness that doesn’t allow them to get out of this state. Our thorax, after all, houses so much of our physiology and, when stiff and patterned, influences both movement and psycho-sensory processing. Want to help your patient/client with more efficient movement? Resolve headaches, shoulder, neck, and back pain and the multitude of extremity “-itis’s”? Hasten recovery from surgical procedures? Reduce anxiety, gut issues, and shortness of breath? Do you strive to elevate your practice through improved understanding of how and why our asymmetrical diaphragm becomes patterned in its position and movement? And how and why this pattern influences, for better or worse, the way we move our bodies, when upright, against gravity? Postural Restoration addresses these challenges, with multiple evidence-based research and real-life patient photos and videos and lots of hands-on lab sessions to guide the attendee through assessment and treatment.

A huge “thank you” goes out to our lab models, who gamely served as patient avatars to allow us to understand how to assess pelvis and thorax position and pathology, and how to treat what we see: Jason Adams, PT, Jason Creek, PT, Alexis Johnson, CPT, Mike Mentz, PT, River Patterson, ASCM, CPT, Kally Saffer, PT, Marcie Schwartz, PT, Lauren Shelton, PT, and James Werling, PT. Ashley, Lauren, and Katie: I speak for the class when I say we appreciated your wonderful hospitality this weekend. Thank you for inviting us in and providing a comfortable atmosphere and healthy snacks! Thank you to Katie’s Renaissance-man hubby, Josh Olinek, PT (fellow PRC class of 2011), who treated Lauren Cochran, Lisa, Craig, and I to a delicious home-cooked dinner Saturday evening!

Lastly, it was a pleasure presenting this course with fellow faculty Craig Depperschmidt, who had the class smiling with his “one-potato, two-potato…” and “pouty 5 year-old” analogy, among others. It was a delight for me to see you in action!

It was amazing to be back in Seattle to teach Pelvis Restoration.  Thank you Alpine Physical Therapy for hosting.  Eli, Jeremiah, and Murph your energy and passion for PRI is palpable.

The course participants were fabulous.  I thoroughly enjoyed the questions and intrigue into the science of PRI.  The take home message of having TWO sides of a pelvis—left and the right was a good reminder.  In addition,  the left and right hemi-pelvis need to be in a different position and alternate to gain optimal function was a huge take home message.

This video  of Reggie Bush that Jason Miller (faculty) shared with me over lunch to reinforce this need for tri-planar alternation of the pelvis was fabulous.

Thank you Jason for assisting and training with me in Seattle. Thank you course participants for your time and openness for me to “twist your brain” as we learn together how amazing the human body is.

In Missoula, Montana, a river runs through it, flowing with Postural Restoration science and application provided at Revo Training Center in the heart of town. Revo is located in a former Baptist church with stained glass windows and high ceilings inside an older brick building that makes presenting courses at this location, well, heavenly! The space has inspiring acoustics and a modern day functional gym setting that is perfect for teaching and learning.

Postural Respiration was the primary course this past weekend presented to a diverse group of fitness personnel, PT’s, a DC, an occupational therapist, and a massage therapist from Canada. For most of the attendees this was their first exposure to Postural Respiration. With so many fitness professional attendees the application to performance was emphasized as well as clinical application to the healthcare professionals and their practices.

Fellow faculty member, Jason Miller, DPT, PRC, was our lab assistant who provided a clinical dialog that added so much value and clinical experience to everyone. Since Postural Respiration integrates a big part of Myokinematic Restoration on day one, Jason was able to describe the meaning and application of AIC testing and non-manual techniques. The discussion between Jason and I included brief discussions of Pelvis Restoration and how the thoracic diaphragm and the pelvic diaphragm integrate with the form and function of both diaphragms. Jason teaches Myokinematic Restoration and will be teaching Pelvis Restoration. His presence and experience was greatly appreciated by all in attendance including this instructor.

Accessory muscle overuse is one of the main topics regarding patho-mechanical respiration especially as it applies to forward head posture and Superior T-4 Syndrome. A “nod” to Cervical Revolution was provided since respiration, in large part, determines balanced rotation and neutrality of the neck and management of the airway.

Student lab examples included one individual that became neutral in the pelvis and ribcage with only non-manual techniques, one individual that needed a ZOA manual technique to achieve neutrality and a third individual that needed several manual techniques including subclavius release but still could not achieve neutrality in terms of the ability to adduct both femurs. The clinical discussion of how to explore more detailed reasons opened the door to not only secondary and tertiary course application but the need for relaxed persistence and competence of the practitioner. That discussion between Jason and I could not have been more informative for clinical application for this group. A fourth student who played four years of college football as a lineman and strong PEC was provided a two person infraclavicular pump by Jason and myself and exhibited the ability to become bilaterally neutral with both femurs adducting as the final demonstration at 4:30 pm on Sunday afternoon! Nothing like a little PRI magic to finish a course and both instructors were happy for the result!

Thank you so much to the Revo crew including Callie, Grant, Kirsten, and Mariah for providing such a great venue. Huge thanks to my friend, fellow faculty member and colleague Jason Miller, DPT, PRC for his knowledge and experience. And, thank you to all attendees from different disciplines for traveling and sharing this PRI experience.

-Skip George

We had a great time in Lincoln last weekend. I always enjoy making the trek 500 miles east of my home town to visit with the friendly people at the Institute and in Nebraska. The whole course benefited from the 4 rock stars in attendance: Heidi, Elizabeth, Lauren, and Max.

Heidi was a perfect example of a classic left AIC patterned individual who benefited from left AF IR integration and supportive ligamentous muscle. She was a champion demonstrating challenging non-manual techniques for the camera and the folks at home online.

Lauren was an exceptional example of a bilateral AIC human trending towards swing phase of gait on both legs. We utilized a balloon to help achieve an exhalation state of the diaphragm to give her a chance to better access stance phase muscles on both sides. Something we can all likely benefit from!

Elizabeth came on day one of the course in a neutral pelvic position, thanks to seeing a PRI therapist the day before! She provided a fantastic example of what a common visit 2 PRI intervention may look like. She was neutral, so that means we can “start” our PRI intervention! We all learned how to use and interpret the Hruska Adduction Lift Test to guide our treatment progression after sufficiently inhibiting the AIC polyarticular chain of muscles.

Max also came into the course in a neutral pelvic position with strong tendencies to over-utilize his bilateral AIC muscles for forward locomotion and upright management of gravity. This provided the class an excellent opportunity to observe the importance of paraspinal and gastric inhibition towards the end of day 2.

Thank you all who joined online. It was special for me and an honor to be able to communicate the PRI science around the world. Thank you for your participation and questions as well!

I had the distinct pleasure of spending the weekend in Brunswick, Maine at Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Physical Therapy teaching Myokinematic Restoration. Much like the fall colors showing themselves on the changing leaves, we endeavored to change our perspective on the body’s musculoskeletal system. Developing an appreciation of inherent human asymmetrical patterns and their influence on achieving a “good posture” that allows the body to oscillate between two sides passing through the intersection of “neutral”.

The group did a great job engaging in discussions and asking questions throughout the weekend. Margo Goodman, DO, provided an insightful observation that her assessments of pelvic position may be skewed by the asymmetric body interfacing with the symmetric table. I had a great discussion with Kelsey Bisson, CSCS, and Beth Carlton, MS, NASM-CES, about how to integrate PRI activities in the strength and conditioning environment and the challenges faced in application. Emily Schmitt, DPT, asked great questions around the application of myokin material related to her work in pelvic health.

On Sunday the group joined me in celebrating the NY Yankees first playoff win of the season, a welcome surprise being this far north in Red Sox country. The day was spent dissecting the Hruska Adduction Lift Test, nailing down the technique, scoring, and interpretation of the results, then using those test results to guide our activity selection. There were a few “holy cow!” exclamations (no doubt a nod to the historic Yankee great and announcer Phil Rizzuto) as we worked through activities and had the opportunity to experience and practice the non-manual techniques.

A big thank you to Jeff Eckhouse, PRT, CSCS, LMT, for coming up from Portland to assist with labs and add his valuable insight and queries to the weekend. I am no longer surprised, but remain consistently impressed with the knowledgeable and kind folks I get to meet throughout the PRI community.

Thanks to Brian Bisson, DPT, the course went off smoothly and with everything we needed. Coastal Ortho was well represented with six members in attendance, thank you Patrick Nelson, PT, Amin Saab, PT, Lisa Burdick, PTA, Kelsey, and Beth for all the work it takes to host and for your interest and questions throughout the weekend.

Las Vegas was the location for Pro Sport Chiropractic’s annual conference Oct. 3-5, 2024, and was a combination of rehabilitation, sport performance and a 21^st century application of chiropractic manipulative skills and research.

I had the opportunity and privilege of representing PRI with the topic of “The Asymmetrical Diaphragm and It’s Role in Sport Performance”.  Respiration is a hot topic in rehabilitation and human  performance and understanding asymmetrical airflow pressure sense in a chest wall as it relates to lateralization and variability in human gait and forward locomotor movement, on and off the playing field, is critical for the sports performance professional.

This conference had so many knowledgeable speakers including on day one Christine Foss, D.C., M.D. who presented on injury recovery of the hip and kinetic chain management.  Her topic and experience was inspiring and educational.  Deed Harrison D.C., who has extensive peer reviewed research on posture relating to the cervical spine from a Chiropractic Biophysics perspective presented some of the best chiropractic evidence for restoring normal lordotic curves with corresponding improvement of movement and function.

Bill Parisi, BBA, CSCS, founder of Parisi Speed Schools,  had a superb presentation on Fascia Training in Athletic Performance.  I have seen Bill at Perform Better Summits, and his presentations are always inspiring and a must attend especially for anyone working with youth sports development specializing in speed and agility.  Bill, with his associate and top Strongman competitor Chad Coy, and I,  had an extensive discussion after hours on the role of the diaphragm and sport performance.

Tim Brown, D.C. presented on SPRT Soft Tissue Therapy in breakout sessions and is always a pleasure to listen and learn from.  He works with world class surfers and volleyball players and has extensive knowledge in soft tissue sports management.  Seth Forman, M.Ed., LMT, CSCS presented Clinical Challenges with athletic movement and exercise solutions, and it was a pleasure meeting Trent Nessler, PT, DPT as well discussing his product lines and working with elite MMA fighters.

Dan McClure, D.C. and his team including his son had an amazing  demonstration and lab for extremity adjusting with practical application and practice.   Kelly Lange, D.C., CCSP, ICSC had a breakout presentation focusing on lower extremity manipulation which included demonstration and lab and was simply fantastic.

I haven’t seen Sue Falsone, PT, DPT in several years and it was great to see her again in this venue.  What a wealth of knowledge and competence Sue brings to the subtleties of dry needling and all of the physiological benefits and biochemical responses of dry needling.

I first met Spencer Baron, D.C.,DACBSP an American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians Summit in San Diego in 2009 where I first made my entrance into being a speaker at a large professional venue.   This weekend he was the Master of Ceremonies at Pro Sport Chiropractic and kept the weekend on time and inspiring all with our purpose as chiropractic sport physicians.  It was great to reconnect with him this past weekend and share stories of life and professional topics.

I want to give a big thank you to John Pecora, D.C who invited me to present what I consider to be a vital topic called the diaphragm and respiration.  Thanks John very much for considering this topic and I hope to return to provide demonstration and lab during breakout sessions next year!

And last but not least, thank you Brenda Ellis for having me speak this year and all the staff at Pro Sport Chiropractic that made this happen.  I believe this was the 31^st year of this event and the level of professionalism made this conference a must event for our profession.

– Skip George

I recently had the opportunity to teach Cranial Resolution in Virginia Beach. Only one person in attendance had previously taken the course, and that person was Julie Blandin, PRC. Julie graciously offered incredible insight and experience regarding the material and techniques, especially during the final four hours of the course, which were exclusively devoted to clinical application. I cannot thank Julie enough for both hosting the course and for all that she brought to it.   

The other attendees, who were all Cranial newbies, seemed to grasp the concepts remarkably well. It was gratifying to witness more than a few ah – hah moments . . . and to field questions that clearly illustrated that people were starting to understand the difference between ANS tension and CNS tone, what neutrality really means, why we need to insure (and help guide) clients to be able to functionally cycle sensory afferentation, and grasp the reasoning behind the unique thoracic cranial techniques for which this course is known.  Since I am first and foremost a clinician, I loved making this brilliant, yet sometimes seemingly esoteric material, more user friendly.   

To me this course serves as a bridge, a bridge that connects neuro and physiological adaptations to predictable orthopedic compensatory patterning. It was therefore very appropriate to be able to look out from where I was staying on the shore just north of Virginia Beach and see the 17.6-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It was an awesome sight, especially at night when it was all lit up . . . just like those bridges in our brains.