News

Lisa Bartels, DPT, PRC has finished her eight part series on “The New Off-Season – Balanced Regeneration”.  Her seventh installment discussed weekly programs and the eighth and final installment featured an overview of the entire program.  You can click on the last two articles below:

Series # 7 – Weekly Programs
Series #8 – A Final Synopsis

We are thrilled to be teaming up for the first time with Athletes’ Performance! Jen Poulin is scheduled to present Myokinematic Restoration on July 16-17 at the facility in Phoenix.

Athletes’ Performance is known as the preferred and premiere place for elite athletes to train, as well as a leader in applied research and innovation to advance human performance. Athletes’ Performance offers programs and services for professional, amateur, tactical, collegiate, high school and youth athletes, business executives, and industry professionals. Founded in 1999 by Mark Verstegen as a refuge for professional and elite athletes, Athletes’ Performance provides training, nutrition, and physical therapy programs seamlessly integrated under one roof by teams of specialists. From the first facility built in Tempe, Arizona, Athletes’ Performance has grown to operate out of four world-class facilities in Phoenix, Arizona; Carson, California; Gulf Breeze, Florida; and Frisco, Texas; as well as supporting various professional teams domestically and internationally.

Click HERE to register for this course!

Convenient lodging accommodations are available through the Residence Inn – Marriott. Click HERE for rates and details.

Features include:
– Complimentary transportation to and from Athletes’ Performance facility
– Complimentary hot breakfast daily
– Every room is a full suite – including separate full-sized kitchen, dining, working and sleeping areas
– Complimentary wired/wireless highspeed internet connection throughout the hotel
– Nearby Spa & Golf discounts
– Complimentary shuttle service within a 2 mile radius to dining, shopping and entertainment

Course requirements for Postural Restoration Certification (PRC) have recently been revised. The revision is due to addition of both Pelvic Floor Restoration and Impingement & Instability since the introduction of PRC in 2004. The analytical and clinical examination for PRC remains unchanged.

Required Courses: (Information from the following courses will be tested during the analytical and clinical examination.)
Myokinematic Restoration
Postural Respiration
Advanced Integration

In addition, choose one of the following courses: (Information from the following courses will not be tested, however, you must attend at least one of the course below to be eligible to apply.)
Cervical-Cranio-Mandibular Restoration
Pelvis Restoration
Impingement & Instability

Applications are due September 15, 2011. Please contact me if you have any questions.

A reminder to those attending our upcoming Interdisciplinary Integration course – please make your hotel reservations as soon as possible. The hotel blocks set aside for course attendees will soon be released.

Comfort Suites by Choice Hotels
331 N Cotner Blvd, Lincoln, NE 68505
Phone 402-325-8800
http://www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-lincoln-nebraska-NE118
Special rate of $69 per night is available to our course attendees.
To reserve a room please request the group block under “Postural Restoration Institute”. Features include: brand new hotel just 3 blocks from course, shuttle transportation (please call Emily Gifford to make arrangements at least 1 week in advance), continental breakfast, indoor heated pool and fitness center, and business center.

Chase Suite Hotel by Woodfin
200 South 68th Place, Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone (402) 483-4900 or toll free (888) 433-6183
http://www.woodfinsuitehotels.com/lincoln/
Special rate of $79 per night is available to course attendees.
To reserve a room in our block, please ask for Roxanne in the Sales Department. Features include: complimentary city wide van transportation (including transportation to and from course and airport – upon request) and complimentary hot breakfast buffet.

New Victorian Inn & Suites
50th & O Street, Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone (402) 464-4400
http://www.newvictorianinn.com
Special rate of $59.99 per night is available to course attendees.
To reserve a room in our block, please mention the Postural Restoration Institute. Features include: shuttle transportation, pool/hot tub/exercise room, business center, free deluxe breakfast.

Ron Hruska has limited his teaching schedule over the past couple of years but remains the only instructor for Cervical-Cranio-Mandibular Restoration. His passion for cranio-mandibular dynamics and dysfunctional management date back to his first years of practice as a physical therapist and even his initial and temporary decision to enter dental school. Attending this course offers an opportunity to learn from Ron, the founder of PRI, on a personal level and interact within a small group atmosphere. Because this course requires prior attendance of Postural Respiration and is attended by those with advanced knowledge of Postural Restoration principles, the setting is generally an intimate atmosphere and a great deal of time is spent addressing the specific questions or concerns of the group. This past weekend was a prime example of such a course. With 15 attendees in the northern suburb of Chicago, Ron felt that each attendee advanced their skills tremendously and gained answers to general PRI related questions of a personal agenda.

Comments from course evaluations:
Lots of time for Ron to help each participant. Awesome course as always!!
Speaker was very thoughtful with the audience. Great course. Amazing! Thank you!
This course was the best with lab considerations of any course I’ve taken. Excellent course.

Remaining 2011 Cervical courses:
May 21-22 Chevy Chase, MD
June 11-12 Bismarck, ND
October 1-2 Loveland, CO
November 12-13 Lincoln, NE

Over the last year, we have been working hard on the PRI Library.  We are happy to say that we are getting closer to completing this project!  The books have all been categorized and we are now working on articles.  Once we have completed this project, the PRI Library will be available for any clinician wishing to do research on PRI or anyone wanting to prepare for Postural Restoration Certification. 

If you know of an article or a book that you feel belongs in the PRI library, please email us!

A while back we received a great question from Joyce Wasserman, PT, PRC on Tinnitus.  Read her question and Ron Hruska’s response…

“I am looking for references that link tinnitus to suboptimal dental occlusion or absence of centric occlusion. I’d appreciate any leads, names of journals or websites, that I should be looking at. Has any of the PRC therapists been able to help people with tinnitus, alone or in collaboration with a dentist?”

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, can be a very confusing and often poorly understood symptom.  Tinnitus and dizziness are the two most frequently asked about symptoms, both here in the clinic and through the internet.  From the reading that I have done, it is thought to occur when the brain areas involved in hearing spontaneously increase their activity.  Therefore, it is associated with virtually all disorders of the auditory system.  It is not limited to ringing of the ears, but may be perceived as whistling, buzzing, humming, hissing, roaring, chirping or other related sounds. 

There appears to be three forms of tinnitus.  The last is more of an osteopathic thought process approach.  Nonetheless, I’d like to cover all three briefly in this response to a question received by a PRC therapist about the relationship between tinnitus and dental occlusion.  The first most common form of tinnitus according to James B. Snow Jr., a physician at the University of Pennsylvania, and former director of the National Institute on Deafness and other communication disorders, arises from damage to the inner ear, or cochlea, caused by exposure to high volumes of sound.  Dr. Snow also states that drugs such as aspirin, quinine and aminoglycoside antibiotics, cancer chemotherapeutics and other ototoxic agents, and infections and head injuries.  He goes on to state that if the inner ear is damaged, input decreases from the cochlea to the auditory centers of the brainstem, such as the dorso cochlear nucleus.  This input loss may lead to increased spontaneous activity in the nucleus neurons as a result of inhibition that has spontaneously been removed. 

The second most common form or theory of tinnitus is autonomic nervous system stimulation from increased neuromuscular tension.  Retraining therapy, a process that can take a long time, often two years or more, can help reduce this tension from the autonomic nervous system.  This process is called habituation of reaction.  Tinnitus then becomes quieter for longer periods of time and eventually or hopefully will disappear or become a natural part of the background noise or “sound of silence”.  This is sometimes referred to as habituation of perception.  This won’t happen if or while the tinnitus is still classified by the person experiencing it as a threat, negative experience, an undiagnosed symptom, or while the individual is under a lot of emotional stress.  Many tinnitus patients have hyperacousis or high degrees of sensitivity to external noise and therefore they seek and search for quiet environments to work in.  In this respect, according to information from http://www.tinnitus.org, they are their own worst enemy.  Supposedly, if strong beliefs about the threatening nature of tinnitus are maintained, the survival style or condition response mechanisms in the subconscious brain insure that it is continuously monitored and therefore the condition itself will not improve.  Imaging studies confirm increased neural activity in the auditory cortices of those experiencing tinnitus.  Their brains also show increased activity in the limbic structures associated with emotional processing.  Other symptoms that sometimes appear alongside tinnitus, such as emotional distress, depression, dizziness, and insomnia, may have a common basis in some limbic structure such as a nucleus accumbens. 

In addition to the two most common forms of Tinnitus, that is damage to the inner ear and increased tension from the autonomic nervous system stimulation, I find that there is a very strong relationship between tinnitus and those who are experiencing temporal bone disorganization or temporalis overuse.  Clenchers, grinders, and trismus oriented individuals often experience tinnitus associated with hyperactivity of musculature that is attached directly to the temporal bone which houses the inner ear.  There does not appear to be a relationship between tinnitus and externally or internally rotated temporal bones at this time according to the literature, however, it does stand to reason that this third reason for tinnitus is strongly related to the position and orientation of a muscle called the tensor tympani muscle that inserts on the manubrium of the malleus bone and originates or attaches directly to the sphenoid bone and the temporal bone.  It lies in our auditory tube and its main action is to tense the tympanic membrane along with the stapedius muscle of the ear.  It also contains cerebellar input related to the ability to adapt to vision as well as hearing.  Since this muscle makes the tympanic membrane taught if it is put in a position where it is lengthened it can also influence its own innervation by the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve.  It can have a direct impact on the external surface of the tympanic membrane. 

The external surface of the tympanic membrane is innervated by the oriculo temporal branch of the mandibular nerve and the oricular branch of the vagus nerve.  The internal surface of the membrane is supplied by the tympanic branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve.  Temporal and sphenoid orientation, therefore, can have a both direct and indirect impact on the autonomic nervous system, trigeminal innervation, and vagal activity.  Clinically, keeping the temporal innominates aligned, stable, and functioning in a reciprocal manner with respiration and mandibular activity is important to keep the tympanic membrane, tympanic cavity, and septum of the auditory muscular canal aligned.  Through manual or non-manual techniques using PRI principles and philosophy, I have been able to change the frequency and intensity of this irritant.  Many of these same patients also need to be evaluated by a dentist with a strong background in TMD and occlusion and it’s always helpful to work with a dentist who has a cranial-gnathic orthopedic mind.  Being familiar with the different lesions of the cranium that can occur with malocclusion is always helpful in restoring proper cranial symmetry with a bite. 

In addition to this I’ve also had success in working with optometrists, specifically COVD trained optometrists, who presently understands the autonomic nervous systems influence on accommodation and tension across the cranium as a result of vestibular constraint secondary to visual and spatial lack of integration.  Hopefully, this overview will help anyone working with a patient experiencing tinnitus.  Obviously, we’re excited that the physical and physiological implications associated with tinnitus, can be corrected or reduced using methodology that diminishes the asymmetrical issues at the temporal region as well as the hypersensitivity associated with torque placed on the temporal bone itself. 

Ron Hruska and Dr. Wise are diligently working on the Interdisciplinary Integration course this morning! As a result, I now have in hand, four pre-reading recommendations for your weekend enjoyment:)

Astigmatism…with a Twist by Steve Gallop, OD
Vision Development by Heidi Wise, OD
Visual Conditions of Symphony Musicians by Paul Harris, OD
Reflexes, Learning and Behavior by Sally Goddard

We are thrilled that so many of you are planning to attend the upcoming Annual Interdisciplinary Integration course! The course is filling up quickly. With just 4 seats remaining, I encourage you to register soon to ensure your seat at the course. You won’t want to miss this opportunity!

“The three days will offer anyone with an interest in vision or the vestibular systems an opportunity to learn how basic cranial, cervical and thoracic mechanics can be influenced not by what we see, but by where we have to put ourselves to see it.”

“It’s been the best money I’ve ever spent on continuing education.”

CLICK HERE to read “What I learned in 2010” by Eric Cressey, CSCS.  Eric’s discussion of asymmetry learned from attending both Myokinematic Restoration and Postural Respiration has been featured by TNATION. Eric is president and co-founder of Cressey Performance near Boston, MA.  A highly sought-after coach for healthy and injured athletes alike, Eric has helped athletes at all levels – from youth sports to the professional and Olympic ranks – achieve their highest levels of performance in a variety of sports.  Behind Eric’s expertise, Cressey Performance has rapidly established itself as a go-to high performance facility among Boston athletes – and those that come from across the country and abroad to experience CP’s cutting-edge methods.  Eric is perhaps best known for his extensive work with baseball players, with more than four dozen professional players traveling to Massachusetts to train with him each off-season.

An accomplished author, Cressey has authored over 200 published articles in all.  Eric has published five books and co-created four DVD sets that have been sold in over 50 countries around the world.  Eric has been an invited guest speaker in five countries and more than one dozen U.S. states. His Master’s thesis, “The effects of 10 weeks of lower-body unstable surface training on markers of athletic performance,” was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, and Cressey was a co-author for the International Youth Conditioning Association’s High School Strength and Conditioning Certification.

Eric’s writing and his work with athletes have been featured in such local and national publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, ESPN, T-Muscle, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Baseball America, The Worcester Telegram, Perform Better, Oxygen, Experience Life, Triathlete Magazine, Collegiate Baseball, Active.com, The Metrowest Daily News, Parents and Kids, and EliteFTS.

Last weekend, more than 20 Postural Restoration Certified (PRC) Therapists gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah for the 3rd National PRC Conference! The conference was deemed a great success and included the following presentations:

Jen Poulin – Importance of the Glute Med
Lori Thomsen – Interdisciplinary Integration and Vision Update; Pelvic Floor Dysfunction & New PRI Tests
Mike Cantrell – Postural Respiration Updates and Algorithms
James Anderson – Gait: Inhibition or Delay
Gibbie Duval, Jacob Wurth and J.R. Epley – Keynote Speakers on PRI in Strength & Conditioning

It was a great time of networking and sharing our passion for PRI!

Ron Hruska and I sat down today with Jason Masek who is the chair of our recently formed Recognition Committee. This Committee was created last year to review and recommend processes for Certified Athletic Trainers and Strength and Conditioning Coaches to achieve recognition for their training in Postural Restoration. The Committee will be conferencing again soon to discuss many pending details. In the meantime, we are sharing with you the course recommendations that have been reviewed and accepted by PRI. 

Course Requirements:
Myokinematic Restoration
Postural Respiration
Impingement & Instability
Advanced Integration will be recommended, however, not required.