When I started doing bodywork it didn’t take long before I began to realize that there was a significant correlation between how my clients sit, stand, and move and their complaints. Early in my practice, educating clients on stance and gait ergonomics became part of my services. However, because my clients lead busy lives, embodying this...
Author - Brian
Although I have always maintained some form of conceptual understanding of stance and gait dynamics going back to my original training over 40 years ago, this understanding did not engender an experience of integration and holism in my experience of moving around in my body. Some of the information I encountered was contradictory, leaving an...
Urban children grow up in engineered surroundings established on a constrained mathematical framework. This framework is limited by the pliability of the materials used, the energy budget, regulations, and other factors. It is now widely accepted that growing up within these constraints limits neuromotor development, compromising adaptive...
The term: Structure/Function is a core “thinking tool” of physiology and is extensively relied upon in this blog. An example is our “Startle Reflex”: during activation, the structure freezes providing the function of immobility, making it more difficult to isolate us from the surroundings. Using this tool offers immediate clarity in examining...
Exaptation is a fascinating concept in evolutionary biology, referring to the process by which a trait originally developed for one purpose is co-opted for a new use. The term was introduced by paleontologists Stephen Jay Gould and Elizabeth Vrba in 1982 to address certain aspects of evolutionary change that seemed to defy the straightforward...
Throughout most of the 20th century, Osteopaths and their progeny (Chiropractors, Applied Kinesiologists, etc.) exerted significant effort placing a moat around their knowledge, permitting entry only to the initiated. The last 3rd of that century witnessed the beginning of “jailbreaking” these moats. In the myofascial arena, Travell...
A design constraint of animals is that they are inherently unstable in the direction they want to move in, and stable in all other vectors. Overcoming stability in the direction they want to go instigates movement, and having expended energy adequate to exceed the inertia of their mass they only need to contribute enough additional energy to...
A paper cross-linking evolution, morphology, and Manual Therapy
Article discussing Masgutova Neuromotor Reflex Integration applied in a school setting.
Highlights the biomechanical synergy between arm and leg movements in gait, focusing on cross-lateral integration for stability and movement efficiency, and suggests exercises to enhance this natural coordination.