The Power of NeuroKinetic Therapy®

NeuroKinetic Therapy (NKT) is the process of finding the root cause of muscle dysfunction or pain, and retraining the brain to recruit the muscles in the correct pattern.  We develop dysfunctional movement patterns for various reasons: repetitive stress, an acute injury, poor posture, lifestyle choices, and a host of other reasons.  NKT allows us to pinpoint the exact muscles that are not being recruited by the brain and through self-muscle release techniques and gentle strengthening exercises, gets the muscles to be recruited properly again.  

We started working with a 21 year old college football player who had been dealing with years of chronic low back pain, several hamstring tears, and has had to sit out last season because of a severe grade 2 hamstring tear that was diagnosed through an MRI.  The client also complained about his calves burning intensely during church when he had to stand still.  After working with him for over a month, we were able to make his back pain go away, take the strain off his hamstrings and calves, and help get him back to school to play football.  

We noticed during the first meeting that he had an excessive forward lean which was putting a lot of stress on his calves and hamstrings.   While doing the NKT Assessment, we found that his jaw was compensating for his right glute and his neck extensors were compensating for his lumbar erectors.  This caused his lumbar spine to become compressed and painful.   Once we were able to get his glute and lumbar erectors functioning properly, his back pain reduced to almost zero and the stress on his calves was relieved.  

Shown below are the before and after pictures showing the excessive forward lean on the left and on the right the forward lean is almost gone.  We also had him work on flexibility as his calves, quads, and thoracic spine was very tight.  Another thing that complimented his healing was changing from flat bench press to dumbbell bench press on a stability ball.  This change eliminated the severe force being placed on the lumbar spine during heavy bench pressing on a flat bench and replaced it with core stabilization by doing the dumbbell bench presses on the stability ball.

If you are interested in seeing what NKT can do for your chronic pain, contact one of our NKT practitioners: John Grainger, KatherineMacPherson, or Garret Wilson.  We will also be holding a lecture on NKT on March 8 at 6:30 PM at UVAC. Find out more.

The vertical center line in the pictures should be going right through his ear.  As you can see in the left (before) picture, he is leaning 4 inches forward, and in the right (after) picture he is leaning less than an inch forward.  In each picture he felt like he was standing up straight.  I would expect him to continue to improve his posture through his dedicated work on his NKT homework.

By John Grainger MS, CSCS, NKT-Level 1
Upper Valley Aquatic Center
Fitness and Personal Training Director

The Art of Surviving a Vermont Winter

We finally seem to be sinking into the winter weather that some of us had been waiting for and some of us had been dreading.  Winter in Vermont isn’t the easiest season, with driveways flooded with snow, below zero temperatures, short days… but it’s also one of the best seasons we have to offer.   Just ask the tourists who come here for skiing and snowboarding!

We live in a dark section of the country during these winter months.  Maybe it doesn’t happen to you, but many people get that doldrums feeling during the gloomy months with symptoms including irritability, apathy and fatigue among others.  The most common belief is that this is caused by the short days and colder weather.  But don’t worry, there is a solution on the horizon!  I have a feeling you already know what it is…

Get Outside!

 If you’re anything like me, you may love having the snow around, but going outside and doing anything in the cold? It’s going to take some convincing, plus a promise of hot chocolate when you let me come back inside.  But there is something to be said for going outside during the winter.

                         Get More Exercise!           

Two of the most effective cures for the winter blues is getting more sunlight and exercise.  Like I said, the lack of sunlight and the cold can be demoralizing but getting outside kills two birds with one stone!  If you read my blog in October, you know that I’m a fan of exercising outside of the gym, especially in the winter. 

The first step is finding your activity.  My personal favorite is downhill skiing because I can pretend that I’m flying but that’s not for everyone.  If you’re a runner, maybe try cross country skiing or snowshoeing.  If you’re a graceful or coordinated person, try ice skating or outdoor hockey.  Make it a family activity by going sledding or building a snowman, appropriate for all ages (and it’s a great way to wear your kids out). 

By reveling in the outdoors, we get our blood moving which helps with the negative symptoms.  Just enjoying the sun by taking a walk or finding a cozy snowbank to hang out on and feeling the rays on your face can help lift up your mood.   So please get outside this winter, bundle up and journey out into the cold to see what adventures you can have!

By Alyssa Bingham

Communications Intern, UVAC