1
— Eugène Ionesco, Découvertes (1970)
This page is largely dedicated to education
All the topics listed on this page either come from questions I have been frequently asked in-person or are things I think deserve more awareness within society
Things like "fascia" and "muscle memory," in particular, are being shown to be huge contributors to chronic pain and hypertension. What causes those to become problematic? Well, things like "trigger points" and "scar tissue," for one...
...So now you're wondering, what can I do about it? You know you've heard words like "NMT" and "sports massage" but just end up asking yourself "...what is NMT? What even is a sports massage?!"
This page is for that time you asked "What is..." when you were simply trying to learn about your own body
If applicable I will always try to link to relevant research
*This page is still under construction and will regularly be updated as new information comes out, science develops...or simply a new "what's" comes to mind...
Neuromuscular therapy (NMT) is a focused approach to clinical massage that works with the relationship between the brain (ie, the nervous system) and your muscles. Muscles do not inherently determine how "tight" they are. This "tightness" is largely a result of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and sensory receptors telling it to be that way in response to your daily life, strength imbalances, level of movement, stress, and injury, among other factors. The muscle then listens to the brain and adopts these changes, developing a "muscle memory."
See below if you want the nitty gritty.
NMT is essentially a series of techniques designed to use the nervous system (neuro) to change nerve perception within a muscle (muscular), to help "relax" it up (therapy). In simple terms, this is almost like “tricking” the brain into telling a muscle to relax, also known as "re-training" the muscle.
*It's important to note: NMT works, but it is not a magic fix. It is merely one method us humans can use to help our body move and function better, which should then be reinforced through movement and pattern changes.
Your muscles are innervated with MILLIONS of these "branches" that stem from the spinal cord - which of course stems from the brain...thus, your nervous system! Just like your brain, nerves have memories. Their favorite thing to remember is their "resting position," which is the default state that they remain in when totally relaxed. Now picture a rubber band. Muscles can also be either "lengthened" (imagine stretching a rubber band) or "shortened" (imagine pushing it in). Which one depends on what their most common "resting position" is. Imagine sitting and standing from a chair. When you stand up, you are lengthening your hamstrings - when you sit back down, you are shortening them. So, what do you think happens to people who are always sitting? Their hamstrings adopt a shortened length as their resting position. So now what happens when you stand up? Your shortened hamstrings get pulled beyond their comfort zone, which could mean an increased chance of injury ("pulling" your hamstring), or pulling on your hip bone, thus putting pressure on your low back, thus causing low back pain... And THAT is where NMT comes in. NMT is all about using the nervous system against itself to "reset" that muscle memory, bringing lengthened/shortened muscles to a more natural resting position. Make sense??
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*
*Under Construction*