Reduce Muscle Spasticity in the Neck,
Shoulders and Back
In recent decades, a lot of progress has been made by several chiropractic physicians in the understanding of the non-local causes of muscle spasm. Two outstanding practitioners (who are researchers and teachers as well), Dr. George Goodheart and Dr. M. T. Morter, have especially contributed in understanding how to treat muscle spasm at a more fundamental level so the spasm is less likely to recur.
Dr. George Goodheart is the founder of Applied Kinesiology (A.K.), a rational and complex discipline which is based on evaluation of muscle strength (weakness or over-stimulation/spasm) as a tool to understand the functioning of the many complex pathways in the body which when out of balance are involved with interference of innate healing and the normal healthy state. One of his fundamentally important contributions was the bringing of awareness that muscles are often weak due to factors that do not relate to the muscle itself or the nerve supplying the muscle. For example, he found that strength of muscles can be influenced by the state of the acupuncture system, by the state of lymphatic circulation or congestion around major organs, by nutritional status, by balance of the jaw and skull bones, and more. It is sufficiently complicated that many of even the simplest concepts have to be applied by health professionals with a considerable training in applied kinesiology. For this short paper, the critical point to understand from applied kinesiology is that a high percentage of the time muscle spasm occurs when the muscle directly opposing the spastic muscle is WEAK. The weakness causes the opposing muscle to tighten and eventually spasm.
Dr. M. T. Morter’s work, called Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique (B.E.S.T.) began in the mid seventies – about ten years later than Dr. Goodheart;s first discoveries. Dr. Morter’s work is based upon what might be called a more primordial concept, which is that all structure and function of the body are fundamentally controlled by bioelectric/magnetic fields. B.E.S.T. postulates and empirically proves that by treating the human being as a charged electrical body, much physiology can be positively influenced and normalized. It is a procedure to balance muscles and the circulation going to them, and hence to diminish spasticity. Following is a simplified form of this procedure.
1) With the middle fingers from the right and left hands, palpate one inch below the base of the skull.
2) Note the side of the neck which feels most boggy and tender and ask the person you’re working on which side they feel is most tender. This is the side you will be working on to reduce spasticity and balance muscles. Let us say for this example that it is the right side of the neck under the occiput (base of the skull.).
3) The left index finger and the right middle finger will be used for treatment.
4) Palpate the ropiness and tautness of the muscles along the side of the spine. Note the areas that seem most stiff and the degree of their stiffness.
5) Place either one of the above-mentioned fingers on the sore neck areas, and with the other hand go first to the outside of the leg (one to two inches above the knee). If that is not sore, move to the buttocks area and try to find the most sore area there. Have the person being treated take a breath in and hold as long as they can (should be able to do this for 30 seconds) and hold these contacts until the pulses synchronize. This will be explained.
6) Move the hand at the base of the skull to a new area once this one has relaxed. This area will normally be on the trapezius muscle. The other hand similarly moves toward the center of the back (up from the buttocks). The upper and lower hands move toward each other (both on the same side of the spine) until one is just a bit above the twelfth rib and the other hand below that.
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