Treatment
A Structural Elements treatment consists of several components. In a visit a patient should expect:
Patient History
We start by taking a detailed history of past medical complications, injuries and surgeries, as they relate to a patients current goals and complaints. This history often includes a significant exploration into how the body has been used, formed compensations and developed habits. By understanding how the body has responded to past interventions, we can better differentiate a new approach.
Gait Analysis
It is crucial to understand how the body moves through space in relation to injury and performance. To better analyze this movement, high speed cameras are used to slow down motion up to 1000 fps. By using high speed motion analysis, information about abnormal stressors and gait inefficiency is revealed.
Standing Postural Assessment
Standing postural assessment is where the bony landmarks are used to triangulate joint position in relation to the contralateral side. Measurements are taken to determine the source of biomechanical compromise and understand the interplay of ascending and descending forces. Often rotations of the foot and ankle will effect the position of the lower leg, sometimes causing imbalances of the pelvis. If the Pelvis is other than neutral, the spine will not be straight.
Assessment of Patterned Adhesions
Starting with the patient prone, a (se) provider will therapeutically navigate each region of the body looking for abnormal tissue formation. Once the (se) provider locates abnormal tissue in any one region of the body he/ she will be able to locate similar adhesions in all other regions of the respective side of the body. This pattern is refered to as the “Number Pattern”, as the body has been mapped according to a numerical grid based on the alternating presence of mobile and stable joints. This process once mastered can be preformed in a few minutes.
Acupuncture/ Dry Needle Treatment of the Pattern
Thin, painless, single-use sterile acupuncture needles will be inserted at the site of focal adhesions in each of the corresponding regions. It is the mechanical stimulation of these points, known as tissue winding, that will cause the cells of the connective tissue to release. This process is more effective than manual therapy alone as the process does not cause any micro-tearing. The chemical response from the cell is secondary to the mechanical stimulus from the tissue winding around the needle, a process called mechanotransduction.
Manual Therapy to Correct Structural Imbalances
The manual portion of a (se) treatment is also a key factor. After the adhesions have been softened and reduced by the acupuncture, the body is very receptive to corrections to the alignment. Manual Therapy, when done correctly, can realign the collagen from the adhesion with the healthy muscle fibers of the surrounding structures. It is also the case, that gentle directional corrections can help restore the pelvis to neutral and give proper segmental alignment of the spine.
Strengthening and Lengthening Exercise
For the body to experience lasting results from an (se) treatment, proper muscular balance must be achieved on all sides of the major joints. A common example is tension felt at the top of the shoulder/ base of the neck. Most people have a “knot” at this spot. In order to prevent this “knot” from reforming after the treatment, a patient must work to “lengthen” muscles in the front and inferior aspects of the shoulder and “strengthen” muscles in the posterior aspect. Through finding better muscular balance, global posture is properly maintained through all activities. This is especially important for good running form.
Form Coaching
Natural Running Form is simply the way that the body runs naturally when improper footwear and unnatural surfaces are not factors. The different between natural running form and unnatural running form is the foot placement. When running naturally, runners maintain a short stride length with high cadence, they land on the midfoot and not the heal, and avoid the need to push off through taking advantage of gravity. If you were to start running in place, then change only the amount of forward lean, you would now be running naturally. Most conventional running shoes have a significant elevation under the heal, making it difficult to find the midfoot, even with good form. (se) endorses Newton Running Shoes as being the best shoe on the market to allow the body to run naturally over unnatural surfaces.