Have you ever been in an accident or strained your back by lifting something heavy? Or maybe it was something else that put your body through severe physical trauma. If you have, you might have been told to get neuromuscular physical therapy to get your body back to normal again. You were probably told that this therapy could help relieve the pains, aches and overall weakness in the body that you have been feeling.
Well today, we are going to tell you a little bit about neuromuscular physical therapy in the hope of giving you an option for treatment of body trauma, in case you need it.
What Is Neuromuscular Physical Therapy?
Neuromuscular therapy is also known as NMT. The therapy applies techniques of massage, stretching and exercise to help relieve muscular pain and improve the overall health of the muscular skeleton. It does this by focusing not only on the tendons, ligaments and muscles but going beyond. It also focuses on the central nervous system, hence its name.
Through neuromuscular physical therapy, various conditions such as Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Sciatica and other traumas can be treated. These conditions are known to cause severe and chronic pain. If you are suffering from such pain, leading a normal is almost always impossible.
Neuromuscular physical therapy techniques can help. Not only will they reduce the pain you feel, they may even resolve the problem. Primarily, it is the healing/repairing of the body muscles that cause a person to fell pain. Your neuromuscular therapist should be able to advise you just what your body needs.
What Are The Different Neuromuscular Therapy Techniques?
1. Correcting Posture
Most of us spend significant amounts of time working in front of a desktop or laptop. One of the most common causes of back and neck pain is bad posture. Sitting incorrectly in front of a computer can result in chronic pain over time.
Tips:
- Do not hunch over a laptop
- Raise the laptop so that the screen is at eye level
- The keyboard should be at elbow height
- Avoid slouching while walking or sitting
For most, simply changing or paying attention to how you hold yourself up will not be enough to get rid of the pain. You might need professional help. One way that a therapist might help correct your posture is using a ‘figure 8’. In this technique, the figure 8 bandage is put horizontally on your back. You will be asked to put each arm through one of the holes of the figure 8 in such a way that the ‘X’ of the eight rests at the middle of your back. This is to help to keep your shoulders straight and avoid slouching.
Posture alignment therapy is also a great way to improve posture.
2. Stretching
Stretching frequently also helps you avoid getting tight muscles. It is healthy to take up stretching in normal routine as well. Consider taking up yoga. Better yet, take five minutes or even two minutes every hour or so stretch. Stretching helps to relax the muscles and relieve tension, avoiding muscle tightening that results in back and neck pain.
3. Neuromuscular massage
Neuromuscular massage not only deals with ligaments, muscles, soft tissues and deep tissues as a regular massage. It also works on the nervous system to help treat chronic pain patterns. Practitioners who have had neuromuscular therapy training are certified and will have ‘CNMT’ (Certified Neuromuscular Therapist) following their name. A regular massage therapist will have “CMT” following their name. Make sure that your therapist know NMT before engaging his services.
Certified CNMTs have to pass a test and are trained to apply pressure to deep tissues and are aware of how each massage method affects the nerves. If you by chance decide to have an uncertified CNMT, and they apply the same techniques incorrectly, things can go bad. They might actually end up causing more pain.
4. Alternative Techniques
There are other alternative medicine therapies that may be used by your therapist. These alternative techniques may also help you treat skeletal muscle problems. One such alternative method which is quite common and a favorite of therapists is the Myofascial release therapy or MFR therapy.
Myofascial release therapy focuses on improving blood circulation. The goal is to relax your tightened muscles. Tight Muscles put pressure on the veins of the body, constricting blood flow and resulting in pain. Myofascial release therapy involves gently applying pressure to your connective tissues in order to relax them.
5. Neuromuscular exercises
Certain neuromuscular physical therapy exercises are recommended. These include balancing exercises, pelvic tilts and back strengthening exercises. Don’t try any of these exercises by yourself and let your therapist make the call for you. It is essential that you have a trained professional watching over you so that you do the exercises correctly.
Exercising, doing yoga or simple stretches will help keep the muscles in your body loose and strong. Don’t overstress your muscles or ignore tightness in them. If you continue to ignore the tightness it could eventually lead to pain. Also, be mindful of the weight of things that you pick up. Some are just heavier than they look.
Neuromuscular therapy is an excellent way to help relieve muscular pain and strengthen muscles. This is because neuromuscular physical therapy not only focuses on the tissue but also aims to bring balance back to the central nervous system of your body. This can help reduce and eliminate chronic pain completely.
