Yes Carl, I will recycle this picture forever

Is you cervical or TMD patient benefiting from your OA distractions and/or subcranial shear distractions, but the same technique performed via HEP flares them up?

I've seen a lot of changes in the way that practice is done and what is recommended in 16 years. I have gone through many transitions as well. Here are 5 things I have mostly given up and really streamlined my evaluation and treatments.

MDT is often not portrayed correctly and many students and clinicians often report rows of tables in their clinic with everyone doing prone press ups or some form of extension.

Since it's going to be a long weekend with a holiday on Monday here in the states, I thought I would repost something I wrote last year regarding the Rules to the Reset.

I once heard something about indications for spinal manipulation. Who would manipulate? Anyone you would mobilize.

Do your patients think you have "magic hands?" Do you think you do? I can tell you one thing, no one has magic hands.

When regular blog readers attend my courses, they are still surprised at the amount of force I use with IASTM. They are also surprised that I rarely if ever use joint mobilizations.

I had a new blog reader of just 1 month fly all the way down from Southern California for 3 mentoring sessions this week. Here are 5 of his questions along with my answers.

image courtesy of http://www.arid.ws/orofacial-pain--sleep-apnea/tmd.html

If you're not marketing to dentists, ENTs, neurologists, etc for TMD, you are missing out on a population that needs our expertise! Remember, even a non painful click is still dysfunctional and often easily corrected before there is threat perception by the CNS.

Whether or not you have experience with MDT or not, even many CertMDTs do not get to the recovery of function phase, or what I call Stabilize (of Eval, Reset, and Stabilize).

Thanks to Mountain River Physical Therapy for sending me a patient all the way from Asheville, NC! Well, actually, he lives in Buffalo NY part time and NC, part time, but you get the idea.

image courtesy of namemypain.com

I evaluated a marathoner today with chronic left hip pain, back and hip stiffness bilaterally, and knee aching. She has been unable to run since March, when onset occurred.

Today's Quick Links come from Fitness Pain Free, Aaron Swanson, The Student Physical Therapist, and Eat, Run, Rehabilitate.

One of the reasons why I passively repeatedly load a patient into directional preference is because I want them to feel and see what the limits of their range are.

Many of my frequent readers know I am heavily into Pain Science Education. I often describe to patients that their movement/pain are related and when their nervous system is under threat, it "locks down" an area.

This edition of Thursday Thoughts comes from a conversation with a well educated young clinician, Dr. Kyle Balzer. Kyle has probably taken more con-ed when he was a student a few years ago than most clinicians will in their entire career. All he needs is experience (like I did as a young buck way back when).

One of the biggest things I took away from MDT training, and thus remains integral to The Eclectic Approach, is patient compliance. And no, I don't see a negative connotation to the word "compliance" and switching it to "adherance" or whatever, sheesh....

One of the reasons why I recommend MDT so much is that it enables you to treat the patient without touching them, plus educates them on self assessment and treatment. Everything they need to get better and stay better.

Today's Q&A comes from Chris Fox, from the we graduated, but are still students and always learning thestudentphysicaltherapist.com

If you've ever attended an Eclectic Approach course, you'll know one of my "E" points is being Evidence Lead, and not Evidenced Based.