Why do patients seek the services of a Physical Therapist? For many people, PAIN that is affecting their every-day life is the reason they get help. But what happens for patients when the pain becomes chronic, or when traditional interventions don’t seem to help, or when the pain doesn’t seem to fit a specific category? What are other types of treatment available? Over the past 20 years, Dr. Michael Uriarte, DC, has developed the Myokinesthetic (MYK) System and has been teaching it to therapists across the nation. In many instances, this MYK System has provided patients with pain relief and improved function.
What is the MYK System? According to the July 2015, article in the International Journal of Athletic Therapy and Training, “The MYK System is a unique paradigm because the purpose is to evaluate and treat posture imbalances as a method to restore allostasis. The theoretical underpinnings of the paradigm are that standing, static posture underlies all movement patterns; therefore, if posture is not symmetrical, the movement will be dysfunctional.” That concept means, that if someone has changes in their posture where one side is not similar to the other, those changes will cause the person to move in ways that are dysfunctional and can cause pain.
The therapist working within the MYK system begins with a detailed analysis of a person’s standing posture to determine compensations within the nervous system. From these posture compensations, in combination with the patient’s pain, symptoms, and muscle weakness, the therapist can determine which main nerve root level is affected and contributing to the patient’s pain. The nerve root is the part of the nervous system that branches directly from the spinal cord, going out to the body. The nerve carries both sensory information (what we feel) and movement information (how we move). Therefore, once the specific nerve root level is determined, the therapist will treat the sensory and movement portions of all the muscles along that nerve root.
I explain to the patients I am treating, that MYK is like a “moving massage” – I will be stimulating with pressure or touch, the specific muscles that belong to the nerve root, as well as providing movement or muscle contraction, for both sides of the body. Doing treatment in this way allows the therapist to clear impingement in the nervous system along a single nerve pathway, resulting in improved posture, improved muscle function, and decreased pain.
I have been an MYK Certified Therapist since 2015, and have treated many conditions with the MYK approach: shoulder pain, elbow pain, back pain, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, headaches, neck pain, dizziness, and radiating pain in the arm or leg. MYK does not help every condition but has provided excellent improvement for many people. If you have pain that just won’t go away, perhaps MYK could be a part of the solution for you.
Content provided by Nancy Woodruff, PT
