Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/121374
Where to Learn A Dermoneuromodulation seminar will be held in Eagan, Minnesota, July 26–28, 2013. For seminar details and more information, visit Arms and Legs There are many situations that may arise with a client's arms and legs. This example is a simple approach that can be tried for various types of arm and leg pain, not including fresh injuries. www.dnmseminar.info or contact jasoneseminars@gmail.com. Jason Erickson and Diane Jacobs Meet the Founder Diane Jacobs lives and works in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in her own practice, Sensible Solutions Physiotherapy. She maintains an active online life writing, studying, and moderating at www.somasimple.com, and administrating a pain and neuroscience Facebook page for manual therapists. In 2008, she helped found the Pain Science Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association and remains the executive communication liaison. She can be found on Facebook, on her blog (www.humanantigravitysuit. blogspot.com), and at her home page (www.sensiblesolutionsphysiotherapy.com). 96 massage & bodywork may/june 2013 1. Locate a tender point somewhere on the limb. Use one hand to monitor this point without pressing in. 2. With the other hand, gently grasp the skin on the opposite side of the limb, near or distal to the tender point. Slowly gather the skin with this hand, gently stretching the skin away from the tender point. 3. Feel for a softening at the tender point. Go slowly, and change the position/direction of the skin stretching as needed. When you feel softening, give it a little time and then retest to see if the pain is mostly/completely gone. Continue to hold the skin stretch, but stop pressing in. 4. After a few minutes, slowly release the skin and retest the tender point to verify that the pain is still gone. You may address more tender points in the limb in a similar manner. DNM for Muscle Cramps Muscles cramp for many different reasons, but muscles cannot cramp if the nervous system does not initiate the contraction. Because the same nerves that innervate muscles usually have cutaneous branches further away, or cutaneous branches from some other nerve directly above and more superficially, DNM may be used to address muscle cramps. The brain can pinpoint the location and help correct the situation. Depending on the underlying cause of the cramps, DNM may or may not result in lasting relief; in practice it seems to provide a means of reducing duration and severity of common muscle spasms that are not caused by recent athletic activity (e.g., immediately after a marathon). This example presents a simple method of addressing muscle spasms in the legs.