Laws of NeuroMuscular Therapy
The NeuroMuscular Therapist also operates under a system of laws known as Pfluger's Laws, which illustrate acute to chronic pain patterns and how pain is distributed throughout the body. The nervous system is designed to produce normal muscle tonus at 30 stimuli per second. If, due to trauma, the nervous system is suddenly innervating the damaged tissues at perhaps 75 stimuli per second, it must respond in a more creative homoeostatic way to distribute the pain.
The first step, according to the Law of Unilaterality, states that "if a mild irritation is applied to one or more sensory nerves, the movement will take place usually on one side only and that side which is irritated." As an illustration, if I were involved in a motor vehicle accident, injure my left shoulder and decline treatment of any kind, then my left shoulder would probably be very tender within a matter of minutes. Assuming that I continue without treatment and to ease the pain, drink substantial amounts of alcohol and take a very hot shower, the next day not only would the initial injury site be in pain, but so would the equal and opposite side. This illustrates the second law, the Law of Symmetry that says, "if the stimulation is sufficiently increased the motor reaction is manifested not only to the irritated side but also in similar muscles on the opposite side of the body." From a practical perspective if I can treat the unaffected side, the injured, painful area can be addressed without initial direct application of NMT.
Still by way of illustration, the following day, if I continue to resist proper treatment of my condition, the pain would now have travelled back and intensified at the original injury site with a lesser pain still present on the opposite shoulder. This describes the third law, the Law of Intensity that states "reflex movements are usually more intense on the side of irritation and at times the movements of the opposite side equal them in intensity but they are usually less pronounced."
The fourth law, the Law of Radiation, states that "if the excitation continues to increase it is propagated upwards and reactions take place through centrifugal nerves coming from the cord segments higher up." In other words, the pain will radiate upward from the site of the original injury toward the brain and then, failing alleviation, will radiate outward, creating a general contraction of all the muscles in the body.
This is a very profound and unsettling series of events. If left untreated, I would, in all likelihood, awaken one morning unable to move with intense headache pain, accompanied by a general contraction of all the muscles from head to toe. Not only would the nervous and musculoskeletal systems be adversely affected but so would all of the other systems in the body, such as the respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive and endocrine. This illustrates the fifth law, the Law of Generalisation that states "if the irritation becomes very intense it is propagated in the medulla oblongata, which becomes the focus from which the stimuli radiate to all parts of the cord causing a general contraction of all the muscles of the body."
Unfortunately, if a patient arrives at this stage, they are often irritated by the seemingly do-nothing advice of the therapist. At this point, the best advice is to seek evaluation and treatment from a primary care physician and to RICE the body. Other integrative treatments that prove effective are to increase water consumption and to increase intake of vitamins, such as 1200 mcg of B-12 and 200 mg of B-6 per day in tablet form. NeuroMuscular Therapy, using as little as 2 grams of pressure, would be enough to significantly increase pain and further perpetuate muscle constrictions and trigger point referrals. Generally, within 48 to 72 hours, the patient's condition will have improved enough for healing body work to begin.
Once NeuroMuscular Therapy has begun, treatment can literally "pull the plug" on pain by interrupting the source of abnormal stimulation. This decreases the electrical innervation to the muscles and viscera, therefore decreasing muscle spasms, ischemia and metabolic waste build-ups throughout the body. This has a cascading positive effect on the other systems in the body. It is critical to maintain consistent consumption of water (6-8 glasses/day), a good multivitamin and vitamins B-6 and B-12.
