Neuromuscular Re-Education

One of the major techniques used by physical therapists is neuromuscular re-education. Fundamentally, this method is applied to restore normal body movement patterns.

Why Is Neuromuscular Re-Education Significant?

You or some people you know might experience difficulty moving their bodies due to various reasons, such as a fall, an injury from a vehicular accident, or simply aging. The neuromuscular re-education technique can help injured patients get their bodies back to their maximum range of motion.

The nerves and muscles can be damaged by traumatic injuries. Such injuries can also lead to various medical and neurological conditions that can negatively impact the muscle movement of different parts of the body. This is when neuromuscular re-education plays a pivotal role. Physical therapists use this method to help patients return to their normal movement patterns and go back to living the way they used to.

How Does Neuromuscular Re-Education Work?

To produce movement, your nerves, bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles must work together. The nerves send signals between the muscles and the brain, and the speed at which nerve signals trigger the muscles determines when and how fast the movement occurs.

Any part of your body can be prone to injury, and when this occurs in the tissues, your body will deal with swelling in that particular tissue. Naturally, fibrous healing will then occur, and the scar tissue will rapidly build up to protect the injured regions. Even after many years have passed since the actual injury happened, adhesions to the scar tissue may persist. They can hinder the muscle's strength as well as its range of motion and, subsequently, cause impaired movements and pain.

Neuromuscular re-education can be done to prevent aches and pains in various parts of the body, including the back, neck, and joints. This non-invasive treatment focuses on the rehabilitation of soft tissues. This energetic soft tissue technique is not a pain-free or relaxing massage. In fact, very firm pressure is often used in therapy. This is to reach the adhesions and scar tissue in the muscle fibers and break them down. Slow and controlled strokes are also used; hence, patients may feel tenderness and pain after the treatment. However, the pain should be tolerable, not unbearable. In any case, if the pain becomes unbearable, the patient should let the therapist know and ask them to apply less pressure during the treatment. Since the technique concentrates on detecting and breaking up the cross-fiber adhesions in the injured soft tissues, a skilled chiropractor should be able to feel for their location and direction. After locating the adhesions, they should start to manipulate and massage the soft tissues. This is how the tissues can be restored to their normal tension, texture, and length with the help of neuromuscular re-education.

What Are the Exercises for Neuromuscular Re-Education?

The three major methods that are used in neuromuscular re-education are manual techniques, activities that can promote balance and core control, and therapeutic exercises.

• Some of the exercises done in neuromuscular re-education are:
• Standing balance exercises
• Seated stability exercises
• Postural retraining (postural re-education)
• Isometric muscle contractions
• Feldenkrais
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
• Electromyography (EMG) biofeedback
• Desensitizing techniques

To sum up, neuromuscular re-education is of great significance when it comes to restoring your body's movements after an injury.