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SMRT Can Help Pinched Nerves
One of my new clients is a very muscular police detective who had pinched nerve or a nerve impingement at the base of his neck. I think he was shocked when I began by assessing his rib cage. His left rib cage was shifted to the right and his entire rib cage was rotated to the right, bringing the left side anterior and the right side posterior.
SMRT Increases ROM (Range of Motion)
His left shoulder, which is where he feels most of his nerve and muscle pain, was anterior, in medial rotation, dropped inferior, and very limited in ROM. The right shoulder was posterior, in medial rotation, pulled superior, and had decent ROM. His neck was in flexion and he was unable to extend it without pain. The atlantooccipital joint lacked ROM and his suboccipital muscles were impenetrable. I began by working on his rib cage, followed by his left shoulder, then his left upper arm and elbow, followed by his left forearm, then his neck, back to the rib cage, then his right shoulder, back to his neck, and finally to his hips.
I used only SMRT. There was no time for much else. As I worked, his left shoulder and rib cage relaxed. His left shoulder shifted toward the table, more posterior, and the ROM improved dramatically. The rib cage began to look and feel even. His tenderness dissipated with each SMRT move. The neck became more and more pliable and moved easier as we went. His right shoulder came anterior slightly, which helped the left shoulder to move even more posterior. The shoulders were almost balanced except for the inferior/superior shift. From the subclavian triangle, I tested inferior movement on each side and determined that the hold up was in his lower thoracic vertebrae. I did an SMRT position for the lower thoracic spine. This created increased ROM in his neck and more inferior movement of the rib cage on the left. I could tell something was still stuck.
SMRT Eases Pain in Minutes!
I shifted to the hips. The right hip, where his gun typically is, was inferior while his left hip was superior. I did 2 SMRT positions and his hips were level. I did one last check on the ROM of the rib cage and the superior/inferior shift of the shoulders and found that everything was much more balanced.
He reported less tension, less muscle and nerve pain, and increased ease of movement. He rescheduled. Thank goodness because he needs more forearm and head work!I would love to teach you to do SMRT work! Join me in Dewey Beach, DE from November 3-5, 2017 for SMRT: Head & Neck and SMRT: Arm & Hand; Matteson, IL from November 10-12, 2017 for SMRT: Lower Extremities; or Bartow, FL from November 30 – December 2, 2017 for SMRT: Hips, Lower Back, & Abdomen by registering here.
