Integration Course: Finding & Treating Primary Problem Patterns (& Using Articulation as a Holistic Treatment Tool)

Introduction:

Because your prior learning (in manual therapies courses) should (or will) have already have given you good resources on regional and local assessments and also in a range of specific treatment techniques there is no need to focus primarily on these areas in this workshop. Instead I thought we should focus on elements of assessment and treatment which develop deeper understanding of the bigger picture (i.e. to see the whole problem pattern rather than just a part of it) and which may help deepen assessment and treatment skills (i.e. to observe, palpate and motion test with ‘awareness’ of key relationship imbalances that the body is trying to tell us – and how to trust the self-healing mechanisms with to guide and direct our treatments).

Thus, rather than primarily focus on a) the relationship between tissues causing symptoms and the symptoms themselves (which is something most people study and can do well already) we are instead going to focus more on b) identifying “what else” is going on in the whole person (the primary underlying problem patterns) which are setting up, contributing and or slowing recovery of the tissues/pathology causing symptoms – and which is most interfering with the bodies self-healing mechanisms and preventing nature from doing her work more efficiently.

It has been my experience in both education, my research and clinical practice that this second relationship is the one students and practitioners most struggle to understand but which, when is understood and practically integrated, gives practitioners a deeper awareness of how to assess, treat and manage patients with chronic health issues more effectively. In short, this course is designed to help integrate what you already know (or are studying) and then deepen/enhance your assessment and treatment skills.

Furthermore, I have selected articulation as an example tool to treating primary relationship imbalances because it is a general technique available to students (in all year levels) and practitioners in any manual therapies profession (and which works well in clinical practice) but we will be using it with a much different and deeper (integrative) focus than how it is traditionally applied (which is usually to specific joint dysfunctions). It is also an excellent tool to both a) explore and deepen our palpation skills and b) illustrate the relationships between health and disease, primary and secondary areas (i.e. between ‘what else’ and the tissues causing symptoms), tissues and layers of the whole person and thus demonstrate how we can, in harmony with the self-healing mechanisms, restore balanced function to the whole person.

Note: I have a short online introductory module available if you want to find out more about what I cover in the practical workshop. Link: https://holistic-health-education.teachable.com/p/holistic-articulation-technique

PLAN:

Session 1: INTEGRATION & FINDING PRIMARY PROBLEM PATTERNS

1 a) Presentation on a holistic multidimensional model of practice (quick review of my research and the key relationships we need to explore to develop a holistic picture - what this means, how it helps, how it relates to Osteopathy, Manual Therapies and traditional bio-medicine, the impact of this on future education and research)

1 b) Review of holistic principles (behind the scenes concepts we all need to be aware of to get the most out our assessment)

• The whole – uncovering internal and external influences

• What is health & Disease – how do you recognise each?

• Clues to dysfunction – primary and secondary areas & components?

• Models for understanding chronic health

• Diagnosis (deepening understanding of the relation between differential, working and actual diagnosis)

• The general assessment process – what this is looking for – and how to get the most tissue clues in response from this process (and possible show a case study example integrating general and regional-local findings for a health issue and tips on pictorially and verbally recording findings)

1 c) Practical session – Reviewing the holistic screening process and honing your observation skills (to observe health and primary dysfunction patterns)

• The state of mind whilst observing, the difference between looking and observing.

• Observing symmetry, texture and ‘QUALITY’ of motion

• Practical session – techniques to deepen your observation skills (via our general screen).

Session 2: THE ART OF PALPATION.

How to improve/deepen your reception of information from palpation

• The neurophysiological principles behind palpation and the application of any technique

• The state of mind when palpating, the difference between touching and feeling

• Layer palpation: theory and practical session

Session 3: TREATING PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP IMBALANCES USING ARTICULATION AS A TOOL

This session explores:

• Traditional definition and uses of articulation

• Holistic applications – treating relationship imbalances between – health and disease, primary and secondary areas or components, different levels or layers of the whole person.

• Practical session – Exploring the tissues through articulation – new concepts such as a) Finding the edges of dysfunction patterns b) Finding the health within and surrounding dysfunction patterns c) Treating from a place of balanced relationship between “health” and “dysfunction” d) Exploring relationships between areas, layers, primary and secondary problem patterns e) Finding a point of balanced aware contact (to observe the response of the whole person to application of technique) f) Using or modifying techniques to address key components.

Session 4: REGIONAL ARTICULATION IDEAS

Here we will cover some examples of helpful regional assessment and articulation techniques for different areas of the body (not otherwise covered above) and how to apply these in difference postures - E.g. the upper extremity, lower extremity, Ribs, Spine and pelvis.

Any remaining time – can be used to answer any questions, review any specific elements of assessment, treatment or integration that the participants would like to cover.

Session times – proposed times for 2 days, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm.

Testimonials:

I presented this Integration Workshop :"Finding & Treating Primary Problem Patterns (& using Articulation as a Holistic Treatment Tool)" to Osteopathic Students in the Gold Coast Australia (Nov 2018) and this is what one participant had to say;

“Thank you very much for the seminar. I have just finished first year of the Osteopathy degree and I work as a remedial massage therapist. Since finishing the seminar with you last Wednesday I have used the assessment and articulation techniques on four of my clients and had such huge success. Just this morning I treated a client with pain on bilateral rotation of the head, now normally I would have assessed rotation and side bending of the neck, massaged and some MET. But, instead I observed the client, palpated, looked for the areas of health and dis-ease and let the body show me what it needed……… and voila, within 20 minutes full pain free neck rotation AND I didn’t even touch his neck!!!!! Your course has already had a big positive impact on me as a practitioner, I’m excited about what will come with more knowledge and experience. Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s invaluable stuff to therapists.”