NeuroSeminars – Functional Neurology

Module I: Fundamentals of Functional Neurology; How the nervous system works affects tone and posture – program, date and price

Basics of Functional Neurology

Many practitioners shy away from studying functional neurology because they perceive it to be too difficult or too complex. What we have observed over the years of teaching this subject is that those learners who have good foundational knowledge of the nervous system (e.g. from undergraduate teachings) find it a lot easier to understand, absorb and put into clinical practice the material we present in our seminars. We have therefore decided to offer this new seminar aimed at teaching you the basics in a simple and easy-to-understand way. This seminar will give you the fundamentals of nervous system structure and function, as well as teaching you examination techniques. Once you possess this foundational knowledge, it will be much easier for you to focus on and grasp the clinical applications taught in later modules without struggling with basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.

Course Content:

• How and why neurological dysfunction can occur.
• The different motor tracts and their clinical importance.
• Functional roles of the sensory tracts.
• Cerebral cortex – overview of the parietal & frontal lobes.
• Ocular examination – pursuits & saccades.
• Cranial nerves and their correlation to functional impairments in the brainstem; and how to examine for these deficits.
• Cerebellum: its function in motor control, motor adaptation, postural stabilisation and injury prevention.
• Cerebellar testing & introduction to neuro-rehabilitation.
• Introduction to pain: the concept of pain in the absence of tissue damage, mechanical allodynia and central pain modulation.

How the Nervous System Influences Muscle Tone & Posture

The clinical benefit associated with manual therapy is not simply related to restoring movement to restricted joints and normalising local muscle tone through segmental reflex effects. A major therapeutic role is attributed to activation of the central nervous system (CNS) – in recent years the literature is saying this more and more. It is thought that many chronic or treatment-resistant musculoskeletal conditions are perpetuated by ongoing neurological dysfunctions or maladaptive post-injury changes in the CNS. Knowing how our treatment is likely to affect the nervous system and how to assess and rehabilitate neurological dysfunction can therefore help us restore and preserve good function within the musculoskeletal system. This seminar aims to enhance your understanding of the neurology that often underlies many of the musculoskeletal conditions commonly seen in clinical practice, especially those associated with muscle imbalances of the spine and/or limbs.

Course Content:

• Fundamentals of neuronal function and dysfunction:
  • Principles of neuronal activation, inhibition and neuroplasticity.
  • Appropriate activation of neurons in order to produce neuroplasticity and avoid excitotoxicity.
  • Transneuronal degeneration.
• Activation of the nervous system through manual therapy:
  • Why mechanoreceptor-based afferent stimulation is so important for the health of the nervous system, for movement coordination and appropriate activation of postural and stabilising muscles.
  • Proprioceptive mechanoreceptors: their properties, how to activate them and how to optimise their function.
  • Spinal reflexes and their effects on muscle tone.
  • Addressing muscle tone imbalances through spinal reflex mechanisms.
  • Segmental and central neurological effects of spinal manipulation, mobilisation and soft tissue / myofascial therapies.
  • Clinical utilisation of spatial and temporal summation to increase neurological stimulation.
  • Overstimulation of the nervous system through manual therapy, adverse treatment responses and how to avoid these.
• Brainstem and cerebellar influences on muscle tone and postural control.
• Assessment and treatment of the cerebellum and brainstem.
• Neurological considerations for tendonitis and myofascial trigger points / tender points.
• Treatment of conditions influenced by neurologically mediated alterations in joint angulation and muscle tone, such as radiculopathy, peripheral entrapment neuropathy, rotator cuff impingement, IT band syndrome or tennis elbow.

Module I upcoming dates:
–Kaunas: October 29-31, 2021

Module II: Pain and Headache; Cognitive & Limbic Influences on Musculoskeletal Disorders, Pain and Patient Behaviour – program, dates and price

Headaches & Pain

For most manual therapists, the role of neurology in the diagnosis and treatment of headache disorders is largely confined to ruling out serious pathology. Although there generally exists an awareness that the trigeminal pain pathway plays a major role in headache disorders, very few practitioners know how to apply this concept clinically beyond simply treating aberrant cervical spine and TMJ biomechanics. This seminar will acquaint you with the mechanisms underlying headache disorders. It will also teach you how to treat in a way that will provide quicker and longer lasting results for your headache patients.

Course Content: 

• Why treating functional deficits of the cerebellum, vestibular system and brainstem is vitally important when dealing with any patient in pain. We will discuss in detail how to maximize the nervous system’s ability to modulate pain, and how to avoid further pain sensitization.
• How anything from a painful neck muscle to dry eyes, sinus or TMJ problems, Asthma or heartburn can contribute to headaches through sensitisation of the trigeminal pain pathway.
• Why adjusting an upper cervical spinal fixation can sometimes alleviate a headache, but at other times can make it much worse. We will discuss how to detect and manage mechanical allodynia and how to treat a patient appropriate to their brain imbalance and neuronal metabolic capacity.
• What cortical spreading depression is; how it relates to migraine, and how to prevent it from happening.
• Nutritional strategies for headache, migraine and chronic pain patients.
• How to address functional neurological problems using your existing techniques.
• Novel treatment interventions to address brain imbalances, including coupled-motion adjusting, fast-stretching, proprioceptive- and vestibular stimulation. Various physical and mental exercises designed to activate different regions of the brain will be explained and demonstrated.
• We will also show you sinus release techniques, which are invaluable for many headache patients.

Cognitive & Limbic Influences on Musculoskeletal Disorders, Pain and Patient Behaviour

The cerebral cortex and subcortical regions (e.g. limbic system and thalamus) have a major influence on muscle tone, posture and pain processing. Cortical imbalances, therefore, are often the underlying cause of the conditions we successfully treat on a day-to-day basis. Specifically treating the brain dysfunction in addition to any segmental joint and muscle abnormalities is likely to maximise the potential treatment response and help prevent early relapse. Understanding and treating according to the patient’s central neurological dysfunction will also reduce undesirable side effects of treatment, such as soreness, headache or dizziness; these can be the result of exceeding the patient’s neuronal metabolic capacity or worsening the functional imbalance within their central nervous system.

This seminar will teach you how to assess for and treat dysfunction at a cortical and subcortical level, thus allowing you to treat the brain imbalances that nearly all of your patients have more purposely and with greater specificity. It will also help you to understand various conditions associated with cortical / subcortical dysfunction, such as ADD, depression, and dyspraxia, and why such conditions often improve with manual therapy.

Course Content: 

• Why the cerebral cortex is important to us and how it influences muscle tone, pain sensitivity and modulation, and patient behaviour.
• Cortical aspects of eye movement.
• The cerebral hemispheres; assessment and treatment of

• • Frontal lobe
  • Parietal lobe
  • Temporal lobe
  • Occipital lobe

• Review of the effects of joint manipulation and other manual therapies on brain function.
• Review of the effects of brain dysfunction on the musculoskeletal system.
• How dysfunction at a cortical and subcortical level has a major influence on pain sensitivity and pain tolerance.
• Introduction to specific conditions affecting cortical and subcortical regions, including depression, anxiety, dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder, epilepsy and dystonia.
• Assessment and treatment of ‘subclinical’ disorders of cortical and subcortical regions, such as word finding difficulties, problems remembering names or recognising faces, poor navigational skills, sensory abnormalities, light or sound sensitivity, motor or vocal tics, perfectionist or obsessive tendencies and reading difficulties.
• Recognising and managing cognitive and emotional problems that adversely influence patients’ behaviour and make them less likely to respond to treatment or follow therapeutic recommendations.
• Blind-spot testing as a window into cortical function and an outcome measure of therapeutic interventions.
• Low-tech physical and cognitive exercises to address specific patterns of brain dysfunction.

Computer programmes and smart phone / tablet apps that can be used to rehabilitate different brain areas.

Upcoming dates for Seminar II:
-Kaunas: February 4-6, 2022

Price: 499 Eur.
Discount for pre-registration! Price until October 15 – 440 Eur.