Oh My God I Got It!

[Curious One]

I don't think I have this listed in my above mentioned research about SC (it may be useful for someone to read about it in a different manner than already provided):

Correct me if I am off base here, but it seems that Simple Contact is often understood as interchangeable with the term 'ideomotion', which is not at all the point.

Simple Contact is a method/approach whereby the locus of control is handed over to the patient in an effort to allow them to explore their own body schema. The time spent with 'hands-on' is educational - some people can get out their whiteboards and share their story, SC simply encourages the patient to move in a novel way (ideomotion). Deep breathing exercises can accompany SC to down-regulate the sympathetic nervous system. Encouraging ideomotion is a portion of a treatment session, not necessarily a session in-and-of itself. That ideomotion/educational portion is followed up by strengthening if/as appropriate and exercises/activities to be completed independently outside of the formal P.T. setting (ideomotion, Feldenkrais, etc). That, in my estimation, is Simple Contact - not ideomotion alone.

[Belcher]

Jason, consider yourself ruined for good! :teeth: :thumbs_up

Why is that dear? I could not understand your words here. Please explain a bit.

[Diane]

Hello Belcher,
Would you please start a thread in the welcome forum and introduce yourself?

[advantage1]

At the moment I use this method: I explain how the brain is set up, where pain is generated and why, what the nervous system needs, why stress makes pain feel worse, the difference betwen nociception and pain, and that we both (the patient and I) must uncover what will best meet the needs of the nervous system so that pain will be reduced. I use Barrett's movement strategy and my own form of skin treatment targeting (whenever I try to target anything structural) the cutaneous nerves and their twigs. I provide pain ed. along the lines of Butler and Moseley in Explain Pain: hurt does not equal harm, little bits of movement frequently, graded exposure to activities that have set off pain in the past, etc. I tell them that they are not to put up with discomfort during treatment, that if I'm doing something that feels uncomfortable and I don't pick up on it myself right away, to tell me, because the last thing their CNS needs to have to deal with is anymore discomfort from outside when it's trying to self-regulate. I give them permission to talk all they like, emote if they need to, and ask questions anytime they want. I keep them warm. I think that's pretty much everything. I can always use more information about CBT. Rarely do I have anyone to treat who is purely a hands off, verbal only type of patient. I usually refer them on if they have wind-up pain and/or deep-seated (decompensating) emotional issues. Mostly the ones who come to see me are interested in off-loading some or a lot of physically felt pain.

This is a great explanation for patients. I'm curious how you explain to the patient what role the peripheral nervous system plays in their pain experience? For isntance, if you suspect mechanical deformation how would you explain this and the benefits of manual therapy?

[Barrett Dorko]

Rob,

I use the twisted finger analogy or Dick the Bruiser, depending upon the patient.

Stories about peripheral twisting are easy to come by, I think.

[Diane]

This is a great explanation for patients. I'm curious how you explain to the patient what role the peripheral nervous system plays in their pain experience? For isntance, if you suspect mechanical deformation how would you explain this and the benefits of manual therapy?

I tell them all about nerves, how nerve cells are really long, how they need a lot of fuel, show them pictures of the insides of nerves, what their blood supply looks like, how nerves need blood through all sides of themselves, that nerves are studded with their own set of alarm bells. I explain how the way they sit, stand or sleep (as an individual, for years, maybe..) may have contributed/be contributing to the problem in a way they haven't ever realized. How important it will be for the future of their nervous system and their contentment within it to break up those default resting habits/positions, symmetricalize them. I tell them "It doesn't matter what position you get into, or what posture you take, as long as you do the exact same thing on the other side of your body at least half the time." I let them play with a bamboo finger trap.

It was a lesson learned from treating psychotherapists with low back pain who spend their working lives with a particular leg crossed, deliberately.

[Belcher]

Hello Belcher,
Would you please start a thread in the welcome forum and introduce yourself?

Is it recommended? I have inserted all the data about me in the profile.

[Diane]

Yes, I have read your profile. It doesn't really introduce you or why you have joined this group. So yes, please introduce yourself in the welcome forum.

[Diane]

Here is Belcher's profile.