How Dr Helen Can Help You With Her Advance Knowledge and Skills
The two primary techniques that Dr Helen uses are Applied Kinesiology (A.K.) and Sacro-Occipital Technique (S.O.T.) both techniques allow her to work with patients to achieve the best results in the shortest time possible.
Sacro-Occipital Technique (S.O.T.)
Jon Howat, in his book Chiropractic: The Anatomy & Physiology of Sacro Occipital Technique, wrote: “S.O.T. is a comprehensive technique which uses body indication in a concise and chronological process for determining skeletal, cranial, neurological and visceral malfunction.”
S.O.T. incorporates specific techniques which look at changes in the spinal and pelvic structure, as well as changes in the extremities such as shoulder, knee, hip and the jaw (TMJ). Spinal biomechanics using S.O.T. has been broken down into a 3-category system, each relating to specific biomechanical changes and muscular imbalances:
- Category 1: Bilateral sacro-iliac joint fixature
- Category 2: Sacro-iliac joint malfunction
- Category 3: Disc and vertebral subluxation, frequently resulting in sciatica
Once these categories are identified, a specific correction program is implemented to aid the body in returning to and maintaining an ideal biomechanical response, thus helping to prevent biomechanical damage and fixation. The aim is to optimize the body’s ability to respond appropriately to the various environmental stressors that occur in today’s society, without overloading the body’s normal compensatory mechanisms.
Applied Kinesiology (A.K.)
The textbook Applied Kinesiology: Synopsis by David S. Walker states that: “Applied Kinesiology is based on the fact that body language never lies. Manual muscle testing, as an indicator of body language, enhances the practitioner’s ability to observe function and its change.” This has also been termed ‘functional neurology’.The term ‘functional neurology’ refers to the fact that not all problems of the body can necessarily be seen via x-rays or scans. They are also not always pathological – they can be functional. Applied Kinesiology can use the relative speed of response and strength of a muscle as a diagnostic tool to assess the relative function of an area rather than an absolute disability in this area.
In simple terms, A.K. uses muscle testing to assess where a problem may be in the body. Once the problem is identified, muscle testing can also be used to identify the most useful approach to relieve the discomfort. Subluxation is a term used by chiropractors to diagnose if a joint is ‘locked’ in a certain position and unable to move through its normal range of motion.
A.K. is a very useful method in determining areas of subluxation in the skeletal structure, which includes all the spinal segments from the back of the skull, through the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine areas, to the hip and sacral regions of the lower spine.