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We know that the patient's body tries to effectively perform when muscle testing is done. This is recognized by the automatic recruitment of synergistic muscles when the primary muscle being tested is functionally inhibited (weak).
A similar effort may be present to adapt to cranial faults. When a muscle is being tested, the patient may take a breath or contract muscles in a facial grimace to accommodate for a cranial fault. If the examiner does not notice this, a functionally inhibited muscle will be missed. It is paramount that the examiner observe for respiratory changes or facial grimacing during muscle testing. The changes may be gross or very subtle.
When there is adaptive respiratory change, ask the patient to breathe in a relaxed manner while testing is being done; you will explain why later. Even though the patient desires to be cooperative, later in the examination s/he will often resume the respiratory change because it is an innate effort of the body to function effectively during the test.
A lay person would think that a facial grimace is simply showing an effort to pass the muscle test. Sometimes it is necessary to tell the patient that this is not a contest; you are just testing to see how the muscle performs. Explain that it is necessary that s/he keep the face and eyes relaxed, and you will explain why later.
When I am ready to make cranial corrections I show the patient a model skull with the sutures marked in black. I am old enough that I explain: "When I was in school I was told that the skull is solid and about all that it is worth is to protect the brain and is a place to hang your face. In reality there is subtle movement between the bones and the attachment to the dura mater that covers and provides balanced support for the brain. The dura also extends onto the cranial nerves, and improper tension may cause the nerves to not function properly.
"The reason I had you breathe in a relaxed manner when your muscles were being tested is because changing your respiration affects the test. The cranial mechanism is called the cranial primary respiratory system. When I correct your cranium I will have you take a specific deep phase of respiration that will enhance my correction. When I was testing your muscles your body knew it could function better if you changed your respiration. In other words the change of respiration was your body attempting to enhance the position of the bones and dura."
If the patient makes a facial grimace to enhance function, the above discussion can be modified to relate to the muscle contraction enhancing the bone and dura position.
When cranial fault body language is brought into the explanation, the patient has an intimate relation to the explanation and s/he will own it. |
