Tag: myofunctional

The Evolution of My Treatment Process

What has changed in my treatment model? If you aren’t getting better, you are getting worse, so how has your thought process and model changed? I was asked this question recently, and I think over the last several years many things have changed. There has been a bigger focus towards: The basics Sleep Building power And more! What changes have been made? Check out Movement Debrief Episode 147 below to learn more!

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The Keys to Improving Your Upper Airway

Sleep apnea, upper airway resistance, snoring, grinding your teeth, ADHD; what do all of these areas have in common? Many of these conditions can be attributed to problems in the upper airway, including tongue position, airway structure, and more. The ability to maximize your ability to breathe in this area is critical and was the topic of a podcast I did with Dr. Mike T. Nelson. Here is the list of things we discussed:  Avoiding dentures What proper mouth structure should be The connection between sleep and mouth structure The connection between ADHD and other behavior issues and airway What to ask for with a sleep study At home sleep apnea testing: Watch-PAT Addressing oral posture sooner rather than later How much can you change It takes a team to be fully optimized Recommendations on what to do and where to go This podcast will help guide you through all the steps you need to maximize your airway, sleep, and health.  Click the link below to learn more. Cranial Face Structures, Nasal Breathing, Orthodontics, Tongue Position, and More Unlikely Performance Limiters: Interview with Zac Cupples  

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Introduction to Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy Course Review

How improving tongue mobility can impact sleep and nasal breathing I hit a plateau. I was getting good results with many clients. I was making infrasternal angles dynamic, restoring hip flexion and extension, and getting ribcage mobility on fleek. Yet there were still some folks who I couldn’t get the symptom change they needed. Either they had really stiff necks, craniofacial issues, or difficulty sleeping. I knew I was missing something. Then I found myofunctional therapy. My buddy Joe Cicinelli, my myofunctional therapist, gave me some tongue exercises surrounding my tongue-tie release surgery, and I noticed some interesting changes with myself. My neck felt looser, I was sleeping better, and just overall feeling better. I decided to experiment and try a few activities here and there on some clients. With having only a rudimentary understanding, I started seeing some of those troubling cases improve. Necks were less tight. Sleep was improving, jaw pain was vanishing. I needed to learn more. That’s when I came across the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT) and saw they offered an introductory course. I was in. Four days later, a gap was filled. Having applied these techniques to several patients, many of those troubled cases were not so troubling. Although I was addressing airway with most of my treatments, I neglected the uppermost portions of it. The folks at AOMT give you that and then some. With this course, we deep-dived into anatomy, evidence, assessment, treatment, and business. You really get a total package

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Squatting, Breathing, and Sleeping

What does squatting, breathing, and sleeping all have in common? The answer is airway management. In order to squat well, you have to manipulate your spine in a manner that maximizes vertical pelvic displacement. In order to manipulate spinal position, airflow into the upper back is one factor that can change the way you squat. Breathing is also of utmost importance for sleep. Consider the negative effects of sleep apnea. What if there were activities that could improve both of these areas? In my eyes, these activities center around maximizing breathing mechanics and are the centerpiece discussion in an episode of the Portal PT podcast I was featured in. Check out the setlist below. 1:30 Zac’s Story 6:00 Zac’s Experience with Bill Hartman 12:30 When / Why Did Zac Jump Down The Breathing Biomechanic Rabbit Hole 18:00 Stacking, Diaphragms, Biomechanics, Movement Variability 22:30 Where’s The Breathing Research? Clinical Practice Guidelines 31:00 Squat vs. Hinge 36:30 Pain, Manual Therapy, Blood Flow, and Movement Variability 44:00 Myofunctional Therapy, Upper Airway Resistance, and Sleep 47:00 Zac’s Patient and Their Changes 49:00 Oxygen Advantage & Mouth Taping While Sleeping, Exercise Endurance, Resting Heart Rate 54:00 Dreaming, Sleep Studies, and Quality of Sleep 57:00 Improving Nasal Breathing and Changes in Facial Structure and Musculature 59:00 Proactive Care in Children 1:00:00 What is The Worst Fitness Advice Zac Has Ever Received 1:05:00 What Was Zac’s First Exercise Experience and Was it Good or Bad? 1:07:00 What’s Zac’s Number One Source For Research and Education Info If

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The Unsexy Side of PT

Struggle with mouth breathing? Much of the stuff taught on my site focuses on maximizing your breathing skills from the neck on down, but what happens when that is not enough? What if you still have issues with neck or jaw symptoms? Or worse yet, struggle with sleep? These are the topics we dive into on The Optimize Your Capacity podcast I did recently. You’ll learn all types of things featured in the netherworld of performance, including: Craniocervical posture and how to test for movement limitations in this region The “ideal” tongue posture to promote nasal breathing What a proper swallow entails to reduce neck strain What the keys are to having a dynamic respiratory strategy that maximizes movement options through the body Is there a “best” posture to sleep in? That depends on your body 🙂 and more! Click the links below to check it out! The Unsexy Side of PT: Zac Cupples (Apple Podcasts) Spotify Stitcher

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Pregnancy, Pectus, and Bruxism – Movement Debrief Episode 106

Movement Debrief Episode 106 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the setlist: How can pregnancy affect one’s ability to move? Can pregnancy change one’s infrasternal angle? What type of adjustments and considerations should we make for those who are pregnant? What is pectus excavatum? How can this structural change impact movement options? What type of exercises can we use to improve movement when someone has a pectus? What is bruxism? What is bruxism’s relationship to upper airway? What are other potential related factors to bruxism? What are some treatment considerations for someone who has bruxism?

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Tibial Rotation, Knee Pain During Resets, Deep Neck Flexors and Tongue – Movement Debrief Episode 93

Movement Debrief Episode 93 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: What is tibial external and internal rotation? What calcaneal position is associated with these tibial moves? How does the hip impact these tibial motions? What exercises can I use to change tibial rotation? Why might clients get knee pain during certain resets? How can I coach patients out of having knee pain during these activities? Is there a place for deep neck flexor contraction during resets? How about tongue posture?

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