Note: I made some errors on the first rendition of this blog that were corrected after speaking with Eric Oetter. Courtesy to him, Lori Thomsen, and Ron Hruska for cleaning up some concepts. Four Months Later When the Lori Thomsen says to come to Cervical Revolution, you kinda have to listen. I was slightly hesitant to attend since I had taken this course back in January. I mean, it was only the 3rd course rendition. How much could have changed? Holy schnikes! It is simply amazing what four months of polishing can do. It was as though I attended a completely different course. Did I get it all figured out? No. But the clarity gained this weekend left me feeling a lot better about this very complex material. This is a course that will only continue to get better with time; if you have a chance to attend please do. Let’s now have a moment of clarity. Biomechanics 101 The craniocervical region is the most mobile section of the vertebral column. This mobility allows regional sensorimotor receptors to provide the brain accurate information on occipital position and movement. The neck moves with particular biomechanics. Fryette’s laws suggest that the cervical spine produces ipsilateral spinal coupling in rotation and sidebending. The OA joint, on the other hand, couples contralaterally. C2 is the regulator of cervical spine motion; much like the first rib regulates rib cage movement. C2 is also important for the mandible, as it balances the cervical spine during mandibular
Read MoreTag: open bite
Course Notes: The Last Craniocervical Mandibular Restoration Evahhhhh
You’d Think I’d Learn it the First Time Around You’d think, but CCM is one of the hardest PRI courses to conceptualize. It didn’t hurt that my work was hosting the Ron’s last time teaching this course, as next year we will see Cervical Revolution instead. I took this course last February, and it’s amazing how different the two courses were. We had a room filled with PRI vets, and the Ronimal went into so much more depth this time around. It was such a great course that I would love to share with you some of the clarified concepts. If you want a course overview, take a look here. The TMCC The right TMCC pattern consists of the following muscles with the following actions: Cranial retruders/mandibular protruders Right anterior temporalis Right Masseter Right medial pterygoid Sphenobasilar flexors Left rectus capitis posteror major Left obliquus capitis OA flexors that maintain appropriate cervical lordosis Right rectus capitis anterior Right longus capitis Right longus colli If this chain stays tonically active, then there is better accessory muscle respiratory capacity present. These muscles provide the fixed point needed for an apical breathing pattern. We want the muscles on the other side, the left TMCC, to be active. Their activity will allow alternating reciprocal cranial function to be possible. We also call this gait. Keep Ya Sphenoid Flexed One cranial goal we have is to achieve sphenobasilar flexion, but what does this mean? In the RTMCC pattern, the sphenoid is in an extended position.
Read More