NEUROFUNCTIONAL MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE AT FORM & FUNCTION
Neurofunctional Acupuncture is a contemporary form of acupuncture that takes the practice of traditional acupuncture and combines it with modern insights from neuroscience and functional anatomy.
Its effectiveness and ability to induce changes in movement and symptoms is based on its ability to influence the functions of the nervous system. Our nerves carry the signals to our muscles that allow us to move. They also relay information from our surroundings, back to our brains, and influence how we experience different stimuli, such as pain and temperature.
Neurofunctional acupuncture works to correct nerve dysregulations within the nervous system with the placement of very fine needles (with low frequency electrical current added) near precise anatomical structures with the goal of restoring their function, a process known as neuromodulation.
You can think of nerves as messengers, a series of highways traveling to and from the brain, through the spinal cord to reach targets such as muscle, tendons, ligaments and various organs. If you think of an accident on the highway and the ensuing traffic, you will get to your destination but it will take more time and your commute will be less efficient. Nerves act in a similar manner so if there is an impairment along the nerve pathway and there is clogging along the way, the signal will still reach its destination but much less efficiently. This inefficiency can lead to muscles not recruiting or generating force appropriately, fatiguing quicker or feeling tighter and heavier. These dysfunctions can occur due to an acute injury or due to repetitive loading/activities or postures that we adopt throughout our daily lives.
KEY BENEFITS OF NEUROFUNCTIONAL MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE
→ Improved muscle recruitment and strength (ability to resist gravity or practitioner resistance on testing)
→ Improved active and passive range of motion
→ Patient reports the muscle and joint feels lighter
→ Patient reports exercises easier to do, decreased onset of fatigue