Functional Rehabilitation

What is functional rehabilitation? Put simply, it is rehab that helps your body function the way it is designed to.

Every common machine you can think of is designed to work a certain way, whether it is a car, a power tool, or a computer. When something goes wrong and the machine loses its ability to work as intended, performance goes down and wear and tear goes up. Usually it can continue to function, but at a lower quality and with a side of unintended consequences.

The body is no different, in the sense that it has a precise and purposeful design to it, and that it works best when it functions true to its design. The body is an incredible masterpiece with many systems working at the same time to produce movement. The respiratory system, visual system, vestibular system, musculoskeletal system, and more…all controlled by the brain on an ongoing, moment-by-moment basis. When all of these systems work as they are designed to, the body feels and moves well. Restoring function of these systems is true functional rehabilitation.

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What is DNS

Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization

Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization is a groundbreaking approach to movement and rehabilitation developed by renowned physiotherapist Pavel Kolar in the Czech Republic. Through his observation of both very young children and adults, Kolar noticed that healthy babies exhibited ideal movement as they went through their developmental milestones (such as turning over, sitting up, or crawling). They were pros at maintaining perfect breathing, core stability, and joint positioning as their movement matured. Kolar saw that adults who suffered from chronic back, hip, and shoulder pain demonstrated movement patterns that were a significant departure from the ideal template seen in young children. Theorizing that this innate movement “software” still existed in adults, he taught his patients how to re-access the breathing, spine stabilization, and movement patterns that they had as children. His approach has proven highly successful in managing chronic pain, resolving injuries, and improving athletic performance.

DNS for athletes

While incredibly effective for rehabilitation, Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization principles also reach into the world of performance. DNS is a powerful tool for any athlete, from recreational to elite. Athletes are trained in the most optimal movement patterns for their sport, starting from the proper stabilization of the trunk and moving outward to the limbs. Every movement in sport should have a foundation of proper breathing and control of the trunk, and the athletes who are the most skillful in these areas are also the ones who experience the fewest number of overuse and non-contact injuries.

DNS for all ages

Though Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization is often associated with babies and young children, its main purpose is to helps adults of any age rediscover the ideal way to move. Every person, no matter how young or old, can access these developmental movement patterns and see improvement in their breathing, spine stabilization, back pain, or joint pain. DNS is a gentle, non-intrusive method of treatment that is scalable to any age and ability level.