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7 essential improvements at your fingertips through fascia strengthening techniques

Part 5

Balance

vs Uncontrolled positionning

We have covered in the previous articles the necessity of strengthen fascia in order to ‘spontaneously and without effort

  • hold one’s head and torso
  • promote energy and vitality
  • create segmentation to move selectively
  • weight-bear

Let’s talk today about balance.

Normal sitting is the position where the child is capable of  maintaining equilibrium throughout an entire range of positions.  In such a situation, if pushed off balance, he/she is able to counterbalance, regaining their original position, rather than falling as a unified block.​​​​​​​

I invite you to try a few tests with your own child to understand what hinders him/her from developing balance.

While lying down on his/her back,

  1. Move his/her head from right to left

You will see that any attempt to move their head to the side causes the involvement of the shoulders in the movement.  This means that head does not move independently from the thorax.

In the sitting position

  1. Gently push your child with CP backwards,

you will see their legs will lift off the bench or the table.  This means that legs do not move independently from the pelvis.

In the same position,

  1.  Tilt him/her to the side,

you will see that their legs will move in the opposite direction.   This means that lumbar spine, pelvis and legs are all attached to one another.

While still seated and facing you,

  1.  Grab your child by the shoulders and gently twist their torso to one side and then rapidly let go…

you will see that he/she will rapidly ‘spring’ back into the initial position…showing poor division between the vertebrae translating into overall rigidity in the spine.

These are only a few restrictions depicting your child’s incapacity of adjusting to any external challenges to his/her initial position and are the manifestations of the weakness of the deep core tissues, also called fascia, and the necessity to proceed to their remodeling and strengthening before contemplating body control and equilibrium.

Training balance in these conditions is a utopian initiative.  

Only fascia strengthening can free your child from the mono-block condition in which he/she is imprisoned and allow the development of true balance.  

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7 essential improvements at your fingertips through fascia strengthening techniques

Part 4

How can your child hold himself spontaneously

vs

the excessive efforts he has to make today?

 

How many times do we see children with CP encouraged to lift their head off the ground when put on all fours, with the hopes of making a few attempts at crawling?

We see the child desperately pushing on his/her arms to try to lift off the ground, holding the position is a COLOSSAL effort for a few short seconds… to PITIFULLY collapse from absolute exhaustion.

Why is it so difficult?

 Healthy individuals don’t even think about weight-bearing, they simply weight-bear… it is an involuntary act that does not require any muscular effort. 

Why?

Because with weight-bearing, we unconsciously appeal to our compressional strength (inner hydraulic force) which is intimately linked to adequate fascial tone.  There is no effort involved in lifting our head or torso…while the child with CP, suffering from weakened fascial tone,  does not have sufficient hydraulic force and has no other recourse than appealing to his skeletal muscles to accomplish the same task.

The problem is that the skeletal muscles are 1) not designed to weight-bear and 2) are extremely expensive in terms of energy expenditure.

Biceps/triceps, for example, were not designed to weight-bear our body.  They were designed to provide our arms with the mechanical structure needed to allow for the movement of the arms (lift, lower, push, pull, etc.)

Appealing to skeletal muscles (like a child with CP does) demands a lot in terms  of energy consumption.  You just have to remember how quickly you get tired when lifting weights at the gym…

It is the same Olympic workout that is expected from your child with CP  when you ask him/her to lift their body off the ground by pushing on his/her arms or when you ask him/her to lift their head (as he/she has no other way than appealing to their neck muscles).

This explains the basic shortcomings of training at this level. ​​​​​​

This leads us to an essential question:

​​​​​​​What kind of training are you imposing on your child with CP?  Is it leading towards a ‘gain’ or a ‘drain’?  Is it leading towards ‘efficiency’ or ‘overdrive’?   Once you start understanding the human structure, you quickly realize how illusive training is, if you don’t improve the structure first!

Building a strong deep core structure by strengthening fascial tone is a essential prerequisite for developing effortless weight-bearing capacity.

 

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7 essential improvements at your fingertips through fascia strengthening techniques

Part 3

Multi-dimensional Repertoire of Gestures 

vs robotic mono-dimensional movements

When I ask parents about their expectations, they  generally say:

‘I would like my child be able to grab objects’ or ‘I would like to see my child able to crawl’, etc.

This over-simplification shows that they usually oversee the uniqueness of each piece of the big puzzle they are trying to put together. We will see here that any movement necessitates preliminary mechanical characteristics that must absolutely be present. 

 

Let’s do a few simple tests with your child:

Lay him/her down on a table.

  1. Put your hand under his/her head and lift it so that his/her chin touches the thorax.

Observe what happens.  The shoulders leave the ground?  Lifting the head coincides with lifting part of the thorax itself?  Fascia is weak and your child lost proper segmentation between the head and the thorax.

 

In the same position,

  1.  Grab one arm and cross it over to the other side of the thorax. 

The head (and in many cases, the rest of the torso) are involved in the movement as well? This means that fascia is weak and your child lost proper segmentation (division) between the arms and the thorax.

 

Still laying down on the back,

  1.  Grab one leg at the ankle level and lift it 90 degrees without bending the knee.

The other leg and even the pelvis leaves the ground?  This means, in turn, that fascias is weak and your child lost proper segmentation between the legs, the pelvis and the lumber spine.

​​​​​​​

In other words, your child is moving as one block. 

Training him/her to move without first creating proper segmentation between the head and the shoulder girdle (1); between the arms and the torso (2) and between the legs and pelvis (3) is, at the very least, very limited and leads to what  is called, ‘robotic  mono-dimensional movements’.

In healthy individuals, yourself for example, you will observe that your head is segmented from your torso (which allows you to turn the head selectively), your thoracic cavity is segmented from your abdominal cavity (which allows you to turn to the side without moving the pelvis), your legs move independently from each other and from your pelvis(which allows you to walk with balance).

You benefit of what is called multi-dimensional repertoire of gestures. 

Fortunately, these segmentations are achievable through the  strengthening the connective tissues (fascia)  with easy to learn techniques called ‘trans-fascial visco-elastic stimulation’.

With time, the child shows movements which are more selective, fluid and controlled.  Training then makes more sense as the child with CP is not imprisoned in a mono-block structure anymore.

 

Next time, I will speak about Spontaneous Weight-bearing vs excessive voluntary effort.

 

See you soon!

 

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7 essentials improvements at your fingertips through fascia strengthening techniques​​​​​​​

Part 2

Vigor and vitality

 vs vulnerability and fragility

Two dayss ago we discussed the concepts of Robustness ​​​​​​​(vs Neck and Trunk weakness),

Today, I would like to discuss another essential concept in which the development of your child’s motor skills depend: Vitality and Vigor

Does your child have the energy and vigor to accomplish all the demands that are placed on him/her throughout the day?
‘Hold your head up!’ ‘Straighten up!’ ‘Put one leg in front of the other!’ ‘Watch this video!’ ‘Crawl!’  ‘Go to school!’  ‘Do this… and do that…’ ‘Common, you can do it!’

Let’s have a closer look…

Where do healthy children get their energy resources from?

Good food absorption, digestion, hydration, respiration and sleep… these are the main fuel sources that allow them to respond to physical, intellectual and metabolic energy demands day after day. Once they have used up their energy throughout the day, when they go to bed, there is always a ‘surplus’ of energy left that allows them to grow and remodel throughout the night.  Their battery is never totally dead.

What about a child with cerebral palsy?

Food absorption is poorer, hydration is not ideal, respiration is far from optimal and sleep is rarely restorative.

As a result, the child with CP cannot benefit from the same energy resources as his/her peers or siblings. Actually, these deficiencies take a heavy toll on your child’s overall energy and as a result, your child uses at least three times more energy as their peers, to carry out any activity, be it metabolic, intellectual or physical.

3 times more energy!!! Can you appreciate how significant this is?

This means they use 3 times as much energy to breathe, digest, move around and even just to stay seated in their wheelchair!

If commuting to school is a one-hour journey, this corresponds to 3 hours of fatigue for your child with cerebral palsy… just on the way to school!!!  The round-trip to school and back creates 6 hours of fatigue every day, just to go to school and stimulation is not even accounted for yet. Would you personally be willing to face the fatigue that comes with commuting 6 hours a day to go to work?  Five days a week?

As a result, a child with CP is usually exhausted, out of any ‘surplus’ that would allow him/her the ability to thrive and flourish as any other child.

Stimulation at all cost is not the answer! 

It has to be intelligently and strategically planned and applied. Otherwise, you override your child that already has to deal with
metabolic, physical and sensory challenges.

Reinforcing fascia(connective tissues which surround and inter-penetrate all internal organs) improves metabolic functions automatically and spontaneously.

Your child starts breathing better, digesting better and sleeping better. Consequently, their energy level is tripled and interactions with their surroundings therefore improve.

This should be your first objective, regardless of the rehabilitation approach you choose to follow.

Just experiment 2 small changes in your child’s life:

1.  Increase relaxation time. Encourage moments of rest, away from noise and confusion; introduce soft music sessions.

2.  Double their water intake

With just these two small changes, your child will already feel a difference, be more relaxed and open to his/her environment and to you!

Next time, I will talk about another essential developmental virtue you can develop with your child:

Multi-dimensional repertoire of movement vs robotic mono-dimensional movement
​​​​​​​or more simply, the importance of creating independent movement of the head, arms and legs from the torso to expand their repertoire of movement.

Don’t miss it!

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7 essential improvements at your fingertips through fascia strengthening techniques

Part 1

Holding head and torso without effort!

What is robustness?

​​​​​​​It is the ‘spontaneous’ capacity to hold one’s head up and trunk straight in a vertical position.

When I say ‘spontaneous’, I mean that this ability cannot be attained through training, it has to be embedded into your child’s structure.  You have certainly observed your child’s strenuous efforts to attain these achievements, which look more like an Olympic accomplishment rather than normal motor functions.

Why is it so difficult for your child to lift the head or sit ‘up’? 

Simply because the very canvas embedded in each of us, ensuring proper and spontaneous support, is dramatically weakened in a child with cerebral palsy.  Asking your child to ‘hold’ a position, while his/her canvas is not reinforced, goes back to attempting to get a rag doll to stand upright.

Your child bravely appeals to their skeletal muscles to attempt to ‘lift off’, but these muscles aren’t designed to accomplish that function and require lots of energy to activate (just think how tired your muscles get when you lift weights at the gym!)

Weight-bearing should not require any effort! 

 When our fascias have proper tone, they insure a hydraulic capacity within our bodies that allows us to hold spontaneously hold a specific position.

The problem, in children with cerebral palsy, is that these tissues are weakened and hydraulic capacity is consequently lessened.  However, the good news is that fascias can be strengthened through specific and easy to learn techniques.

No more strenuous effort, no more unattainable goals, no more disappointments.

Strengthened fascia creates an improved hydraulic capacity inside your child’s neck and torso, improving the spontaneous and real support of their structure. 

Next time, I will be covering the second set of developmental conditions that are realistically attainable:

Vitality and vigor vs vulnerability and fragility

​​​You won’t want to miss it!

 

 

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Is soya beneficial for your child?

Over the years, studies have shown conflicting evidence about soy-based products. Some studies have claimed that soy is the panacea for many health ailments, a superfood that is the solution to prevent many health problems. Other research, however, states that soy is responsible for behavioral problems and disrupts hormones in the body, thus causing serious health concerns.

Different Types of Soy

Soy is a protein derived from soybeans, which are legumes that historically originated from Eastern Asia in oriental cultures.

Traditional soy products are divided into two groups: fermented – such as miso, tempeh, tamari, natto, and unfermented – such as soybean oil, soy sauce, soy milk, soy protein powders, infant formula, and tofu.

Fermented Soy Products

Fermented soy products are produced as a result of microorganisms such as beneficial bacteria and yeast breaking down the specific carbohydrates found in soy.

 This improves the digestibility and allows for better absorption into the body. Soy fermentation also enhances the solubility of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, copper and zinc and enhances vitamin levels and overall nutrition by concentrating large amounts of the vitamin B complex and forming an enriched product. According to a 2006 study published in the Journal of Nutrition on osteoporosis, Japanese fermented soybeans, natto, have been associated with reduced bone loss in postmenopausal women. However, no comparison study was conducted to test the effect of unfermented soy products on this cohort group.

Unfermented Soy Products

The soybean most commonly consumed today is in an unfermented form.

Soy is used as a protein supplement for vegan/vegetarian eaters, and is commonly made into milk. Most soy, over 90%, in the United States is genetically modified. In a 2014 study published in Food Chemistry, organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile as compared to the conventional and genetically modified soy.

The GM soy crops, which comprise 93-94% of the soybeans produced in the U.S., contained high residues of a broad-spectrum called glyphosate, the main ingredient in RoundUp – which is the most widely used herbicide in the world. According to the World Health Organization in March 2015, glyphosate can cause cancer in humans, in particular farm workers dealing with these agrichemicals.

The Link to Soy with Behavioral Problems

Soy foods today are vastly different from those historically consumed in traditional Eastern Asian cultures. Most soy in the U.S. is used to make soybean oil. The waste product is used to feed livestock or processed to produce soy protein isolate (SPI). Studies have shown various deficiencies in rats that were linked to SPI, such as zinc and B12 and toxins that have been formed in the processing of soy. Despite these dangers, SPI is the basic ingredient of soy infant formula. A study conducted at the University of California, it has determined  that manganese, a mineral found in high levels in soy milk, appeared to be linked to behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, developmental disorders, mental health disorders, and ADHD.

This post originally appeared on About.com

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ABR’s nutritional guide

Our families often ask us to advise them on feeding their child. ABR techniques that provide constant improvement in health go hand in hand with a mindful diet in order to develop greater vitality in our children and ensure the regeneration of their tissues.

As explained to parents during ABR assessments, you must understand that your child’s metabolism is much weaker than our own and that their child’s digestion is particularly difficult. Therefore, anything you can do to help your child’s digestive system and reduce stomach overload will significantly help them function better.

That’s why we developed this nutritional guide.

Vigilance with the size of the pieces and the given amount
If your child can eat solid food, but is unable to chew adequately, it is important to consider the size of the pieces that you give him/her. If the pieces are too large, the digestive enzymes which, in your child’s case, are reduced in quantity, are insufficient to properly dissolve these pieces… furthermore, the enzymes will only work at the outer layer of the food. Therefore, either these remaining pieces of food will stay in the stomach for much too long or they will flow too slowly through the digestive system, requiring too much energy to fully digest. In children that are incapable of chewing, a large amount of pureed food served in one meal will raise the same issues.

What to feed my child?

In general, we recommend buying organic foods and the least processed food as possible.
Thus, we prefer foods in their most natural state:

  • Fresh vegetables
  • Unrefined cereals
  • Fresh meat and fish
  • The least amount of dairy products possible

Therefore, always look for foods that are very fresh, less processed, altered and refined as possible. It is important that you avoid and eliminate:

  • Processed meals and frozen food (pizzas, etc.)
  • Sugars – especially refined sugars like white sugar. If you really must, give in moderation (Note: children with epilepsy should never consume sugar!)
  • Sodas and other sugary drinks

In short, we recommend that ABR parents eliminate all grains that contain gluten and all dairy products. Children, who have a deficient metabolism, progress much faster when relieved of their a diet containing gluten and casein (the main protein present in milk and cheese).

Good food combinations!

Since you child has poor digestion, this should limit the types of food he/she eats in a single meal. Different types of food require different types of digestive enzymes, and if you give your child proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal, it will be difficult for him/her to digest.

Thus, we suggest opting for vegetables as the base of each meal. The vegetables should be lightly steamed (always keep their crunchy texture and a bright green color).

To these steamed vegetables, you may add grains such as rice, quinoa, millet or buckwheat, ot (NOT “AND”) a little meat or fish.

You can also give nut butters, almond or cashew, by adding them to grains or vegetables for a nutritious meal. You can also add cold pressed flax oil.

The principles of food combinations are to avoid mixing proteins with carbohydrates (ie. grains).

So in the same meal, you serve either vegetables with meat, fish or legumes – or vegetables with grains, but you should avoid serving meat, fish and legumes with grains at all cost.

Fats

Coconut oil is a very nutritious oil that possesses as many beneficial nutritional qualities. All children should consume it.

Coconut oil reduces epilepsy in many children.

Make sure that all oils are non- hydrogenated and of good quality. You should give your child flaxseed oil every day, as fresh as possible. Purchase it in small bottles and keep it in the refrigerator. Also use it raw on food.
​​​​​​​

Our next article will focus on two types of foods to eliminate from your child`s diet, or at least reduce considerably… if you want to help their metabolism and contribute to optimal development.

See you next time!

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New research reaffirms ABR’s principles

Mark Driscoll, ABR researcher, MBA, presented the results of a 3-year-study on ABR technique to the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, in September 2014 in San Diego and to the 1st Asia-Oceanian Congress for NeuroRehabilitation, in Seoul, South Korea in September 2015.

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Driscoll, M., and Blyum, L., (2014) Results of a 3 year prospective cohort study investigating the influence of home-based therapy on cerebral palsy patients GMFCS types 4 and 5.

 

Capture d’écran 2015-10-17 à 13.06.12Capture d’écran 2015-10-17 à 13.06.28

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Get a free pre-assessment of your child via Skype!

You are interested in ABR, but still wondering if it is suitable for your child?  Want to know what ABR can do for him/her? Inquire from home! Thanks to the magic of technology, it is possible for us to come into your home, have a look at your child, conduct a 30 minutes pre-assessment and talk ‘live’ about ABR possibilities in his/her specific case.

Get all your questions answered without leaving your home…

Book your pre-assessment today!

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