Dooley Noted: 4/21/2016 We’ve all had it. You get nervous and your sympathetics start ramping up. Your breathing gets altered. Quickly, you feel a lump in the back of your throat. You try to swallow it down – but you can’t. It’s because there is nothing there. You won’t see anything on imaging. In Chinese medicine, they call it plum pit qi. In allopathic medicine, they … Read more
Dooley Noted: 4/6/2016 Diastasis Recti (DR) is a condition involving the separation of the two bellies of rectus abdominis (RA) from the midline, where they insert on the linea alba. DR commonly occurs after quick, intense anterior expansion of the abdomen. Conditions that can cause DR: – Pregnancy – C-section – Abdominal surgeries (esp. ventral wall hernia repair) – Fast and steady weight gain – Central adiposity, due to disease processes or … Read more
Dooley Noted: 3/25/2016 In this week’s NKT study group, we discussed the highest subsystem in the hierarchy, the deep longitudinal system (SLS). The DLS is important part of our bipedal movement in gait, particularly the mid-swing to end-swing phase. The DLS must be cleared before moving on to other subsystems. The DLS can be assessed with single leg stance and swinging single leg stance (SLS). The swinging SLS is … Read more
Dooley Noted: 3/17/2016 Recently, I’ve experienced an influx of patients with both sternoclavicular (SC) joint and acromioclavicular (AC) joint dysfunctions. The SC joint is a saddle joint and the only bony articulation to hold the upper extremity to the thorax. The AC joint is a uniplanar (gliding) joint between the scapular and clavicular distal extremities. These two joints are imperative for overhead movement of the shoulder girdle, relative to the thorax. … Read more
Dooley Noted: 3/2/2016 This week, I’ve watched some wobbly feet on many squat patterns. I observed the bevy of compensations for poor foot stability, ranging between the following: 1. Excessive external foot rotation at the ankle, locking the calcaneus into some phase between eversion and inversion 2. Medial knee collapse (genu valgus), for a foot that can’t pronate 3. Lateral knee overcompensation (pushout), because of attempting to correct genu … Read more
Dooley Noted: 2/25/2016 Last week in a NeuroKinetic Therapy study group, we looked deeply at grip testing with pre- and post-dynamometer measurements. We looked at the different muscles of the hand that truly power grip strength in concentric contraction, as well as the nerves that drive this power. We considered the potential impingement along the nerve’s pathway, then used grip testing (in opposition, adduction and flexion) to see if linking the … Read more
Dooley Noted: 2/19/2016 Since I can’t go an hour without someone asking me about the “new quad” being identified, I took it upon myself to discuss a clinically important – yet often uncredited – bundle of slightly collagenated tissue that resembles fascia and tendinous properties. While the migrant quad belly shows no clinical significance other than a “cool” factor, the aforementioned unnamed fascia is a connection between vastus medialis and adductor magnus that … Read more
Dooley Noted: 2/7/2016 Recently in lab, we performed head reflections that exposed the posterior pharynx (aka throat). This fascinating dissection is the only time the students get to experience this view, since this is not a surgical procedure and not a common imaging procedure. In order to complete the dissection, we have to cut through the occipital bone’s foramen magnum and disarticulate the skull from the first cervical vertebrae. When doing … Read more
Dooley Noted: 1/23/2016 In Immaculate Dissection I: Core Concepts today, we discussed the three natural anatomic hiatuses of the thoracic diaphragm. These holes pass through the thoracic diaphragm to allow for passage of structures to and from the thorax and the abdomen. The three major hiatuses include holes for the inferior vena cava, aorta, and esophagus. These particular hiatuses are located at particular vertebral levels, which made present with … Read more
Dooley Noted: 1/13/2016 The hypoglossal nerve is the 12th cranial nerve, a nerve intimately connected with the first cervical nerve. The hypoglossal nerve controls the majority of musculature to the tongue, with the exception of palatoglossus (a muscle that is vagus nerve innervated). The hypoglossal nerve exits the skull via the hypoglossal canal, a canal located within the occipital condyle. Thus, the nerve function is directly affected by atlantooccipital joint … Read more