Myokinesthetic System, “MYK”

Alleviate (and eliminate) pain.

Restore range of motion.

Improve Posture

“Posture is the outward expression of the nervous system.”

 Dr. Michael Uriarte

Myokinesthetics (MYK) is a scientifically proven muscle movement technique that balances posture and re-educates the nervous system. Faulty posture demonstrates that there is a problem with the nervous system. When someone presents with unbalanced posture(s), this means at some point in their life there was a specific cause (say, a bad fall or lifting something heavy incorrectly) and then a compensation.

Compensations appear as postural abnormalities, a shoulder blade is higher than the other for example. When you knock a bone out of place, another bone(s) will also move out of place to compensate. The muscles contract or relax to make the bone(s) move. A muscle on the left side of the body may have to shorten which means a muscle on the right side will have to lengthen to compensate. The Master of the nervous system, the brain, tells all the other muscles involved to move so that we are able to stand as straight as possible. The central nervous system receives information from all the parts of our body and then quickly sends responses back down to correct problems as best it can with compensations.

The goal of MYK is to narrow down the nervous system’s “cause” and clear it so that we can also clear the compensation at the same time. This is achieved by stimulating each muscle that is innervated by the affected nerve pathway through repetitive touch and specific movement patterns.

MYK was started by Dr. Michael Uriarte, DC in the early 1990’s. It continues to gain momentum in popularity due to its effectiveness in treating musculoskeletal and nerve disorders and is currently being studied by several Universities. For more information regarding clinical studies on MYK please visit Dr. Mike’s website at wwwmyokinesthetic.com or click on the link below.

FAQ’s

1. What is a MYK treatment like?

The client and practitioner will go over the initial intake and a postural assessment will be done to verify which nerve root is the problematic one. Some treatments are quite short, some are longer, depending on which nerve root is involved (for example, L1 nerve root innervates 10 muscles but S1 innervates 34 muscles). The treatments consist of repeated muscle movements that are specific to the muscles innervated by the affected nerve root. This is done both passively (by the practitioner) and actively (by the client).

2. Does it hurt?

No. If there is a movement that is painful for the client then that particular movement pattern will only be done actively, by the client, in order to keep within their comfort level.

3. How many treatments will I need and how often do I need to come back?

6-8 sessions is typical for conditions that have been around for 2 years or less. This is a general guideline as some people need less and some people need more depending on the chronicity and severity of the issue. Most people find relief within the first week of care.

4. What can MYK treat?

This is not an exclusive list. This is to give an idea of what MYK can help with:

• Migraines
• Neck Pain
• Low Back Pain/sciatic
• Repetitive Use Injuries
• Tennis Elbow and Carpal Tunnel
• Frozen Shoulder
• Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis
• Chronic musculoskeletal pain
• Range of motion restricrtions

5. What else should I expect?

This is a fully clothed treatment in which the client may have to change positions (sidelying, stomach, on back or sitting) during the session in order to reach all the muscles. Please wear comfortable clothing that you can move freely in. In some cases I will be looking at your feet without socks and possibly touching.

6. Why doesn’t the pricing of MYK reflect the amount of time spent on my treatment?

Very good question and one I have been asked often. It is true that some MYK sessions are much shorter than others. With that being said, I am still treating the same problem regardless of where it is located. I am not going to charge someone more money because their impingement is at a different level. It is not someone’s fault that their affected nerve root happens to have much more muscles involved, or less for that matter. It is also difficult to know how to schedule MYK as the time to treat someone can vary greatly and I need to account for possible time slots lost.