It's a small world... and sometimes the international news turn out to be very local.
On March 14th, an awful tragedy struck. A bus carrying Belgian school kids from a ski holiday in Switzerland crashed into a wall of the tunnel killing 22 kids, 6 adults and leaving the survivors seriously injured.
That tragedy happened to be very local to ABR Team -- Luca, the son of Katja Schultz, a trainer from ABR Belgium, was on that bus... After several hours of terrifying wait -- she finally got the news that he was among the survivors. As she flew to Switzerland in the wee hours of the morning on a military plane dispatched by Belgian authorities -- she didn't know how bad were the injuries both physical and emotional.
Thanks a lot for viewing the first video ...That was very encouraging.
Well, in today's video" Fascia Research Congress 3 -- Field Report of DAY 1" there is way more content -- there were a number of very important presentations and although I tried being brief -- the total overview still run into 28 minutes.
However, every individual "eureka" realization is short enough (1-3 min) -- so I hope you'd find it well watchable.
Connective tissue could be strengthened
Hands-on work influences gene expression via mechanotrsnsduction'
How the brain map shrinks in Cerebral Palsy
How the wrong exercises in Cerebral Palsy could be extremely damaging
I am trying to step into the shoes of a real blogger -- the one with the instant upadates and the news report.
Me, Mark and Sarah are in Vancouver at the Fascia Research Congress # 3. Busy time here.
3 days packed with super-relevant and most-up-to-date stuff from Fascia science. Thursday I am speaking in front of Rolfers on the subject of "Guided Stress Transfer as the common fundamantal priniciple behind all manual therapies" and on Friday we have poster presentation hours...
Today was the day before -- the day when everyone meets and greets... and to my surprise -- since I am far from the most friendly and extrovert person -- it turns out that I have quite a lot of friends among fascia colleagues already.. Today was really more about hugs and handshakes ...
So here is the short video that gives you a basic feel of how things are. I tried my hand in editing -- the result is rather amateurish but I hope that will suffice.
What is the best birthday present a person can get? – Well, there are many facets to that, right?
First of all – I want to thank all of you – my Facebook page and e-mail were full of birthday wishes and cards. I really appreciate that and it means a lot to me…
But today I wanted to talk about a different and very special present. Finally I know the answer to what really is an incredible birthday present :-)
Obviously I can only speak from my own weirdo perspective – but this year I have really got treated to an amazing birthday present… a 2-day long 1-on-1 meeting with a person I consider a bona fide genius – Dr. Jaap Van der Wal.
His insights lifted me out of one of my deepest and longest standing frustrations (obviously without knowing it – I was just one of 100s of people in the audience when he talked from the stage).
What frustration am I talking about? – well, the one that is central to the entire medical and biological discourse of today.
You see, there are two camps out there and the rift between them is of a Grand Canyon size.
I came back home a week ago after nearly 3 months on the road ... fortunately my family still recognized me... I guess it's the haircut ... :-)
Tons of materials accumulated during these months -- the teachings, the presentations and the comparisons of before/afters to do...
This year's round of assessment was very rewarding -- the ball rolling indeed works as expected -- probably even better! The improvements of the connections within the vertebral columns and the ability to connect the 'velcro attachments' of the shoulder blades -- are really quite amazing breakthroughs..
So my call to all of you esteemed ABR Parents-Therapists -- please do not skip learning courses... Ball rolling techniques are continually upgraded empowering you to become a lot more effective and efficient... There is one thing that one cannot buy in this life -- it's time... and in the development of the growing child with cerebral palsy -- 1 hour of work done this year is probably worth at least 2-3 hours done next year --from the perspective of developmental yield...
I am going to provide you with a lot more of the technical teachings in a format of videos and practical tips in the forthcoming months -- we already accumulated tons of such teaching material -- and working through sorting it out...
So -- there is going to be a lot more opportunities for you to progress via doing your homework better.
However, direct hands-on teaching by an expert ABR trainer -- is always a major shortcut for you. That's how you can develop your skills faster and get those skills in action -- boosting your kids' development...
I started sorting out the presentations we did with Mark during the visit to Hawaii -- in this post I am offering you the one that we did in the Rehabilitation Hospital of Hawaii.
It is far shorter than the main workshop that we delivered as part of the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities -- but maybe there is some advantage to this more compact format.
Couple of preliminary cover notes...
Unlike the main ABR workshop at the Pacific Rim Conference on Disabilities that was filmed with a professional camera by a videographer -- this on is filmed using a good old Flip placed stationary on a mini-tripod with a superwide view of the entire room.
I guess you'd realize that the quality is not supergood. However, it's not too bad either.
First, most of the presentation is based on the powerpoint slides -- so I have inserted them into the video -- making it a lot easier to follow the narrative.
Second, I must say that the Flip is surprizingly good in recording the sound considering the tough circumstances of filming.
So I hope that your viewing experience is going to be reasonable enough to allow you to concentrate on a content...
The really interesting part is the fact that only through the circumstances of this particular presentation I understood how much of routine challenges an immersion of the new paradigm and methods face -- even when there is a genuine interest and goodwill.
Let me paint a broader picture to help you to see the context...
First of all -- the MD who is in charge of a Rehab Hospital team attended the workshop that we did few days earlier and was very positive and receptive. He was the one who actually "send" a group of PTs and OT -- 12-15 people -- to learn from us.
So, there was no resistance -- only goodwill. But... then the reality kicks in..
Every therapsit has a significant workload scheduled days in advance...
Only now I realized how significant are those logistical and administrative constraints within the existent healthcare model..
Frankly, a physical therapist in many instances has no more freedom than a worker at the assembly line -- it's a conveyor belt! Patient after patient, who have to receive a type of therapy that has been pre-aproved by the insurance companies and by referring physicians who are absolutely removed from any hands-on work with the patients..
How on Earth even the most enthusiastic and thoughtful individuals inside this profession are going to progress beyond the routines that they've been doing for decades!?
So to cut the story short -- the only time available was ... the lunch hour..
Well, it's a bit weird -- to introduce the ground-breaking concepts to the chewing crowd... :-)
However, on the one hand, even opera singers sometimes perform in front of the audience that eats and drinks, right? :-)
On the other hand, one can entertain the thought that the digestion of the "food for one's stomach" might facilitate the digestion of the "food for one's mind"....
I do not have much science to bakc this up -- but why not? :-)
On top of that, somewhere half way through the presentation ... the fire alarm went off! ...But as you all know -- I am loud and passionate enough not to be bothered by such minor inconveniences ...
So here we go ... this is a compact version of the presentation that introduces 2 key ideas:
Connective tissue focus instead of the mainstream brain and muscles focus in interpretation of Cerebral Palsy
Transition to the "Thrifty" Rehabilitation and Therapy based on connective tissue emphasis vs. the "Lavish" one that defines the therapies for Cerebral Palsy and brain-injury rehabilitation modalities today.
Part 1.
Part 2
Besides of going through these videos yourself I do encourage you to invite your PT, OT etc. to watch it as well... Hopefully, that will help your future communication with them...
Your comments are most appreciated. The more you say -- the more we'd be able to adjust and adapt the style and emphasis of presenation to help your 'inner game' development the most...
Long time – no see… Once again – contrary to my best intentions there was a gap in getting stuff published on this blog. The theorists of blogging say that nothing is more detrimental to the readership than irregularity and unpredictability…
Not that I have run out of the things to share – pretty much the opposite – but casual writing seems to be going for me only when I am out of the field work…
Anyway – I hope that blogging sporadically is still better than silence..
Well, first of all the last 7 weeks have been very packed.
In March I went to Singapore to re-film the last bits of the long overdue extended course on Super-Soft Ball Rolling Massage – the problem is always the same: by the time I finish one version there are so many upgrades to the technique itself and teachings that the entire course starts feeling awkward and outdated. Even though I realize that it could always be labeled as a ‘beta’ release 1.0 with subsequent updates –it doesn’t work for me – to the frustration of my production team I end up with another major overhaul.
However, finally it looks that the Super-Soft Ball Rolling Massage technique enters into the maturity phase with clear distinction between the skill levels – so I am feeling a lot better about the release of the intro course. Hopefully by the end of the summer we’ll get everything finished – as you all know too well – I am not known for lack of thoroughness :-)
Then there was a training session in Montreal. Very encouraging.
On the one hand, excellent progresses related to the evolution of the dorsal compartments (the back; vertebral column etc. ) – and respectively tons of material worthy of quite impressive “before/afters”.
On the other hand – I am very happy to have achieved a next milestone in the development of Super-Soft Ball Rolling Technique – the increased volumetric response, which integrates the benefits of the 3Q and the ball rolling at the same time.
As I am saying that – I realize that I have uploaded the video “ABR Technique Essence” to the Vimeo library but completely overlooked embedding into the blog:
Here it is.
On a practical side – I strongly encourage all of you to learn the recent upgrades of the Ball Rolling – the “Intense Technique” and the “Submerged Technique”.
I recommend it wholeheartedly – go ahead and sign up for the summer trainings if you haven’t done so yet– because these technique upgrades are going to be a major boost in the efficacy of your homework – at least doubling it…
Next big thing – me and Mark Driscoll (our principal research guy) – have conducted a 4-hour workshop at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities – http://www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/ – titled: “Thrifty” Rehabilitation – Home- Based and Family-Centered Treatment of Cerebral Palsy.
There were about 30 professional attendees – MDs, PTs, OTs – who specialize in Cerebral Palsy.
Frankly, over the years of life at the fringes being labeled as “alternative” I am used to the resistance and certain arrogance of the medical community towards “unofficial” newcomers.
Well, this time was a refreshing difference.
It appears that our duo with Mark finally managed to strike the right chord and engage the medical audience really deeply. Four hours is a long period of time – but the attention never waned.
I think that finally we have found a winning formula
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