A few years ago I posted this article (What is IMS acupuncture? Intramuscular Stimulation vs Traditional Acupuncture) on my blog largely as a resource for my clients, because inevitably, about three needles into treatment, clients would ask “how is this different from acupuncture again?”  What started as a patient education piece turned into a learning experience for me, in that I discovered how different groups of people had strong and differing opinions about the technique I was using and how I chose to explain it.  I had entered the turf war of dry needling.  Some acupuncturists were telling me that IMS simply was acupuncture, while others were telling me that my explanation was ‘just bollocks,’ and I should stop misleading people.  Meanwhile a retired physician and an aging physiotherapist were telling me that dry needling had been ‘debunked years ago,’ but local physicians and hundreds of previous clients were actively referring patients and friends to me specifically for IMS treatment.  It is an interesting time in the world of treating people’s pain!

I learned to perform IMS (intramuscular stimulation) from its’ originator and guru in his field, retired physician, Dr. Chan Gunn in 2008.  At the time, I did not know the history of dry needling or the fact that Dr. Gunn had been praised for his work by some and criticized by others, but in my mind, the innovators that stir the pot of the status quo are the ones worth following.  I happened to live and work in Vancouver, the city that Dr. Gunn ran his training center called iSTOP (Institute for the Study & Treatment of Pain) which resulted in Vancouver having the most IMS practitioners than anywhere in the world simply due to the ease of access of training.  It wasn’t research articles validating the effects of IMS that drew me to iSTOP, it was working in a renowned physiotherapy clinic alongside experienced therapists that were using IMS every day with great results that made me sign up as soon as I met iSTOP’s prerequisites. Read More

Hello from down a rabbit hole!  I have now officially taken ten post-graduate courses in a manual therapy approach to assessing and treating the body called osteopathy.  Specifically, I have focussed on two techniques called visceral and neuromeningeal manipulation (NM).  Visceral manipulation (VM) refers to the use of my hands to treat fascial restrictions around organs that may be causing physical restrictions to blood flow, movement, alignment and posture, while Neuromeningeal manipulation is the act of treating the nerves, membranes and brain itself by means of light touch.

I recently just completed a course called NM4 where I learned all about the role of the cranial nerves and how to affect them with my hands to help my clients.  Your cranial nerves extend out of the base of your brain and branch to provide the electrical wiring to your face, eyes, head and organs.  They are kind of important to your daily life, but largely fly under the radar until they get annoyed for one reason or another.  They can be responsible for headaches, eye pain, ringing in the ears and even referred sensitization and irritation into the body due to their connection to numerous organs through the vagus nerve.

As a person who has woken up with a headache every day for two years since my eye injury, I found this class fascinating.  My empathy for people with head and face pain is substantial so I tried to learn as much as I could from this class to help my clients and hopefully myself.

There are twelve cranial nerves:

I- Olfactory-smell

II- Optic-vision

III- Oculomotor- eye movement

IV- Trochlear- eye movement

V- Trigeminal- movement & sensation to your face, tongue, nose, ear

VI- Abducent- eye movement

VII- Facial- facial expressions & taste

VIII- Vestibulocochlear- sound & balance

IX- Glossopharyngeal- swallowing, speech, taste

X- Vagus- control heart, lungs & digestion

XI- Accessory- neck muscles

XII- Hypoglossal- tongue muscles

Don’t bother trying to remember them all, but just consider that every movement, sensation and process that happens in your body is somehow connected to your brain and nervous system.  Read More