What is Muscle Restoration? How DOES IT WORK?
Austin Muscle Restoration’s practitioners practice a unique blend of certified muscle rehabilitation modalities which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. We call our practice “muscle restoration” because our goal is to restore muscular and neuromuscular functioning “back to factory settings” to the extent possible. What does this mean? It means our goal is to use a blend of proven techniques, customized to you, to communicate with your neuromuscular system with the goal of restoring your functioning, balance, strength, and sensations back to “normal.”
The most common reasons that the neuromuscular system’s communication is disrupted include overuse, stress and strain; injury or surgery; medical conditions such as autoimmunity, stroke, or genetic conditions; and wear and tear due to normal life activities and aging. A disrupted neuromuscular system can result in symptoms such as pain, unwanted sensations, hyper mobility, limited mobility, stiffness, weakness, imbalance, weight shifting, postural issues, and spasticity.
Our unique neuromuscular restoration practice is the result of our 2 top practitioners’ 40 years of (combined) experience practicing numerous muscle and joint rehab modalities, as well as developing our own proprietary muscle restoration method. The number one question clients ask us is: “How will you help me when I have seen so many other practitioners?” We address this question extensively on our website, which you can find here.
For this article, we will summarize our webpage:
We are not practicing cookie-cutter protocols
The same complaint often has a root cause unique to the client. While many clients present with back pain, neck pain, foot pain or shoulder pain, it is rare for any two clients to have the same root cause of that pain. This is why we say “Pain is in the brain” because the sensation of pain is often always correlated the the area responsible for those pain sensations.
With plantar fasciitis, for example, the sensation of pain is always in the foot. However, the cause of that foot pain can originate in the neck, hip or knee as examples. If direct interventions to the foot are not working, that’s a good clue that the foot is not the root cause of the pain. By assessing and addressing the root cause site, foot pain may finally resolve.
We start by taking a deep and thorough dive into your health and injury history to start connecting the dots that will create a clear picture of why you are experiencing an unwanted issue. We next create a custom roadmap for muscle restoration for you based on our root cause evaluation. Bottom line: We assess and address neuromuscular complaints in a different way than any other single modality.
We are not a pain management practice
All too often, clients experience a “symptom management merry-go-round,” meaning they have the same intervention, over and over, indefinitely, to manage pain or muscular issues. When this happens, it is a clue that the root cause has not been discovered and addressed. This happens because the site of pain is often not the root origin of that pain.
When the neuromuscular system experiences a disruption, such as an injury or surgery or stress, the signal that the brain sends to compromised muscle(s) can be rerouted. For example, you sprain your ankle so you begin to use the injured tissue less, and other muscles in your body pick up pick up that work (called “compensation”).
Compensation is a healthy way to help your body heal. But what happens if the injured tissue heals and the brain forgets to re-route the normal signals back into that now healthy tissue? The result is a chronic compensation, which is not good. Now the tissue that was temporarily helping is now chronically overworked and stressed, which will eventually result in the brain trying to protect that overworked tissue by sending signals of pain or by starting to guard, or limit, motion. If chronic compensation continues, it can cascade and you can end up with an entire complex of chronic compensation up and down the entire body (often looking like neck, shoulder, back, knew and/or ankle pain on one side of the body).
Our goal is not to play whack-a-mole with your symptoms. Our goal is to connect these dots, and trace your composition history back to it’s origins. We then start to unravel and reverse-engineer these compensation patterns in an attempt to restore your neuromuscular functioning back to its original functioning. This is why we say we “assess and address” the comprehensive functioning of neuromuscular system in order to restore it to “factory settings.”
History Matters
You are one connected system. We ask about your footwear, your bedding, your occupation, your daily activities, your medications and supplements, your emotional stress, nutrition plan, past pregnancies and concussions, structural issues, botox and more, in addition to your history of injury, surgery, illness, and overuse. Why? Because anything that you do or think can manifest as a disruption to your neuromuscular system.
Yes, we need to know about your medical or cosmetic botox because botox paralyzes muscles which sets you up for (at least a temporary) compensation pattern. We need to evaluate what role this may play or not play in your current complaint.
Yes, we need to know if you have ever had a concussion, as concussions play a role in ocular muscle health which plays a role in balance, pain and stability.
Yes, we need to know if you ever sprained your ankle or suffered a whiplash event because it is often the oldest (and often minor) injuries that set off a compensation pattern (even though symptoms don’t manifest for years). We look at every piece of your puzzle to see a clear big picture.
Yes, your mattress and purse and shoes and occupation play a role in your neuromuscular health and recovery.
We are an alternative wellness practice
There are many restoration and rehab modalities. If chiropractic or massage or physical therapy work for you and your insurance will pay for those services, you do not need to be seen at Austin Muscle Restoration. We are specialists of the muscular and neuromuscular systems and we fill a gap when other modalities do not work.
Our clients have tried an average of 7 other modalities before coming to us, and are often facing surgery as the last option (or surgery as the last option did not provide adequate resolution). We exist because too many people have tried “everything out there” and are losing hope for recovery. We have helped hundreds of clients improve pain and movement issues, even after they thought they tried it all. We specialize in the chronic, complicated and catastrophic. We won’t dismiss you or give up on your case.
As our website states, “We do not claim to be magicians. We have no magic wands to fix you and we have no crystal ball to predict exactly when and how much you will improve. But we can tell you that we will be honest about our prediction for your progress and we will never give up on you. Our clients that trust our process and are willing to be our collaborative partner always get the best results. We will never stop looking for novel solutions to your complex issues. We ask that you communicate with us and have patience with the process.”
Do you still have more questions? Be sure to visit our FAQ page!
as well as our page About Our Muscle Restoration System
Special Protocols: We offer Specialty Protocols including Concussion/TBI Protocols, Pre/During/Post Pregnancy Protocols, Neuromuscular Stroke Restoration, Jaw and Eye Restoration, Non-Invasive Core and Pelvic Floor Restoration, Back Pain Programs, and Strength Training Programs for those with Stroke/Autoimmune/Injury/Illness or for Youth and Adult Athletes from our world-class expert on Exercise Mechanics.
Interested in a comprehensive evaluation?
Contact Shannon @ 512-461-2856 to schedule
