he spine from achieving centration.
If one link in a motion pattern is weak or not being used effectively other muscles may be used to create an inefficient motion pattern. These patterns are stored in the central nervous system as habits. Habitual use of inefficient motion patterns can cause chronic pain, injuries, and poor performance.
When trying to rehabilitate an injured person, working only with the obviously affected joint or limb (the one that is injured) is often ineffective because it is not the root cause of the problem, it is just a symptom. Focusing on the core stability first and the injured or weak limb second may seem counter-intuitive but it works very well. Examining the entire motion chain to identify the “weak link” in the motion chain and then working to correct that error is much more effective than focusing on the most obviously affected limb or joint. For example, an athlete suffering from chronic shoulder pain will not be helped by physical therapy directed at the shoulder if the actual problem is a weakness in core stability that is causing the athlete to use the shoulder incorrectly. Correcting the core stability weakness will not be effective either unless the habitual motor patterns can be re-written incorporating the correct motion patterns.
The DNS approach to rehabilitation (or injury prevention) is to compare the athlete’s stabilization pattern to the pattern of a developing infant with the intent of correcting the athlete’s pattern. The initial DNS evaluation consists of a series of functional tests to try to identify “weak links” in the core stabilization.
Once a “weak link” has been identified, a series of active exercises are prescribed. These exercises are intended to activate and restore the optimal patterns of stabilization and movement. Each exercise involves restoring the optimal respiratory pattern and intra-abdominal pressure by re-training the use of the diaphragm, restoring stability of the spine to support dynamic limb motions, and restore joint centration. These exercises were developed, by studying the patterns of movement used by infants just learning how to use their bodies. Through repetition of these exercises the old motion patterns held in the central nervous system are replaced by new ones and these new efficient patterns of movement become automatic.
The choice of infant movement patterns is based on the idea that the human brain is designed to learn movement patterns in a specific way, namely the way infants do. Therefore re-exposing the brain to its natural way of learning movement patterns is easy and effective. Some refer to it as “returning to basics” or “re-booting” the brain’s motion pattern processor.
Once the correct motion patterns have been re-trained into the brain they are used effortlessly in daily life and in sports activities. Using the correct movement patterns stops chronic damage from occurring and allows chronic injuries to heal. Using the correct movement patterns can also prevent injuries from occurring in the first place. And using the correct movement patterns may improve sports performance.