What is P-DTR?

The longer explanation

P-DTR stands for Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex. Proprioception translates to: "Joint sense, a sense that informs the brain about the position of individual body parts in space. Signals from sensory organs in tendons, joints, muscles and skin are analyzed in the cerebellum and cerebellum to create a conscious image of the body's spatial position.""

Everywhere in the body there are free nerve endings (receptors) that register what is happening inside and outside the body. The receptors can be divided into pain, mechano and chemoreceptors.

The brain receives input from these nerve endings and provides an output in the form of turning on or off, for example, muscles. When the muscles are turned on, it can be a small muscle contraction, as is needed when you hit your colleague's foot under the table and politely pull their foot towards you, or a large reaction if we have to jump for our lives in a dangerous situation, and everything in between. 

Input and output

When you hear an emergency call, it is an input to the brain, which then determines whether you are in danger and should move or simply continue your planned route. In the same way, it is an input to the brain when you touch a hot stove. Here, the output is to move your hand. The processing of input occurs on an unconscious level and you only react to the output the brain chooses, based on previous experience and the size of the input.

Stretch receptors

I explain here about stretch receptors in relation to our joints, as it is the easiest to understand.
As you read this, your brain knows exactly how your joints are palced and if you close your eyes you can describe it. In our joint capsules around the joints, in our ligaments across the joints and in our muscle tendons there are stretch receptors.

If you start to bend your finger backwards, there will be increased input to the brain from the side of the finger that is being stretched. At some point, the brain is afraid that the joint will break and can either bend the finger back or let go of the muscles and follow the movement. In the latter case, the brain has assessed that it cannot provide a large enough output to stop the movement backwards.
After an overstretching of the finger, the stretch receptors can become oversensitive, so the brain thinks that the finger is always in the extreme position, even though it is physically in a normal position. A subsequent slight stretch of the finger backwards will therefore trigger tension or relaxation of the muscles, as if the finger was about to snap backwards again.

This can mean something if it is, for example, your shoulder where the ligaments have previously been overstretched or the shoulder has been out of joint. You may not link it with the pain you experience when training here many years later. However, there may be a direct connection. Your brain may think that training is dangerous because the ligaments are being stretched and sending too many inputs. This is even though they are actually just stretched within normal movement and you are not in any extreme position. The brain will therefore try to limit the movement or tighten up other muscles to prevent stretching the oversensitive stretch receptors. You may feel this as the shoulder not having normal movement or that it hurts in or around the shoulder when you train.

This can be easily removed by treating the cause of the oversensitive stretch receptors so that input to the brain becomes normal again and thus the output as well.

Pain in our everyday life

On a daily basis, the brain relates to all the sensitive nerve endings and input it receives from the body and our environment when it has to determine an output. An output can, in addition to the example above, also be to turn off muscles, but then there are other muscles that have to tense up instead. This can cause a crooked pull around a joint or a sudden hold in the neck. 

Hypersensitive nerve endings

I treated a boxer in the clinic who, when hit lightly on the hand, pulled it far back, too far in relation to the size of the input. The brain interpreted the input as dangerous, so the output was to pull the hand far away, even though it was only a light hit. These are the imbalances that are treated in the nervous system with P-DTR. In this case, after the treatment, I was able to hit his hand harder than the first time, without it moving.

The brains capacity

Our brain is bombarded with impressions on a daily basis and has to deal with many inputs. The above may have given you an insight into this. If brain capacity is low, even the daily tasks or experiences in our lives can affect us.

Imagine that your nervous system is a gas tank. You fill up on gas by sleeping and eating well, having good relationships, a stable job, etc. If some of these parameters are not optimal, there will be a lack of petrol in the tank. The less gasoline there is, the more imbalances we take into the nervous system.

On a daily basis, we can also drain our gas tank. Most people experience being more refreshed in the morning and more tired in the evening. This is because some of the input we are exposed to in our daily lives drains the brain's capacity.

Therefore, in addition to removing imbalances in the nervous system, work is also done to build up the brain's capacity when you are treated at Brændgaard Physiotherapy.

P-DTR´s founder

Dr. Jose Palomar MD / Specialist Orthopedic Spinal Surgeon and teacher of Applied Kinesiology lives in Guadalajara, Mexico is the founder of P-DTR. He lacked effect in his clients both in surgery and kinesiology. He began with his knowledge of the nervous system and muscle testing, examining responses in the body by stimuli to the various receptors. For the past 20 years, he has dedicated his life to finding cause and context in our nervous system and putting it into structure. He now teaches the courses himself and has a few teachers who also have a doctorate, so the quality of the teaching is maintained.

Research

The effect of P-DTR is currently being researched. When there are results, these will be announced online.