So what is that crazy tape that Dr. Larsen uses in the office? The tape that many patients call the “Magic Tape”?
Well, we assure you that it isn’t magic, but it is pretty darn cool, and science applied in the proper way usually is. So here we go…
Specific Proprioceptive Response Taping (SPRT) is the use of using the body’s own biofeedback mechanisms (the muscle test) to determine exactly where and in what direction to put the tape.
Specific – precise or particular.
Proprioceptive – pertaining to the receptors located in tissues such as muscles, tendons, and joints, that respond to stimuli produced within the body.
Response – any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.
Taping – to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.
Wherein conventional methodology in taping and bracing most often attempts to limit general movement, the SPRT system encourages movement through non-pathological ranges of motion.
Per square inch of skin there are about 20,000 nerve receptors. What this means is that there is a LOT of information in the form of sensory input that is headed back to the brain. Your brain needs this information to know what to do. If there is a damaged body part such as a shoulder, the input back to the brain is skewed from what is normal.
If we could somehow feed the brain NEW information, we would have the potential to stimulate it to send healing building blocks back to the injured body part. We would also be able to help the brain better coordinate the muscles surrounding that body part. Much of the pain in an injured body part comes from the muscles no longer working in cooperation with their neighbor.
However, when we put the SPR Tape on the correct location, pulling in the correct direction, at the correct tension, the brain gets the message to re-coordinate the muscles. And quite often, patients will get up off the table absolutely pain free!
We have seen people leave without their crutches after a serious sprained ankle, people who have had a frozen shoulder for over a year with all the best physical therapy, be able to move it after just applying ONE piece of tape, and damaged wrists from a serious fall completely heal in record time.
The bottom line is that we stumbled upon something extremely powerful, and NOBODY else is doing it. No, this is NOT Kinesio-Taping like you see in the Olympics, and other sports. It’s not done at your physical therapist either, even if they use the same tape. This is a special technique that only a very few doctors even know about.
It’s amazing, it uses neuroscience as its platform, and it stimulates YOUR BRAIN to do the healing.
SPRT Benefits:
- Enhances restoration of normal muscle movement
- Encourages exercises into pain-free range of movement
- Provides afferent (back to the brain) proprioceptive sensory stimulation
- Provides subconscious automatic control of injured, imbalanced soft tissue structures
- Provides balance to soft tissue structures, enhancing alignment and balance of involved joints
- Limits atrophy of injured secondary surround soft tissues
- Allow movement of 80-90 percent of pain-free range of motion (when indicated)
SPRT can be applied to a number of injuries including:
- Cervical and Lumbar Disc Herniations (Neck and Lower Back Disc Injuries)
- Shoulder / Rotator Cuff Injuries
- Tennis / Golfer’s Elbow
- AC Joint Injuries (shoulder separations)
- Postural Disorders
- Knee Tracking Disorders (patella tracking disorders)
- Ankle Sprains
- Meniscal Injuries (knee cartilage)