This is a comment that I received a few days ago from the Director of SRA-Dr. Frank Jarrell. While it is a bit technical, it is an extremely good description of SRA, and I feel that it needs to be posted on the main site.
Hello Amy,
My name is Dr. Frank Jarrell. A colleague of mine in Atlanta, GA forwarded your blog reference to SRA and indicated that you were new to SRA and that I may want to assist in explaining the process to you.
First, I want to compliment you on a tremendous looking website/blog. It is very professional in design.
SRA Attachment Point Therapy (APT) is one of several procedures available to various professions to reduce the Axial Spinal Reflex (a cord mediated withdraw reflex) and its' adverse effects on nerve, muscle and joint.
When your therapist is applying mild pressure to the tendon attachment points in a given reflex pattern, he or she is stimulating receptors in the muscle, tendons and deeper tissues in a controlled fashion to produce a specific physiological response in the muscles, joints, and nerves.
One receptor stimulated in this procedure, that for low grade pain, conveys information through the spinal cord and on to the pain analgesic centers of the brain.
More specifically, the paraaquaduct grey portion of the Thalamus, a part of the brain stem. This area will release neurotransmitters and analgesics that are transported back to the spinal cord and cause the "fading pain" effect of this technique. As the point is held longer the chemical build-up will cause a drop in tone or tightness in multiple muscles associated with the reflex ("lengthening response").
Although it is a procedure that triggers nerve stimulation and nerve induced nerotransmitter release, the actual pressure is not on the nerves per say, it is on the muscle and tendon end points.
The level of pain should be well below the "splinting" or tension reaction stage and should be relatively comfortable. Pain that causes splinting (as in deep tissue work or injury) releases a different set of neurochemicals that trigger adrenaline and other fight or flight responses.
All points worked are specific to the assessment she performed in the beginning of the session. Not following the charts would be completely ineffective.
The web site is devoted mostly to professional continuing education and therefore does not have a great amount of information available to the general public. We will provide more access in the near future as people indicate the need.
Mild soreness after the first or second session is not uncommon and is noted more in those with lower than average core body temperatures. Please inform your therapist if this persists. She will need to apply a lighter pressure during your sessions.
I hope this information helps in your understanding of this exciting and new approach to pain and dysfunction.
Please feel free to discuss this more with your therapist or contact us at info@spinalreflex.com.
My staff and myself will assist you as best we can.
Sincerely,
Dr. Frank Jarrell
Director of Spinal Reflex Institute, Intl.
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