NKT – NeuroKinetic Therapy
NKT (NeuroKinetic Therapy) is a method that brings together various other methods and techniques, with the aim of treating the dysfunction rather than the symptoms. The movements we make are stored in the brain, so by correcting a faulty movement pattern we automatically reduce pain.
NKT aims to reduce pain, especially chronic pain, while improving strength, power, mobility and flexibility. With less pain, the need for medicines decreases. NKT is based on manual muscle testing; combined with an analysis of the muscles – that is, of the functional anatomy of muscles and muscle groups – it particularly reduces pain and improves muscle control and quality of movement. Some regions and muscles are common sources of pain, and NKT focuses on precisely these. For example, the scalene muscles cause pain in the neck and along the arm; the pectoralis minor contributes to poor posture and a so-called rounded back, impairing the function of the glenohumeral joint, and also contributes to breathing dysfunction and various other poor compensatory movement patterns. In the knee region, the popliteus sometimes causes knee pain and dysfunction. On the outer side of the thigh, the tensor fasciae latae is involved in many dysfunctional patterns in the body. The piriformis muscle causes pain deep in the buttock and sometimes along the leg. The hip and groin are very often affected by impingement between the head of the femur and the acetabulum, known as femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Its symptoms are pain in the groin and thigh and reduced range of motion. In the head, the temporomandibular joint can cause problems with chewing and headaches.
The diaphragm is a musculotendinous structure involved in breathing, and when it becomes dysfunctional, a range of problems can arise, from breathing difficulties to back pain. Emotional problems often cause diaphragm dysfunction: the diaphragm tightens, and a faulty pattern also develops in other, usually neighbouring, muscles and regions, such as the quadratus lumborum, serratus posterior, scalene and intercostal muscles. The pelvic floor is an important region that needs careful analysis in cases of low back pain, incontinence (reduced bladder control), constipation and sexual dysfunction.
NKT is also used at our polyclinic and is an excellent complement to other techniques once the initial diagnosis has been made. Our kinesiologist Grgur Bulović (MSc in Kinesiology) uses the technique with great success.
