Workshop Summary - Spinal Percussion Therapy for the Cranials

Summary

Nick Hodgson presented a workshop on Spinal Percussion Therapy for the Cranials using the 3dEnergy gun, outlining the initial steps, crucial guidelines, and contraindications for the therapy, emphasizing the use of lower settings and light pressure, and avoiding specific facial areas. Key clinical assumptions included that participants have the necessary qualifications and indemnity to administer the treatment, and the main talking points involved the identification of tension, clenching, and bruxism as a global cranial pattern causing cranial tightness, and a detailed, example-based percussion therapy route with specific torque directions to reverse these effects and open the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Details

Spinal Percussion Therapy for Cranials with 3dEnergy Gun: Nick Hodgson presented a workshop on Spinal Percussion Therapy for the Cranials using the 3dEnergy gun. He outlined the initial steps for using the 3dEnergy gun, including turning it on, setting the torque direction and speed, and setting the impulse speed. It was highly recommended to use lower settings initially, especially for Cranials, and only increase them based on tolerance and feedback from the recipient.

Guidelines and Contraindications for Percussion Therapy: Nick Hodgson detailed several crucial guidelines for administering the therapy, emphasizing not to make contact before starting the impulses, not to change speeds while maintaining contact, and not to increase the forces with physical pressure, but rather to allow the percussion to do the work. He stressed that the 3D energy gun has been specifically modified for this therapy and should be used instead of a standard massage gun or head. Contraindications include applying percussion to the ear canals, eye sockets, lips, or nasal passages, and recipients should be trained to give feedback on tender points.

Clinical Assumptions and General Principles: Nick Hodgson issued a disclaimer stating that the workshop does not provide medical diagnoses or recommendations, and it is assumed that participants have the necessary qualifications and indemnity to administer the demonstrated treatments. The general principles include planning a preferred route for scanning the cranial surface and always maintaining very light pressure, allowing the tip to slide and glide across the skin surface. The route demonstrated is for example purposes, based on his clinical experience, and the images are 2D representations of a 3D treatment based on right-sided patterns.

Tension, Clenching, and Bruxism as a Global Cranial Pattern: Nick Hodgson identified tension, clenching, and bruxism as the most prevalent causes of cranial tightness, which manifests as a global Cranial pattern beyond just the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), causing the face to shorten and the Cranials to move forwards and downwards. The general principle for torque direction is to suggest a rotation that will reverse the effects of clenching or bruxism, noting that for left-sided patterns, the described torque should be reversed.

Demonstrated Percussion Therapy Route and Torques: Nick Hodgson presented a detailed pathway beginning at the occiput using anticlockwise torque to scan the lambdoid suture, superior nuchal line, and inferior nuchal line. The anticlockwise torque continues around the temporal suture, back across the temporalis belly and origins, over the sagittal suture, down the coronal suture, and circling the sphenoid area. The torque is then changed to clockwise for the supra-orbital region to the glabella and back across the frontalis region. Finally, clockwise torque is used to circle the TMJ, head across the maxilla, cover the pterygoids, and scan around the masseter muscle, which is intended to open the TMJ.

Concluding Notes and Future Workshops: Nick Hodgson summarized the route and emphasized finishing notes such as using light pressure, lower settings initially, sliding and gliding the gun, and maintaining a perpendicular alignment of the gun to the contact point. He also mentioned forthcoming workshops including "circling the sub," a variation on maximizing neurological impact on spinal work, demonstrating work on the coccyx, and myofascial percussion therapy using the 3dEnergy gun.