When the body's natural balance is restored, movement becomes effortless and pain-free.

Neuromuscular Manipulative Therapy (NMT) is a holistic, specialized form of hands-on physical therapy.  NMT uses joint and soft tissue manipulation to restore the natural balance of nerves, muscles, and joints.  When the body's natural balance is restored, movement becomes effortless and pain-free.  

NMT is safe and effective for all ages.  It is the most effective treatment for pain in the neck, shoulders, back, hips, and knees.  It is also effective in reducing the risk of falls in older adults and can reduce nerve pain caused from diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

NMT was developed by PT 360 Physical Therapy, PLC's co-founder, Scott Hadley, PhD, DPT. NMT is a treatment approach that is rooted in fundamental neurological control between various muscles and muscle groups. During a particular motion such as gait, with each step, key muscles are stimulated; eliciting the recruitment of subsequent muscles, and the sequential movement pattern is achieved.

When stimulation of those key muscles is altered or impaired, the reflexive pattern of muscle recruitment is inhibited, resulting in compensatory movement patterns, altered biomechanics, and possibly injury. It is through the understanding of these fundamental stretch reflexes that NMT is formulated which is the approach PT 360 uses to treat and prevent injuries.

NMT is derived from principles first published by William Sherrrington in 1898, and from the works of Eccles, regarding stretch reflexes.  A stretch reflex is triggered when a muscle's spindle fibers are stretched, activating a sensory neuron.  The afferent neuron activates spinal motoneurons which cause the muscle to reflexively contract.  In 1957, Eccles and colleagues reported that the stretch of certain muscles not only causes reflex activation of that muscle, but other muscles are activated as well. 

Eccles thus defined two types of stretch reflexes. A homonymous stretch reflex occurs when the stretch of a muscle causes that muscle to contract.  A heteronymous stretch reflex occurs when the stretch of a muscle causes a different muscle to contract.  During the past 60 years, heteronymous stretch reflexes have been investigated extensively by neurophysiologists, identifying dozens of reflex patterns perpetuating human movement. 

NMT bridges the gap between the objective science of neurophysiologic research with clinical practice; resulting in evidence-based practice treating universal stretch reflexes intimately related to the root of pain and dysfunction.

Biomechanical analysis, strength testing, and other diagnostic measures may unveil impaired mechanics caused by weak muscles, resulting in painful motions. Traditional treatment would attempt to strengthen weaknesses through therapeutic exercises. However, the muscle identified as weak may test weak secondary to an inhibited stretch reflex pattern, resulting in only partial recruitment of its muscles fibers, producing a weaker muscle contraction.

The NMT approach restores strength to muscles by identifying and treating the primary impairment - the heteronymous stretch reflex pattern causing the muscle inhibition and weakness.  By doing so, the source of the problem is directly addressed, and the secondary weakness, biomechanical impairment, or pain is resolved. 

PT 360's use of the NMT treatment approach has had an overwhelming success rate with our patients.  Patients receive exclusive one on one treatment with a licensed physical therapist for their entire hour long treatment session. We teach our patients self-treatment techniques in order to alleviate their own pain and restore their stretch reflexes allowing them to become independent and in control of their own health.