05/04/2023
Blog Post #1: What is SMRT?
SMRT stands for Spontaneous Muscle Release Technique. It is a positional release modality developed by Dawn Lewis after watching an osteopath use passive contraction to significantly reduce the swelling/inflammation of a woman’s sprained ankle in a matter of seconds. Dawn has continued to develop this technique and has taught thousands of therapists how to use SMRT to assess and provide pain relief to the general public.
I had the honor and privilege of learning SMRT from Dawn herself during my time at Full Circle School here in Aurora, CO. So, what makes this modality so effective? Let’s review some terminology:
- Active contraction: exerting force on a muscle to actively contract or shorten that muscle (ex: you actively flexing your elbow to perform a bicep curl)
- Passive contraction: contracting or shortening a muscle without the muscle actually exerting force (ex: me moving your arm into a flexed position without your aid)
- Proprioceptors: sensory receptors in our muscles and joints which communicate with our Central Nervous System (CNS) to tell us where are bodies are located in time and space (ex: look to your left and raise your right arm. You don’t need to physically see your right arm to know that it is raised or how high you’ve raised it)
Our bodies are constantly compensating (or adjusting) to our work activities, lifestyles, sleep patterns, etc. Take me for example, I have a systemic twist in my skeletal system from sleeping on my right side and twisting my upper body to the left. My rib cage is sheared to the left, while the right side of my rib cage and my right shoulder are dragging inferior. I sometimes experience pain in L1/L2 where, passively, my hips only want to move to the right and, passively, my ribs/torso only want to move to the left.
We experience pain where the compensation pattern cannot continue (ie: where my lumbar vertebrae cannot continue to twist right with my hips b/c my thoracic vertebrae are twisting left with my ribs).
Sounds complicated? That’s because it is. All this wonkiness just from how I sleep. I won’t even go into detail about all my other misalignments from my previous desk jobs, or from all my years growing up in sports.
How can SMRT help? Once again, SMRT is a positional release modality that utilizes passive contraction to communicate with our body’s proprioceptors. By moving the body further in the direction it want to move in, we are able to soothe the CNS to the point where the muscles, joints and bones are able to balance or realign themselves. Our bodies are incredible!
After we experience this pain relief, additional efforts are required as a client in order to maintain this new balance. Pain can still be present in other areas when more complex compensation patterns exist. It is important to understand that 20, 30, or even 40+ years of sitting at a desk with poor posture, sleeping in wonky positions, surgeries etc, will not be corrected in a short 60min session. Healing is a continuous process which requires maintenance and commitment. We must constantly be mindful of how we use our bodies, and what activities may be contributing to our painful compensation patterns.
Ready to learn more about SMRT? Schedule your session now and take the first step in experiencing pain relief therapy! Ask me questions and tell me about your pains in the comments!
