Charles Sherrington

When Sir Charles Scott Sherrington published “The Integrative Action of the Nervous System” in 1906, he revolutionised the way we think about the human body and movement.

“Sherrington found that reflexes must be regarded as integrated activities of the total organism, not as the result of the activities of isolated “reflex arcs,” a notion that was currently accepted. The first major piece of evidence supporting “total integration” was his demonstration (1895–98) of the “reciprocal innervation” of muscles, also known as Sherrington’s law: when one set of muscles is stimulated, muscles opposing the action of the first are simultaneously inhibited.” (Britannica.com)

The reflexes he discovered are covered in every modern textbook of anatomy, physiology and neurology but the clinical consequences of those reflexes are virtually ignored in modern medical practice and research.

Afferent Input is a paradigm available to all healthcare practitioners that brings new tools and a fresh set of eyes to the examination and treatment of patients.

In this FREE COURSE we will cover

1. The Myotatic Reflex
2. Reciprocal Inhibition
3. The Withdrawal Reflex

PLUS You’ll get An Introduction to Afferent Input
and Some Bonus Videos and Special Offers.

It is amazing that 100 years after Sherrington’s discoveries, most health professionals still seem to think that muscle tone is a conscious activity. They give exercises, ergonomic advice and postural advice in the belief that these will change muscle tone. They won’t, except in the moment, obviously.

When you understand how muscle tone is generated and how reflexes control movement, providing genuine and lasting improvements for your patients will become second-nature.

The Association of Afferent Input Practitioners is a group of highly talented and enthusiastic health professionals from a variety of backgrounds who fully endorse the paradigm and use it like a “plugin” to make any physical treatment easier and more effective for their patients.

If you’re a licensed health professional, you will be eligible for membership after training in afferent input either online or in our live seminars.

This short introduction aims to explain muscle function. It will show that while our brain obviously has a part to play, the vast majority of muscle contraction is totally subconscious and controlled by REFLEXES.

We will learn how the first stage of reflex muscle control is afferent input from proprioceptors, mainly the muscle spindles and we will discover how that input can be abnormally inhibited, leading to injury, pain and disability.

We will see how the Afferent Input paradigm challenges the notion that the brain controls the body, how the brain is a processing centre that connects the mass of incoming signals in a way that creates the totality of output we recognise as movement and function and how our every thought and action starts life as an incoming nerve signal.
We will discover that our nervous system is controlled from the outside-in.

Enjoy.

References

1. Orchard J et al. Preseason hamstring muscle weakness associated with hamstring muscle injury in Australian footballers. Am J Sports Med. 1997; 25(1):81-5
2. Kandel ER, Schwartz and Jessell. Principles of Nerual Science, 4th edition 2000
3. Herzog W; Suter E Muscle inhibition following knee injury and disease. Sportverletz Sportschaden 1997 Sep;11(3):74
4. Slemenda  PH et al Quadriceps Weakness and Osteoarthritis of the Knee Annals Int Med15 July 1997 Vol 127 (2) 97-104
5. Eric B. Larson et al Exercise Is Associated with Reduced Risk for Incident Dementia among Persons 65 Years of Age and Older   Ann Intern Med, Jan 2006; 144: 73 – 81.
6. Vissing J; Wilson LB; Mitchell JH; Victor RG Static muscle contraction reflexly increases adrenal sympathetic nerve activity in rats. Am J Physiol 1991 Nov;261(5 Pt 2):R1307-1
7. Victor RG; Rotto DM; Pryor SL; Kaufman MP Stimulation of renal sympathetic activity by static contraction: evidence for mechanoreceptor-induced reflexes from skeletal muscle. Circ Res, 64(3):592-9 1989
8. Jonatan R Ruiz et al. Association between muscular strength and mortality in men: prospective cohort study BMJ 2008;337:a439
9. Turker KS; Brodin P; Miles TS Reflex responses of motor units in human masseter muscle to mechanical stimulation of a tooth. Exp Brain Res 1994;100(2):307-15
10. www.iaomt.com The International Accademy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology.
11. Nations SP, Trivedi JR, et al Denture cream: An unusual source of excess zinc, leading to hypocupremia and neurologic disease,”, Neurology, 2008 June 14
12. Suter E; McMorland G Cervical Manipulation decreases muscle inhibition. Decrease in elbow flexor inhibition after cervical spine manipulation in patients with chronic neck pain. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2002 Aug;17(7):541-4
13. Suter E; McMorland G; Herzog W; Bray R J Decrease in quadriceps inhibition after sacroiliac joint manipulation in patients with anterior knee pain. Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999 Mar-Apr;22(3):149-53
14. Price Weston A; Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation www.ppnf.org.
15. Brownstein D Iodine:Why You Need it Why You Can’t Live Without It. Medical Alternatives Press 2006
16. Meade TW, Dyer S, Browne W, Townsend J, Frank AO. Low back pain of mechanical origin: randomised prospective comparison of chiropractic and hospital treatment. BMJ 1990;300:1431-7.
17. https://kin450-neurophysiology.wikispaces.com/file/view/MUSCLE+SPINDLE+wikki.pdf

It’s time to learn how to put Sherrington’s Reflexes into practice. Upgrade now while these courses are HALF-PRICE.

If you are trained in the use of manipulation, you may also want to consider the advanced course.