One of the most common questions I get asked by friends, family, and clients alike is to give them the elevator pitch of exactly what P-DTR is.
Simply put, the way we move and feel in the world around us is dictated by a very simple three step procedure: input, processing, output.
We receive information from the outside world via sensory pathways and receptors.
It is then sent up to the brain for processing and finally sent down the motor system.
If the information that we’re taking IN to these pathways is corrupted, whatever we put OUT will be altered.
Improve what goes IN to improve what goes OUT.
In P-DTR, we learn how to quickly assess all of the various sensory pathways to ensure that we’re making decisions based off of accurate information.
One such example is the spinotectal tract which enables us to orient our eyes and head towards a given stimulus.
In addition to learning how to assess this pathway for dysfunction, we also come to understand how to use it to our advantage to bring out chronic and often hidden nocioceptive dysfunctions.
Understanding how to use this pathway has been incredibly helpful in both clinic and real life.
Knowing how to recognize when it’s dysfunctional, using it to pinpointing lingering aches and pains, even for something as simple as helping to make an injection more tolerable for children (and adults!).
By truly grasping the practical APPLICATION of neurology, we can easily make sense of the complexities of pain science.
Ultimately, pain is a not an input to the body, but rather a conclusion by the brain.
Change the input. Change the conclusion.