Let’s break down the word dystonia into something we can understand. The prefix “dys” means difficult, painful, or abnormal. In this case we will use the word abnormal to describe the “dys” in this case. The root word “tonia” is not referring to a female name. However, it is referring to tone, especially that of muscles. Imagine your tachometer in the car, revving up to 3000rpm when it should be at 1500 or 2000 at most. This is the same concept for muscle tone. Or if you’re more of an auditory learner, you hear an orchestra play. Each musician plays a specific tone or notes at a given time during a piece of music. The human body functions as an orchestra, with the conductor at the head either asking for more or less. The brain is your conductor, and the body and muscles are the instruments. They all have their pieces, all “play” (pun intended) a role in the orchestra, the performance of the symphony being movement. All that’s to be said, dystonia means there is an abnormal tone in the muscle.
But as we know, not all symphonies play the same quality of music. If the conductor is not doing their job and the symphony orchestra is left to their own devices, there will be dys-coordination.
Runner’s dystonia is a phenomenon where muscles are involuntary contracting, producing abnormal movements and sometimes can be reported as a dissociation. Runner’s dystonia is only felt when running, not at rest or walking. Those who have runner’s dystonia describe it as watching a limb move on its own without being able to control the movements. The sense that something is controlling your body without being able to override it can be deeply frustrating especially from a competitive athlete’s perspective.
So how do we control something that is uncontrollable? We talk to the conductor or in our case, the brain. The brain learned how to walk and then eventually how to run. The act of running is just a repeated reflex, the stumble reflex followed by the crossed extensor reflex. Smooth transition between 1 reflex to the other.
I want to bring a very important concept to the discussion. GIGO. Garbage in Garbage out, or Good in Good out. Movement is just an expression of the nervous system. Quality of movement is a direct expression of what feedback the nervous system is fed. You have different receptors in the body; temperature, pain, light touch, proprioception and sense of position. Both consciously and unconsciously.
A lot of the brain’s work is actually in the inhibition of neuronal firing or signals being sent to the muscles. When someone has a stroke or a spinal cord injury, many times the result is SPASM. Rigid tightening of the muscles, in a constant state of contraction because the brain isn’t communicating to the muscle to actually stay relaxed. We call the ability to control and modulate tone in a muscle motor control. In the case of runner’s dystonia, the motor control from the brain is not functioning. Inhibition, at a rate equal and opposite to excitation. We think of muscles being turned on and off, but more correctly stimulation of inhibition. So how do we stimulate the inhibition of excessive or faulty movements? By bringing the brain back to its locomotor developmental roots. The template is there; we just need to restore the factory defaults.
At our clinic we utilize the principles of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) to treat patients with motor control dysfunction. By inputting a stimulus through certain reflexive points on the body, motor patterns can be retrained and then after repetition it becomes the way the body moves. This is only a brief overview of some complex topics and will be built upon in both application and research.
What we absorb through our senses ultimately shapes what we offer to the world. When we begin to see life through this lens, transformation becomes possible. We are designed to experience the world through our senses—what we take in fuels who we become. The mind is like a garden—what we allow in becomes the seeds that take root. Let in poison, and even the richest soil will rot. But feed it light, truth, and stillness, and what grows can nourish not just you, but those around you.
Ohio Sports Chiropractic and Rehab
📍 10360 Northfield Rd, Northfield, OH 44067
📞 (330) 908-0203
🌐 ohiosportschiropractic.com
