Brian Bronk DC
Simple. Complex. Sublime. AMR represents an earth-is-round vs earth-is-flat moment in the history of spine medicine.
A doctor once wrote that on the first day of medical school, they were told that fully half of what they were about to learn would turn out to be wrong in the end, they just didn't know which half it would be. A portion of that half, is back and body pain of musculoskeletal origin.
ie., The disc theory of back pain was in vogue well before the advent of MRI. Before that we only had x-ray, which can only look at bone. But because the space between the bones, where the disc would be, looked degenerated, or narrowed, we’d say, it looks like you have a bad disc.
With the advent of MRI, we could actually see the disc, and a ha! A herniated disc, as we always suspected. But then, they did some pure research, and guess what they found?
The disc can rupture to the left, looks like it’s pinching the nerve going down the left leg… but the pain goes down the right leg.
Half the population over age 40 have a disc, arthritis, something deemed significant on x-ray or mri… but they have no pain.
I was made aware of the flaws in the disc theory when I was in school, but hey, I’m a student, I’m trying to fit in. So you forget what doesn’t make sense, and by preaching this worn out theory, I’m in line with the greatest minds in the country.
If you went to school when the consensus of scholarly thought said earth is flat, that’s what you learned, and preached with all confidence. Spine medicine is stuck on earth is flat thinking.
Everyone’s a genius because back pain, for the masses, is self-limiting. It’ll go away in a few days, weeks, months, no matter what you do and respond to all manner of therapy. It is said that everything works, and then nothing works.
If you don't believe me, ask John Sarno MD, author of Healing Back Pain, the mind-body connection, he'll tell you. Science is reproducible, there is no science to our current understanding of back and body pain. He makes the leap in logic that since the hard evidence makes no sense, it must be all in your head. His solution? Knowledge. That the pain is all in your head.
In his book he invites his colleagues to verify or correct his work, and here's the missing link: "In the thousands of patients I have examined over the years, rarely have I found the involved muscles to be in spasm."
That is it! What we've all been missing… underlying spasm. I would have you think of underlying spasm as more like shrink-wrap, nothing sticks out, there is no apparent spasm, but that’s where the source of your pain is hiding.
Typical muscle therapies are finger painting, or mashing, and compressing the soil. A precise leaf rake approach tills it, allowing muscles to reinflate.
I've investigated a zillion techniques of healing as a chiropractor looking for answers. Only the leaf rake allowed me to fix chronic pain conditions I once did not think possible. The leaf rake is better science. It’s reproducible and makes sense of what we observe.
During the process of fixing chronic pain conditions previously diagnosed as a disc, or bone on bone arthritis, the leaf rake elicits the very thing doctors look for in examination, and tests like discography, but do not find… which is to recreate the familiar pain the patient been suffering. To hear them say, “that's it, that's my problem.” When you say, “that's it.” That’s it. It’s in the muscles, we just haven’t been treating them correctly.
Worst part about the leaf rake? It's work, it's not magic. Like picking crops, it's the kind of work you can't get most people to do. Fixing chronic pain conditions can feel more like you're digging the panama canal with your hands. It needs to be automated, for the same reason we have harvesters and chainsaws. When that happens, it will decimate the field of disc and joint surgery, bring a revival to the 3rd act of life.
There are so many people suffering chronic pain... you don’t have to. What you need is someone willing to do the work. They need no prior experience or background in anatomy. All you need are some boney landmarks and a leaf rake.
If you have a friend, a loved one, anyone willing to do the work, the relief your body’s been aching for awaits.
Dr B
Brian Bronk DC is a chronic pain specialist, and the author of Disc Shmisc, and Advanced Muscle Reconditioning.
I’m not a genius, I came across the leaf rake by accident of fate. As noted, I've investigated a zillion techniques of healing, it was at the end of a long road when someone telling me about the greatness of the leaf rake. I said, "please, don't even go there, I've heard it too many times." I'd had been around the block on muscle therapies, I couldn't imagine anything that radically different, anyone could teach me about how to treat a muscle. I was sure I was doing the same or similar, until i felt the precise form of it, and in one minute, I knew it was better than anything I'd done in my life. I gave up adjusting bones (something I loved and never imagined I would do) and everything else I've done in my past. The leaf rake is the only thing I want done on my body.
I’ve been exploring “outside the box” for 40 years, and have nothing more to do but to pass it on.
I know you can't appreciate it in words, but you can feel it. Give me two minutes, I'll alter your every notion of massage and deep muscle therapy.
The phone. The fridge. The internet. The leaf rake. Advances in technology happen.
Partial paralysis from a stroke
Les McCann, jazz pianist / vocalist. Les had a stroke on stage during one of his concerts. After the stroke his right hand was partially paralyzed. His thumb could move, but his fingers were stuck, clenched like a fist for 4 years, when a mutual friend referred him in to have me take a look at it. He knew I had taken up the soft tissue work developed by Thomas Griner.
I said, I have no clue, I’ve never seen anything like it, never fixed anything like it. He said, “Do me a favor, see what you can do.” And this is how i know what i know: don't think, just work. If I thought about it, I’d say there’s no way.
Ten one hour sessions to his forearm, he walked out, his hand still clenched like a fist. But his forearm was all black and blue, something was happening, so we kept going. The 12th session it broke free and was reborn right before our eyes. Les cried like a baby, he knew he was free at last. His hand returned to 99% of its previous ability.
Les left us a couple years ago. He was larger than life, funniest guy I ever met. Love his lilting style. So grateful for our time together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF27DwUEcO4&list=RDfF27DwUEcO4&start_radio=1
AMR: 5 Principles and a Map
AMR consists of 5 principles and a map. Basically, we're going to take a precise leaf rake to the body.
4 principles define the leaf rake, 5th is the thought process: we simply think of a bigger picture than just the spot that hurts, scan the fundamental patterns, and teach our client to direct.
That's right, AMR says stop analyzing and forget what you think you feel, it will lead you astray. Tissue that feels worse to my hands may be holding stable, not causing symptoms. Tissue that feels better to my hands may have them on the disabled list.
Once you teach your client to direct, you'll see very quickly how ridiculous it is to think we know better. A millimeter can be something or nothing, and your client is the only one that knows. I have reduced myself to a voice activated robotic arm. I just give you your menu options, it's your job to direct.
Whether you do it professionally, or just to help friends and family, the simple framework of AMR is food for a lifetime, and uber empowering.
Rates
Treatment w/ Dr B: $50, $75, $100, $200 whatever you like. Outcall: $500
Lessons with Dr B $100/hr
You can’t tell the quality of a stroke by watching. Only when I feel your hands can I offer feedback and demonstrate on you what you’re doing, and what we’re looking for. The science of back pain lies in the precision of a good stroke.
Certifications
Long Oil Strokes: Beginners level AMR
KP: Knowledge of Patterns