Gunn ims
Targetting the source of
recurring pain.
Do you have pain that seems to return again and again?
Do you have an injury that has never fully resolved?
Have you tried numerous treatments with only short term results?
The answer to your problem may not be in you muscles and joints, but in your nerves.
Gunn IMS may be the solution.
In order to understand how Gunn IMS can help you,
you must first understand Neuropathic pain.
Neuropathic pain occurs when a nerve is unhealthy.
At Resolution Physiothery & IMS Clinic in Barrie,
we use a 'lightbulb' analogy to explain how neuropathic pain works.
Imagine that the lightbulb in your front hallway has burned out. Logically, you would replace it. If it burned out again the next day, you may call it a faulty bulb, and replace it again. But, if it burns out a third time, you will realize that the fault is in the wiring and not the bulb. This is the same with the human body.
Traditional manual therapy is like changing the light bulb. You can continue to receive treatment to your joints and muscles, but if the problem is coming from your wiring or your nervous system, the problem will continue to recur until you get your wiring right.
In the human body, our wiring is made up of nerves. Nerves are very sensitive and require adequate nutrition, which is supplied by small arteries that surround the nerves, to function properly. Any low-level nerve compression, which can occur with disc herniation, bone spurring in your spine, or even with muscle tension following an athletic injury, can compress the small arteries and reduce the blood flow to the nerve, causing the nerve to become malnourished. Within about a week of being malnourished, a nerve starts to become angry.
We call angry nerves ‘neuropathic’.
When a nerve becomes angry, or neuropathic, it changes the physiology of the muscles it serves so they are unable to fully relax. This leads to a low level of muscle spasm in all the muscles supplied by that nerve 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The inability of the muscles to relax prevents full recovery from injury and ongoing stiffness causes reduced mobility.
Over the long term, chronic muscle tension can lead to degenerative changes in joints, further disc injury, and overuse muscle tendinosis.
Full and permanent recovery is only possible if nerve nutrition is restored.
So, how do we repair the wiring???
Gunn IMS.
“Whether their pain is related to chronic athletic injuries or whole body chronic pain disorders, many of our clients express frustration at having spent years trying different treatments with only short term results.Underlying neuropathic dysfunction, may be preventing long term resolution of chronic pain. Our team of post-graduate trained Manual Physiotherapists thrive on the challenge of treating clients with complicated chronic neuropathic pain.
Thankfully, our Physiotherapists, with the help of Gunn IMS, help our clients experience a more permanent improvement in their pain and function.”
— Mandi Hayes, Gunn IMS Physiotherapist/Clinic Owner.
Gunn IMS is a very effective type of ‘westernized’ dry needling that improves nutrition to the nerve and help resolve neuropathic dysfunction.
When a muscle is in spasm because your wiring has been impacted and your nerve is neuropathic, Gunn IMS treatment produces immediate relaxation in muscles supplied by that nerve, which reduces compression and helps restore nutritional supply to the nerve. Gunn IMS is like re-setting your fuse box because, after treatment, nerves are less compressed and can finally get the nutrition they need to function normally. This leads to restoration of normal nerve function, and therefore wiring that will no longer burn out the ‘light bulb’. This leads to reduced muscle tension, improved joint mobility, reduced pain and improved function for our clients.
“Resolution Therapy has become one of my first line, favorite physiotherapy clinics to send my patients to for neuropathic pain. I am particularily impressed by the effectiveness of IMS and its integration into the total physiotherapy program. It seems to speed the progress of rehabilitation and recovery in my chronic pain patients. The staff have always shown great dedication in their quest to improve my patients function and lessen their pain. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone! ”
— Dr. Doug Howard, MD CCFP (em) dAAPM
“Last April I experienced extreme pain from a herniated disc that caused sciatic pain down my right leg with numbness in my calf. Not even the strongest pain meds dulled this pain. Mandi was recommended to me by a colleague at work who had had the same diagnosis earlier that year ... As a nurse I was aware of anatomy and physiology and had had physiotherapy in the past but had never heard of IMS. I have never met a physiotherapist who is as skilled and experienced as Mandi. Mandi explained everything that was happening to my body, and what it would take for a full recovery. I had weekly, then biweekly sessions of IMS, as well as exercises that Mandi taught me. I am pain free now and the exercises are a regular part of every day to keep me healthy. I see Mandi only occasionally as needed now. I do not hesitate to recommend Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS to anyone I meet, friends, family or patients who suffers from chronic pain or injuries! I can’t thank you enough Mandi, for helping me get my back pain resolved!!”
“Two years ago I had a back operation for my herniated discs. My surgery was a success as I had less pain but it was not gone completely. I returned to work but was unable to sit for much more than an hour without suffering discomfort. My love for running was put on hold months before the surgery and appeared to not be returning in the future. I then meet Mandi Hayes. She treated me with IMS and after 3 or 4 treatments my pain was significantly better! She then started intense manual therapy in combination with IMS and I was then able to sit without pain! I was even able to start running again! Before I started treatment with Mandi I was coming to terms with the fact that I may always have pain and that my life was going to be different because of it. Mandi is committed to making her patients better and because of her expertise, I have my life back!”
“I was horrified of needles, but it wasn’t bad at all! It actually helped me feel a lot better!”
How do our Physiotherapists know you have Neuropathic Pain?
IMS relies heavily on a thorough physical examination by a Certified IMS practitioner, who has been trained to recognize the physical signs of neuropathic pain.
At Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS Clinic in Barrie, our Physiotherapists have advanced post graduate training in IMS.
An IMS focussed physical examination looks for neurological, muscular, vasculature, skin, and joint changes which are specific to neuropathic pain, and will determine specifically which nerves are affected.
UBC Gunn IMS will only certify Physiotherapists or Physicians in IMS, and even then will only certify Physiotherapists who have completed significant post-graduate education. This ensures that Gunn IMS examination and treatment will be conducted safely and competently, and that the treatments will maximize recovery effects for clients.
How does IMS help resolve Neuropathic Pain?
At Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS Clinic in Barrie, our Physiotherapists determine which nerves are neuropathic and use IMS treatment to normalize the function of these nerves.
IMS uses acupuncture needles (approximately the size of a hair) which are placed into the muscles which have been made tight by the unhealthy/abnormally functioning nerve. The needle is both diagnostic and therapeutic, in that if a nerve and the muscles it supplies are normal, the client will feel nothing when the needle is inserted.
If a nerve and the muscle it supplies are neuropathic, the tightened muscle will ‘grab’ the needle and produce a cramping sensation.
IMS results in 3 effects:
First, a stretch receptor in the muscle is stimulated which results in an immediate reflex relaxation of that muscle.
Second, the needle causes a microtrauma to the muscle which brings blood to the area and helps heal the muscle.
Third, the treatment causes electrical current and nutritional flow that will help heal the nerve.
Overall, these 3 effects reduce the sensitivity and improve the health in the nerves and muscles, which should lead to a reduction in your muscle, skin and joint pain, increase your joint range of movement, and restore your functional movement.
The results are cumulative and, while improvement should occur following your first or second treatment, your symptoms should continue to improve and last longer with each appointment.
Dr. Gunn's research found that an average of 8.2 Gunn IMS treatments were needed to significantly improve longstanding chronic neuropathic pain.
If you have an injury that has lasted longer than it should, it may be time to 're-set your fuse', with Gunn IMS.
Contact Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS today and see how effective Gunn IMS can be for you.