Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation
At The Performance Clinic our Team train with the most up to date courses, always enhancing our knowledge base
At The Performance Clinic our Team train with the most up to date courses, always enhancing our knowledge base
What does DNS Treat?
DNS changes the perspective on therapy. Rather than addressing isolated symptoms, it restores the global control of movement.
Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) is an approach to rehabilitation and movement developed by Czech physiotherapist, Professor Pavel Kolar. Rooted in developmental kinesiology, it studies how movement evolves during the first year of life and theorizes that as we age, this global control of movement is lost through poor habits and injury.
Kinesiology
During infancy, children reflexively develop movement patterns that take them from laying on their backs to sitting and eventually to standing and walking. These developmental stages, milestones – become a tool for understanding how the nervous system determines postural control as well as muscle coordination in adults.
DNS uses these developmental milestones for both assessment and exercise, as it identifies which movement patterns or stabilizations might be improved in order to produce good quality movement.
Basic Trunk Stabilization and Intra-Abdominal Pressure
Core stabilization is one of the greatest foundations of DNS. This is achieved by the balanced co-activation between the deep muscles of the spine, as well as the diaphragm, pelvic floor, and all abdominal musculature – a system known as the Integrated Spinal Stabilizing System (ISSS).
Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), on the other hand, is created through respiration while contracting the ISSS. Imagine a cylinder of air with the diaphragm acting as the roof, the abdominal and spinal muscles as the walls, and the pelvic musculature as the floor. Together, they provide stabilization of the spine in both static and dynamic movements. This is why during DNS treatment, breathwork is a major point of focus. Proper breathing becomes the foundation for stability and later on, movement.
Joint Centration Links the Kinetic Chain
Ensuring that a joint is centered as it moves throughout its range lessens the risk of compensation in other parts of the body. To do this, stabilizers must be properly activated preceding the execution of a dynamic task. For example, insufficient centration of the foot during motion may cause the knee to compensate. Not addressing this imbalance may lead to poor movement patterns in the Central Nervous System (CNS) which may translate into chronic pain later on.
The Role of the Central Nervous System
While working largely on a subconscious level, the Central Nervous System (CNS) regulates all these functions. During DNS, its role is to recognize co-activation patterns of muscles during movement to provide joint stability. Faulty movements may not merely be due to isolated muscles but instead, a consequence of a weak link within that kinetic chain. Movement analysis is then performed to pinpoint whether the problem is found locally or may be connected to another region.
What to expect from DNS
DNS assessment begins with functional testing in different positions to identify the quality of stabilization and movement during breathing. This is then structured into a treatment approach based on an infant’s developmental positions, all while training both the stabilizing and dynamic functions of muscles within a kinetic chain. Proper respiration will be monitored during performance of all movements for a specified number of cycles, as this is what will train the brain to regain control during everyday movement.
What to expect during a session?
Book in with Portia or Julia for a DNS session. 0191 4350560
References
Our Physiotherapists prioritise your health and wellbeing; we’ll listen to all your concerns, make sure you are understood, and we’ll go one step further to tailor an individual treatment plan to your needs.
