'Study' Spotlight: Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization & Sports Rehabilitation

By: Joel Luedke

First I want to say that this is not a review of a tried and true research study but that does not mean it is not valuable to check out.  I was first exposed to DNS by Kyle Boland DC of Coulee Health.  Kyle has been working with some of the athletes at UWL and while he would do some of the 'normal' things in the treatment of the athletes (soft tissue work and adjustments) he also started utilizing breathing techniques.  I found this to be especially common when he was working with our athletes that had an type of chronic back pain.

This peaked my interest as it was working so well and relieving tension and pain that we had not beenable to with "traditional" treatments, modalities, and rehab.  This was my introduction to DNS and since I have been to a couple of courses and the amount of things you can help and 'fix' with DNS is astounding.  It is actually extremely humbling.  While we just summarize the review of DNS here I highly recommend reading the paper as the information in it is so deep and worth checking out.

What They Did:

The authors here took a look at 'core' stability and how it can benefit and lead to optimal athletic performance.  The authors then break down Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) and how the assessment and application of their principles can help sports rehabilitation and improve dynamic neuromuscular (core) stability.

What They Found:

Very short answer for this one.  The DNS approach provides functional tools to assess and activate the intrinsic spinal stabilizers in order to optimize the movement system for both pre-rehabilitation and rehabilitation of athletic injuries and performance.

What it All Means:

Taken right from the article we address the answer after; "Dynamic neuromuscular (core) stability is necessary for optimal athletic performance and is not achieved purely by adequate strength of abdominals, spinal extensors, gluteals or any other musculature; rather, core stabilization is accomplished through precise coordination of these muscles and intra-abdominal pressure regulation by the central nervous system."

Being able to move past traditional "core" training or just looking at a single joint or set of muscles as the problem is critical.  The human body is to complex and impressive to have any one thing be isolated.  Applying 'functional rehab' in any capacity is going to yield greater results in the long run when it comes to improving outcomes and function of the body.  Whether it is DNS or another form of this type of rehab it is highly encouraged challenge yourself with these techniques and their application for your own sake as well as your patients outcome.

Source: Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization & Sports Rehabilitation

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