areas of fitness, but can also help improve most other areas of the
body and brain, including speech, vision, balance, memory and even
intellect. And because muscles have other important functions, such
as energy production, circulation and immune activity, increasing
physical movement can improve overall health.
Manual biofeedback utilizes procedures very similar to standard
manual muscle testing — they are part of both the assessment and
treatment aspect. Muscle testing is a commonly employed procedure
first introduced in 1949 to evaluate muscle weakness in polio
patients. Since then, many forms of muscle testing methods have
evolved, for both evaluation purposes and treatments. Manual
biofeedback incorporates the best of these into one system.
While traditional EMG (electromyography) biofeedback uses
computer equipment, including mechanical sensors and electrodes
attached to the skin, manual biofeedback does not use any equip-
ment. Instead, manual biofeedback uses another person’s neurologi-
cal sense to convey information and help the patient’s brain and body
work better. This is a more personalized approach, recruiting more
brain-body stimulation with verbal, visual, tactile and other sensory
cues that further enlist the patient’s participation and motivation.
(Much more information on manual biofeedback is available from my
website: http://www.philmaffetone.com.))
Fix Thyself
The concept that the body can fix itself is centuries old. As noted, the
first step is to improve overall fitness and health so the body can per-
form its normal job of correcting imbalances. While many problems
can get in the way, two body areas that often interfere with its ability
to fix itself are the feet and breathing.
The feet are our physical foundation, and if they are unstable
every structure above can become unbalanced, especially the muscles
and joints. I discussed two important issues about the feet: the first
was finding the best shoes to wear and the second is going barefoot.
Both are associated with improving muscle function in the foot, ankle
and leg to help maintain a stable foundation. In other words, you’ll
strengthen chronically weak muscles which will allow tight muscles
to relax and restore muscle balance.
MECHANICAL FITNESS AND HEALTH • 281