SENSITIVITY EXERCISES

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

This chapter gives a general description of a collective group of exercises and details which are sharing the here described facts.  This group of exercises is aimed at the establishment of a sensory basis for a successful MFT training. This is important when damage respectively a long time dysfunction exposure have caused a sensitivity deficit or when in contrary a hypersensitivity perturbs the process of normal function which means that it is performed with a too high frequency or tonicity.

Contents:

These exercises purport mainly mental educational objectives. As far as reflex triggering stimuli are concerned the aim should be to try to adjust these apriori at will (also see REFLEX EXERCISES) and secondly to anchor the therapy success into the unconscious.

Materials:

As these exercises for the greater part are proceeding in a manipulated manner (see MANIPULATION EXERCISE) appliances, devices and equipment are required which allow the aimed stimulation with single stimuli. Among these is the frequently cited Elastic (description see RING LOCKER, ‘Discussion’,) the rubber ringlet but as well the bulb-head probe, plastic spatula or the small rod, tooth pick, brush, tongue spatula (Jig), drinking straw, plush rag, rice grain, flake and aromatic creams and pills but as well optical media, as the hand-mirror, to build up a visual compensatory feed-back as a control sloop.

Procedure:

- Previous exercise will be to accustom to the material and method as well as the critical observance and self monitoring. This should include the instruction about the real and the desired state.

- Step-by-step-description:

The commonly exercise specific order of steps will generally comprise the practicing of a physiological answer to a stimulus being set within the physiological frame, accompanied by the visual and sensory monitoring under the instruction of the therapist.

-Timing: The final step will be the HABITUATION, at first at day-time, later on also during the night.

Characteristics:

Sensory exercises enclose the whole range of characteristics (at the left side) of the following list.

Remarks:

Especially mental learning aids require an ample planning of the motivation (motivational concept, Compliance) which will concentrate on the abilities of the patient.

Discussion:

The causality defines the therapy alignment: The sensitivity deficit may have existed either from the beginning or it may have been acquired (develop). The defect may be situated more centrally (ZNS) or more towards the target area. In the first case the motivation for cooperation will be somewhat problematic; here the main task will lie in manipulation.

The acquired deficit may have its cause in a traumatic damage of the neural tissue.

It is well worth mentioning that, according to newer perceptions, the therapy even of damages having been inflicted on the individual a long time back may be excessive but successful.

A group of special interest for the MFT is that of the sensitivity disorders on the basis of vicious circles. Dysfunctions or habits have blunted the local tissue or the loop control centre with a nonphysiological load over a long time. This made the sensitivity threshold rise for the reason of counter-regulating the initiated alarm signals of texture overloading to blank them out (adaptation) as to facilitate the differentiation of additional injury stimuli. The complete system is blunted –fallen out of its frame.

Therefore it will be the task of therapy above all to restore sensitivity into its physiological frame before the therapy of the motor function; the muscle training can be started.

With the installation of the normal frame of sensitivity mostly a regeneration effect is combined for the (mostly hyperactive) musculature.  

Another potential for impairments is the lowered sensitivity threshold. Through a multitude of provocation and feed-back stimulations a flood of answering muscle actions is created leading to hyper-activity or –mobility (spastic spectrum disorder).

Only a thoroughly differentiated analysis will help to generate a respective therapy.

Only a Sensitation (establishing of a physiological sensitivity) can facilitate the organ Orientation.

As listed below some exercises for a sensory training are quintessentially summarized.

LIST OF EXERCISES

HAND-MIRROR.

- self-controlled orientation

WAVING.

- initial feeling out of tongue and lip contacts

PROVE-THE-POINT.

- initial feeling attempts of the tongue tip.

SWEEP-AND-TAP.

- unspecified surface sensitivity

TONGUE CONTACTS.

- tongue surface sensitivity induction

POINT EXERCISE    .

- emphatizing with the stand-by position of the tongue

HOLD A MATCH.

- long-term stimulation of the tongue tip

ELASTIC EXERCISES   .

- emphatizing into the upward tendency, tongue tip

WORDEXERCISES.

- emphatizing the palate contact, speech

GUESS-THE-FORM.

- heterostereognostic sensing within the mouth

PLATELET-HOLDER.

- emphatizing of the lip closure

TONGUE STROKING.

- desensitising

,TAP-TAP’-EXERCISE.

- emphatizing the untensed jaw closure

THE  PEA.

- emphatizing the noxious jaw proversion

TEETHCLICKING.

- taking notice of an unintentional occluding

PALATOGRAM.

- verification of faulty tongue contacts

HOLD A STICK.

- Sensitation towards faulty tongue contacts

TOUCH-THE-BUTTON.

- emphatizing the trigger stimulus for deglutition

FEEDBACK-EXERCISES.

- realising a feed-back sloop

REMINDER.

- sensory realisation

MENTAL TRAINING.

- concentration on sensing in the target area

BASIC-POSITION.

-          whole body balance feeling

Much more exercises contain sensory components which the therapist may work out in case of need.

Instructions

See respective exercise.