Physician Research
Leonard Knell M.D.
Fax: 330-494-5915
Email: lknell@yahoo.com
July 13, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
I am an Orthopedic Surgeon who had been in private practice in Canton for 34 years
and have now been retired from active practice since December 2004. Over the years
I have always felt that Massotherapy has been a very effective adjunctive therapy
for the musculoskeletal patients that we see in our office. Several years ago, Mike
Jones introduced my to the benefits of Neuromuscular Therapy, and I now strongly
believe that NMT adds an additional dimension in caring for many musculoskeletal
patients.
I have always felt that many of the pain patterns that we see are not completely
related to the joint per se, but also to muscular imbalances around the joint itself.
When treating the patient, if the muscular pain around the joint subsides, in many
cases so does the pain within the joint. Mike has brought back to my attention much
of the physiology of the neuromuscular system, which we as physicians once learned,
but over the years seemed to forget.
There is constant communication between the central nervous system and the body,
and between the body and the central nervous system. A sensory stimulus is perceived
by the patient at the level of a peripheral sensory receptor and this signal travels
through the afferent nerve to the spinal cord, up the cord to the thalamus to the
hypothalamus and cerebral cortex, and then back down the cord to the stimulated
area. If the stimulus is strong enough, it will spread though the internuncial pool
causing widespread dissemination of the signal. Our nervous systems work on the
basic principle of excitation and inhibition, and this central integrative state
of the CNS is dependent on afferent impulses.signals going to the brain. The lack
of these afferent signals is deafferentation and it is Mike Jone's hypothesis that
the largest cause of this deafferentation is nerve compression which occurs at the
level of the neck, and also by lack of mechanoreception. It is this deafferentation
which is at the root of many musculoskeletal symptoms.
With Mike's method of NMT, he attempts to correct the cervical curve and at the
same time increase mechanoreception. He does this by decreasing soft tissue pain
by using deep muscular massage, or NMT. In addition, he has developed the Jones
Hyperextension Intersegmental Technique for working on the cervical spine and also
uses a postural pump to help restore the cervical curve. And finally, he uses neurological
exercises to balance the central nervous system, which increases the afferent signals
sent by the mechanoreceptors.
Mike has postulated that Fibromyalgia is caused by pain signals overwhelming the
central nervous system and that the proper afferent signals are not getting though
to the brain. By restoring the proper curvature of the neck and alleviating nerve
compression in the neck, he feels that more of the good afferent signals can get
though to the brain, and that when this occurs, other areas of the body will respond
to treatment with NMT and the Fibromyalgia disappears.
I have sent a number of patients to Mike who I felt were suffering from either left
or right sided compression in the cervical area. These patients for the most part
had failed one or more trials of conventional physical therapy. Some had previously
received chiropractic treatment as well, and had failed that also. Using his techniques,
Mike has been able to get most of these patients back to a functional level, and
I have been very impressed with his results. In addition, I have examined twenty
five of Mike's patients whom he has treated for fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue
syndrome. The diagnosis in all of these cases was made by an M.D., usually a Rheumatologist
or a Physiatrist. These patents had not responded to the usual conventional treatment
for fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Using his technique, Mike was able
to effect essentially complete resolution of the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
symptoms in all of the patients that I have examined to date. One patient with chronic
fatigue, who tested positive for Epstein Barr, reverted back to normal after completion
of treatment.
I find Mike Jones to be a very honest, caring and knowledgeable therapist. He has
my utmost respect in the way he has approached his field of NMT and the basis of
his hypothesis, which led to the treatment, which he has developed, makes good sense
to me. The proof of a treatment is whether or not it works..and from what I have
observed, Mike's treatment does work.
If there are any questions concerning this matter, I can be reached on the internet
at Lknell@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
Leonard Knell M.D., F.A.C.S.