The Benefits of Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol

Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol is an amazing therapeutic compliment of procedures used to break up adhesions (scar tissue) within muscle fibers throughout the body.

It can help anyone suffering with tight muscles, neck or back pain, headaches, chronic strain/sprain issues, knee problems, shoulder injuries, IT band, plantar fasciitis, and many other conditions.

Is it affordable?
YES!

Does it hurt?
A little bit!

Does it work?
According to thousands of patients I have treated over the past 15 years, YES it does work and usually with noticeable results after the first session!

The Problem:

Bending, stooping, walking, and running, lifting, climbing or just about any activity can cause tiny micro-tears in your muscles. The body responds to these micro-tears by laying down its own special glue that we call adhesions. Adhesions are scar tissues that bind up the muscle and make the muscle short, tight, less flexible and inefficient in its ability to function. These adhesions can accumulate over a period of days, months or years and may cause you chronic pain that can be significant enough to cause compensatory responses of the body that change the biomechanics of bony structures like the pelvis or joints like the knee ultimately affecting orientation, posture, the way you walk or run (gait), flexibility, strength, range of motion or overall movement and function.

Muscles move bone for us. Tendons attach muscle to their respective site of bony attachments. Ligaments connect bones to other bones. Muscles that are too short or too tight can create a lot of stress at their points of attachment and this can ultimately cause the body to start the lay down of calcium deposits around the areas of attachment which is usually around a joint. This process is often responsible for the onset of arthritis. The body does this in an effort to protect or fortify the site and to prevent problems like stress fractures or avulsion fractures in the area of involvement. (Avulsion fractures occur when the force of muscle contraction is so strong that it over comes the strength of the bone it is attached to and breaks it away from its larger part right at the site of tendinous attachment.)

Tight, short and inflexible muscles due to the build up of adhesions, lack of stretching, lack of water and in some cases genetics can result in injuries to the body, injuries that can be prevented with my muscle stripping protocol.

The Protocol:

Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol:

1. Adhesion Breakdown
2. Adhesion Movement
3. Muscle Elongation and Manipulation
4. Muscle Strengthening

My clinical experience has shown me that a muscle will heal and become more flexible much faster if it undergoes a regimen of muscle stripping.

Step One:
Adhesion Breakdown

The first step, adhesion breakdown, is achieved utilizing therapeutic ultrasound technology to break up the scar tissue within the muscle. In conjunction with the ultrasound a pre-modulated current is administered simultaneously in combination mode. The pre-modulated current stimulates the muscle being treated causing it to rhythmically contract and relax as the ultrasound waves are penetrating the tissues. This process is an extremely effective method of freeing up the muscle for the next step: muscle stripping. Ultrasound also promotes healing by increasing the metabolic activity of the muscle tissue.

Step Two:
Adhesion Movement

Step two involves the manual elongation and stripping of the involved muscle group. The knuckle, thumbs or fingers of the hands are used to apply very deep knuckle or thumb stroke along or across the muscle fibers involved. The use of the elbow may be necessary for larger muscle groups like the hamstrings or quads. Most of the time stripping is done towards the heart to avoid damage to the valves within the veins. Typically you feel knot-like formations (adhesions) as you strip over them. The goal is to minimize the size and feel of the adhesion. The process is done bilaterally, in cycles and in sections.

For instance on day one I may perform the protocol on the hamstring group on both legs because the patient is dealing with knee pain, inflexibility, weakness and instability on the right side. I would first perform a diligent orthopedic assessment to rule out problems with the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial or lateral collateral ligaments (MCL/LCL) or the medial or lateral meniscus. I would check patellar tracking to make sure the patella was moving properly with active quadriceps (thigh muscles) contraction. The lower extremities would be muscle tested for strength, flexibility or the cause of muscle/ joint pain or weakness. The active and passive ranges of motion at the knee, hip and ankle joints would be observed as well. A foot exam would have to be done to check for pronation (flat foot presentation) because this finding would indicate a degree of internal rotation of the fibia, tibia femur along with a possible rotation shifting of the pelvis. These biomechanical changes can contribute to knee joint dysfunction, degeneration and pain. An x-ray of the knee would show degenerative changes like arthritis or joint space loss resulting in bone on bone contact suggestive of significant loss of cartilage. An x-ray of the pelvis (the center of gravity may also be required to assess for rotational shifts or misalignments that could also contribute to the patient’s knee problem.

This exhaustive assessment along with a detailed history of the mechanism of injury relating to patient current condition, patient’s past injuries, surgeries, diagnosis, activities of daily living, diet and nutritional habits, water intake, medications or supplements used, genetic tendencies often gives me the clues I need to fully identify and understand the causative factors associated with the patient’s pain, weakness, inflexibility, tightness, lack of function, etc. It can also lead to the need to order an MRI or a scope of the knee. All of these steps must be taken before undergoing Dr. Thomas’ Muscle Stripping Protocol.

Sometimes what feels like an adhesion is a muscle spasm, calcium deposit, bone or a benign fatty lipoma (tumor). The side effects of this step are temporary minor soreness to touch and the occasional bruise. It rarely affects function, though some of my top notch athletes have reported a feeling of sluggishness or mild to moderate muscle fatigue the first couple of days after the procedure.

Step Three:
Muscle Elongation and Manipulation

After a few sessions (varies from patient to patient due to in age, condition, muscle size, etc.), the muscle is ready for what I call active stretch technique. With this method the patient’s extremity is moved into a range of motion and held there as the patient pushes against the resistance provided by the clinician for at least twenty seconds. The patient is allowed to relax for approximately five seconds after which the second rep ensues. The second and following reps intensify as the clinician brings the extremity into greater degrees of motion to reach the physiological limit of the muscle’s flexibility as the patient resists the motion. This technique is extremely effective in increasing the flexibility of a muscle that has been treated first with the first two steps of Dr. Thomas’ Muscle Stripping Protocol. It is not beneficial to do step three without doing steps one and two first. In fact, without doing steps one and two first you can harm the patient with step three because the muscle has not been properly primed to handle the elongation process of step three. It is very difficult to effectively and safely stretch a muscle that is full of adhesions. In fact this is precisely why a lot of my athletes hurt themselves in the first place. They force muscles that are incapable of full elongation, effective contraction resulting in sprains and strains to the tendons, the ligaments and muscles.

Step Four:
Muscle Strengthening

Let the healing begin! After a muscle has gone through this protocol it will remodel itself into a stronger more flexible muscle. This process can take up to six weeks. During this phase the patient may receive additional muscle stripping sessions that are less intense but more importantly the muscle is strengthened with the use of sport specific resistance band exercises or free weights. Various stretches are also demonstrated and prescribed for home use. Throughout all four steps ice is used in the clinic and is recommended for home use along with Bio-freeze (an analgesic gel).

The Benefits:

It doesn't stop with the 4th step. Patients who have gone through Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol report greater flexibility, agility, increased speed, greater range of motion, elimination of joint and muscle pain, stiffness and fatigue, increased strength, increased energy, improved sleep, decreased arthritic symptoms.

All kinds of athletes, from the professional to the weekend warrior, continue to benefit long-term from Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol. They use it as a muscle management program and natural performance enhancement strategy. Most of my athletic patients come in on a weekly basis to enhance their performance, prevent injuries, and stay ahead of the competition. When they have reached this point in their therapy sessions they rarely coming in to see me for injuries or pain.

Get Excited! This is fantastic News!
Anyone can regain their competitive edge and get back to Living Pain Free with Dr. Thomas’ 4-Step Muscle Stripping Protocol!

Patients suffering from the following conditions or injuries may benefit from Dr. Thomas’ Muscle 4-Step
Stripping Protocol:

Achilles Tendinitis
Ankle Sprains
Arthritis
Back Pain
Bursitis
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Chronic Rotator Cuff Pain
Chronic Tension Headaches
Fibromyalgia
Foot Pain
Frozen Shoulder
General Inflexibility
Golfer’s Elbow
Hamstring, Groin, Quadricep or Calf Muscle Pulls
Hip or Butt Pain
Ilio-tibial band syndrome
Knee Pain
Ligamentous Sprains
Muscle Aches, Pains and Fatigue
Muscle Spasms
Muscle Strains
Muscle Tightness
Muscle Weakness
Neck Pain
Osgood Schlatters of the Knee or Hip
Pain and Burning Sensation Between the Shoulder Blades
Patellar Tracking Problems
Plantar Fasciitis
Post Surgical Scar Tissue Formation
Restless Leg Syndrome
Runner’s Knee
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Shoulder Pain
Spinal Subluxations
Tendonitis
Tennis Elbow
Whip Lash

If you suffer from any of these conditions and you are tired of taking muscle relaxers, pain pills, cortico-steroid injections, epidurals, using pain patches, smelly gels or creams, and surgery is not an option, Dr. Thomas’ Muscle 4-Step Stripping Protocol may help.