Primal Foundations Online Course
Course Summary
Primal movements are at their roots functional, purposeful, and efficient. They create success in a physical task and reduce the chances of injury. They are rooted in embryological, neurological, structural, and biomechanical influences that when neglected, create inefficient movement – leading to inevitable breakdown and injury.
This course will teach you:
- The intricate nature of the neuromusculoskeletal system, and how it relates to efficient (or inefficient) movement patterns AND how our embryological and developmental patterning influences our system as a whole.
- How to evaluate the body as a system, recognizing regionally interdependent areas and their influence on painful or injured tissues.
- How to prioritize the most important regions to treat first based on the movement assessment – which will produce faster results, recognizing that these regions may be remote to the patient’s complaint of pain.
- Ways to think outside the box when prescribing an exercise plan and incorporate exercises that integrate the body as a system for maximum outcomes.
This course is approved for 18.5 continuing education hours. 12 of the 18.5 hours also qualify for direct access continuing education hours in Pennsylvania.
Course Outline
Module 1 - Primal Foundations Introductions
In this introduction to Primal Foundational concepts, we dissect the structure, function, design, and purpose of the Musculoskeletal System, and relate the importance of these concepts to the body for survival. In this detailed review, we teach how embryological and developmental influences demand that our bodies function and as a SYSTEM.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the importance of how the structure of the NMS system is built for survival
- Review Embryological influences that impact our MSK system.
- Discuss Developmental milestones and how they relate to efficient movement patterns.
- Gain a deeper understanding of the importance of The Regional Interdependence Model
- Investigate conceptual models that currently honor The Regional Interdependence Model
- Explore how archetypal postures are relevant and necessary to our longevity and mobility as humans.
Dissecting the Basic Bear Crawl
In this Lab, we discuss and feel the important considerations and movement ideals to encourage in our patients. We highlight commonly seen compensation patterns and how to cue patients throughout the move to encourage the greatest improvements in efficiency of the pattern. This focus will translate into improved efficiency movements throughout daily life as well.
In this lecture, we dive into the importance of The Regional Interdependence Model and specifically how these concepts are critical to supporting healthy movement patterns, preventing breakdown and injury, and ultimately encouraging health and longevity in our patients (and us).
We discuss in detail the influences on movement including structural, neural, and habitual influences.
Learning objectives include appreciating and understanding the following:
- The body is a system that is Regionally Interdependent through it’s embryologic and developmental processes.
- Structure Dictates Function –
- MSK System is intended to protect our organs
- Developmental and Archetypal postures help maintain those movement ideals to ALLOW the MSK system to protect
- The MOVEMENT tells the story and will reveal HISTORY as well.
Module 2 - Hierarchy of Movement Principles
In this module, we teach you how to utilize foundational principles of movement and use this information to better direct your evaluation and treatment with your patients.
The four concepts highlighted in this module include:
- The body is regionally interdependent
- It is rooted in developmental patterning and prioritization of movement hierarchies.
- Past injuries and/or trauma will influence future patterns in some way, shape or form always.
- We MUST treat and train the body as a system.
In this live lab experience, we introduce the fundamental concepts of The Primal Method and practice putting it into action – allowing us to diagnose regionally interdependent areas that are relevant to the patient’s movement deficit.
In this lecture, we dive into the second Movement Principle :
We are rooted in developmental patterns.
We take a deep dive into developmental milestones and sequencing of motor learning, to give us a better understanding of the fundamental, primary requirements of not only establishing healthy, efficient movement patterns, but also understanding that we must maintain these movement ideals in order to maintain healthy movement patterns.
Here, we investigate the 3rd and 4th components of our hierarchy of movement principles:
#3 The importance of past injuries and trauma and how these incidents influence our current and future movement patterns.
#4 We must treat and train the body as a system.
These final concepts help prepare us to put these concepts into practice through a thorough, whole body movement analysis AND prescribe the BEST comprehensive treatment and exercise plan for each individual patient/clinical scenario.
Module 3 - Spinal Assessment
In this lecture, you will learn how to use the Scientific Method to standardize your movement evaluation. We will highlight two basic variables:
- changing the test position and
- changing the need for stability (or facilitating recruitment) in the pattern.
This Lab integrates the concepts taught in the previous lectures, and allows us to witness and test the evaluative process of the Primal Method.
Taking your findings into the exercise integration and prescription side of The Primal Method:
Here, we begin to teach you how to take the movement deficits you found collectively in your evaluation, and prescribe the best exercises to address multiple goals at once and help them RELEARN efficient movement patterns. The exercise integration piece honors the 4 fundamental principles of movement hierarchies: Our bodies are regionally interdependent, they are rooted in developmental patterns, they are influenced by past injuries and/or trauma, and they must be treated and trained as a system.
Now we’re diving deeper into clinical scenarios and learning how to categorize the movement deficits we see.
We can use this information to most quickly, accurately and effectively address our patient’s deficits and restore their ability to move well.
This Lab continues to feed you with tons of exploration of movement, integrating the concepts we’ve taught throughout this course on The Primal Method.
Follow along with us if you can so you can experience and FEEL the way each exercise incorporates the entire body as a system.
In this last lecture, we practice advancing our exercise integration piece and continue to APPLY the concepts from the course into clinical scenarios and categories of movement deficits we’ve reviewed up until this point.
