Steve Hoffman, founder and CEO of BackProject Corp, San Jose, Calif, discusses the advantages of active therapeutic movement (ATM) to treat musculoskeletal disorders.

How does the ATM concept help patients with musculoskeletal disorders?

The goal of an ATM treatment is to provide immediate, long-lasting, and significant reduction in pain and an increase in range of motion (ROM). This is achieved by causing the central nervous system (CNS) to immediately alter the muscle-activation patterns from pathological to normal.

How is it possible to cause the CNS to alter its muscle-activation patterns?

The key is to reposition joints (similar to the Mulligan concept) and simultaneously compress specific body areas (similar to the active straight leg raise test), so that the movement impairment becomes totally pain free in the full ROM. The elimination of pain is the indicator that the CNS has completely transitioned from a pathological muscle-activation pattern to a normal muscle-activation pattern. To cause the CNS to memorize this new muscle-activation pattern and to make it long-lasting, patients perform a few specific pain-free isometrically resisted exercises, called ATMs. This whole process or treatment takes only a few minutes.

On what types of patients can this treatment work?

The ATM2 treatment is most effective for musculoskeletal patients with lumbar-, thoracic-, cervical-, shoulder-, pelvis-, hip-, and knee-movement impairments. Additionally, using the ATM2 over time has had significantly positive results with patients who have had posture-related problems stemming from defects such as scoliosis. It is also used for athletic-performance enhancement; and for pediatric, neuralgic, and geriatric patients.

Asymptomatic people can also benefit from the ATM2 since most have poor postures and tight hips, which are both well-documented precursors to back and neck pain. Since the CNS controls the posture, and since the ATM2 is effective in altering the CNS’s muscle-activation patterns, it is simple to cause the CNS to immediately improve a person’s posture. Similarly, it is very simple to cause the CNS to increase hip ROM.

Does BackProject Corp provide ATM2 training?

As part of the ongoing process to educate clinicians on the ATM concept, a five-tier educational process was developed. BackProject also offers a self-paced ATM Internet-based training course, on its Web site, which is a 6.0-contact-hour course approved by TPTA for six CEUs. At the completion of this self-paced course, clinicians will know how to achieve immediate, consistent, and long-lasting results for their patients.