Ryan Hayes RMT

Quantum Consideration in Manual Therapy: quackery or credible?

Over the last quarter of a century, I have been observing how the body responds to touch. I have considered the science of touch, the sensory perceptions affiliated with touch, the psychology of touch, the philosophy of touch, and the building blocks of nature. I am presenting an overview of my thoughts and my experience as it relates to my personal treatment approach.

Background:

I have been a manual therapist for twenty-five years. During this period, I have invested much time, energy, observation, presence, and awareness into seeing how the body responds to touch. What I have found is not that the body should respond to my touch, but rather I must respond to the guidance of the body. The body will neither be forced nor coerced. However, the body is willing to lead if we are willing to follow.

Every technique is a study for the next. As one thing is mastered, something new becomes its replacement. Not everything is a success; this is why it is called practice. The more we practice the more we strive to communicate effectively with the complex organism we call the human body. I am currently employing a working hypothesis in treatment: the implementation of quantum theory.

I have been interested in quantum mechanics and the potential application in manual therapy for a long time. The genesis of this idea began when I read about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

"It is fundamentally impossible to simultaneously know the precise position and momentum (or velocity) of a particle with absolute accuracy."

It is worth noting that the "uncertainty" stipulated in the equation first introduced by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, is not a measurement uncertainty. Further, the uncertainty principle is independent of either the observer or experimenter effect. The uncertainty principle stipulated here is intrinsic to nature.

How this relates to manual therapy:

Tension in the body directly relates to atoms. Structurally speaking, tension results from forces acting between atoms and molecules, which pulls them apart while restoring forces attempt to maintain structure. These facts overlap with the objectives of the manual therapist: we aim to release tension while restoring homeodynamics: maintenance of stability through a constant dynamic flux rather than a specific set point (homeostasis). We are an external restoring force.

The position of an electron is more relevant to us than the velocity of an electron. The research that was successfully completed in the Electron Observation Experiments also contributes to my treatment formula. These experiments found that electrons act like waves when unobserved, but act like particles when observed. This behaviour is fortunate for the manual therapist as we sit in observation. Therefore, this knowledge aids in determining position.

Finally, we look at the key properties of electrons: position (P); momentum (M); spin (S); and energy (E). There's position cropping up again! Let's add a few more facts before we move into the hypothetical realm:

1. Electrons are part of atoms

2. Atoms make up cells

3. Cells make up tissues

4. issues make up organs

5. Organs contribute to systems

6. Systems contribute to the organism

The question is how do we translate this science into a working experiment? This is where knowledge and creativity merge: we use the tools we apply in practice, in combination with the sensorial information received from the body, to overlap with scientific fact (at this point in time) to find position. To quote Einstein:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."

Why is position so important?

We want to know position so that we can release tension at the source. Is this the "root cause" everybody is always talking about? Using the Uncertainty Principle, we know that lack of positional certainty necessitates alternating our attention between momentum and position in order to increase positional certainty. Shifting our perception towards waves allows us to localize our positional certainty to a specific region. That region needs to be larger in the beginning to facilitate "observation."

In quantum theory, position isn't restricted to one point. Therefore, we must search for position within the ever-shrinking wave region of our observation; this is the fine-tuning part of our technique. Observing wave regions and intermittently taking snapshots of position will allow us to close the walls in on the point of release; this boosts our opportunity to find position based on the likelihood that the point will appear within this region. We continue to tighten the noose until we "land" on the position of dysfunction allowing the tissue to release.

To summarize: we want to find the root cause of tension by having a wide-angle lens to observe its location. Then, we gradually tighten our focus through the pressure and mechanics that are communicated in our techniques until the point releases. There is a palpable physiological release that awareness and presence will highlight when this point is reached. These discoveries led to the formulation of the following equation:

P = +/-M +/- S +/-E

where:

P = position

M = directional movement of the anatomical/structural volume (inertia)

S = rotational spin

E = energetic compression or expansion (relates to emotional components of tension)

(+) and (-) relates to the direction of force applied

The closer we get to P, the closer we bring M, S, and E to 0. The exact hand position, amount of pressure, direction of pressure, and length of pressure, will balance out and release the positional anchor. If we arrest momentum, then we discover position.

More research required:

I have been applying this general concept with more and more acuity over the last 18-22 years of practice. However, it has only been recently that I have put more pieces of the puzzle together. There is much overlap between manual therapy, manifestation of tension, emotion, and quantum mechanics. At present, this is a working hypothesis in a longitudinal study: practice. It is founded upon science, reflection, presence, and personal experience. The synergy of mind and body are the human experience.