Table of Contents
Preface v
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Functional Anatomy and Physiology 5
A holistic view of health and disease 5
The musculoskeletal system 7
The cell as a functional unit of the horse's body 16
Chapter 2 Posture and Compensatory Tension 20
Postural analysis 20
Compensatory tension 21
Joint contracture and stiffness, trigger point 26
Movement and resistance 27
Causes of pathology in the musculoskeletal system 32
Chapter 3 The Neuromuscular Stretching Method 34
Principles 34
Adaptation of the technique to achieve a chosen goal 41
Session setup and procedure 43
Chapter 4 Indications and Contraindications for Stretching 51
Indications 51
Contraindications 53
Chapter 5 Joint Articulation Tests 54
Passive analytical joint mobilization 54
The limbs 56
The spinal column 74
Test sequence for the forelegs 82
Test sequence for the hind legs 86
Test sequence for the spinal column 90
Chapter 6 Muscle Chain Tests 94
Tests for the anterior muscle chains 94
Tests for the posterior muscle chains 97
Tests for the muscle chains along the spine 98
Chapter 7 Examples of Release through Passive Stretching and Stimulation for Active Stretching 100
Stretching the posterio-internai chain of the forelegs 100
Stretching the anterio-internal chain of the hind legs 101
Hula-hoop 102
Stretching the cranio-cervical joint 105
Stretching the tongue 106
Active stretching using the "Masticator" activator 107
"Equibrilator" dental occlusion orthosis 108
Active stretching and stimulation 109
Stimulation of active flexion mobilization of the thoraco-lumbar spine 114
Stimulation of left lateral mobilization and active flexion of the thoraco-lumbar spine 114
Conclusion 117
Acknowledgments 119
Index 120