Relief of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and temporomandibular disorder using a myofascial induction in genu recurvatum patients: Case reports

Abstract

Background: In the realm of research, the single case study has been recognized as a valuable tool for sharing insights, demonstrating new concepts, discovering novel phenomena, consolidating hypotheses, and sparking original ideas. In this physician-guided narrative, phenomena previously unreported in the clinical context are explored. These case studies aim to offer insights that may inform an existing theoretical model that encapsulates a distinct therapeutic intervention. Original research in fascia-focused therapies presents many challenges, including the lack of universal terminology, inconsistent techniques, and difficulties in quantifying treatment effects. Tensegrity-based approaches, which concentrate on tissue tension, also face challenges in establishing their validity within living organisms. For centuries, fascia was seen only as ribbons and sheets of soft, inert, mostly fatty tissue. Consequently, most anatomy textbooks provide a sterile view of anatomical structures devoid of the context of unifying fascia. Now, however, consensus of research describes fascia as an omnipresent, ubiquitous, body-wide tissue that acts as a system, transmitting mechanical information via tensional force changes.

Methods and results: The clinical outcomes in the cases provided in this narrative report suggest that induction of thigh fascia resulted in immediate anatomically distant therapeutic benefit, as reported by the patients.

Conclusions: Rather than measuring treatment efficacy, these two case studies utilize a specific myofascial induction performed at high velocity to elucidate the possibility of a fascia-based, tensegrity-mediated, mechanism for commonly managed, yet often incurable conditions - Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) symptoms and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) pain (within the spectrum of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)).

Keywords: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV); Fascia; Genu recurvatum; Joint hypermobility; Temporomandibular disorder (TMD); Tensegrity.