I can't talk about the Erchonia percussor without talking about Dr. John Brimhall, because that's who taught me. I learned from him before I became a massage therapist--in fact it was this work that inspired me to go to school. For all my non-Brimhallers out there, a percussor is a hand-held instrument that works on fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that hold muscles, organs, etc. in place. It's v. strong stuff--2000 lbs. of pressure, if I'm remembering correctly. You know that filmy stuff across a chicken breast? Fascia. Dr. John says you could take everything out of the body and leave the fascia and you would still have the shape of your body. Whenever there's trauma to the body, the fascia can get restricted to create restricted movement or pain. As a massage therapist, I had a whole semester on myofascial release.
S-L-O-W work and pretty much like watching paint dry. Hehhhh...the percussor is way faster and efficient. Not only is it great for pain, but it's wonderful for TMJ (jaw) problems, breathing problems (there's a diaphragm release that really helps with asthma), and scar tissue release.
Surgery always disrupts the fascia and can create all sorts of problems, especially any kind of abdominal surgery, like a C-section. Dr. Lee tells a rather graphic story about a C-section patient who'd suffered from chronic constipation. I'm debating whether to say the rest...OK, get ready to say Eeewwww! On the way home she stopped at a gas station and FILLED one toilet, moved on to the next and was afraid to leave....yup, she was literally full of crap.
I worked on a client who was having extreme TMJ pain and it was related to a hysterectomy she'd had 7 years prior. The scar was less than an inch across, but as it released, so did her TMJ pain. Amazing stuff. I also worked on a woman who'd had multiple car accidents and surgeries. Not only are you working on the physical scar, but also the emotional trauma related to it as well. So the percussor releases all that pent-up energy as well as addressing unresolved emotions related to the initial trauma. And that was my first experience of being engulfed in a cloud of the energy of the anesthesia. Whew! Dr. Brady, another Brimhall doc, said When you work with the percussor, you'll start to experience some strange things. I have had some v. strange enxperiences that I will save for another time!
