Triggerband Web Journal

Typaldos Manual Therapy has proven to be a highly effective set of techniques, outperforming even expensive and intensive orthopedic surgery with only manual application. However, the true strength behind TMT is the fascial distortion model. Its implications are far beyond manual therapy, reforming all medical and surgical approaches to acute injury and chronic pain.

But what enabled Dr. Typaldos to discover this model and develop manual treatments to correct fascial distortions envisioned in the model? It was his way of thinking. His thought processes were superior to the prevailing philosophies in medicine. And he was thus able to single-handedly make advancements that large organizations like the American Heart Association can only dream of.

This should not surprise you. Historically, individuals who were able to view things in a new, better way have made enormous contributions to science and medicine. The inventions of Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Leonardo da Vinci put the developments of multinational corporations like GE to shame. Actually, tech companies have a different role in our economy. They take inventions and convert them into usable designs, but rarely do giant corporations make fundamental changes or advancements.

Dr. Typaldos first broke with orthodoxy when he concluded that his medical training was in the form of models and theories – rather than undeniable truths – and they were subject to change in the face of new, conflicting information. Next, he critiqued the models and theories to determine whether they were consistent with what he saw in practice.

The result is a better way of evaluating medical theories and practices. I have “codified” Dr. Typaldos’s greatest discovery of all into Triggerband’s theme: A logical, rational, reasonable approach to medicine. Now let us look at how to apply these analyses to real models:

Chiropractic spinal adjustments. Is it logical to think that by adjusting the spinal column a doctor can make changes throughout the body? Yes, because the adjustments are said to affect the spinal cord itself, and the nerves from the spinal cord regulate functioning everywhere in the body.

Next we can ask, is it rational to say that these adjustments to the spinal column can help cure nearly every disease? Possibly. On one hand, impulses carried by the nerves from the spinal cord do have the ability to bring dramatic changes in every system. On the other hand, however, it is doubtful that merely “adjusting” the spinal column is able to meaningfully alter the functioning of the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system.

Finally, is it reasonable to claim that spinal adjustments can cure almost any disease? No, this point is where the theory falls flat. Even if adjustments were able to enhance functioning of the spinal cord, it would be impossible to make the minute, complex changes necessary to resolve specific conditions. And if the central nervous system has the power to cure all these diseases, why does it wait until a chiropractor adjusts the spine?

Orthopedic surgery for worn knee cartilage. Orthopedics is a complex specialty, so I chose one specific condition. Is it logical to treat knee pain by replacing cartilage that is worn out? No, it is not, actually. Cause and effect has not been established. Very often, patients who suffer from knee pain in one knee have worn cartilage in both knees. The logical conclusion is that something other than worn cartilage is causing their pain.

For the sake of analysis, let us ask the remaining questions. Is this treatment approach rational? Yes, if the worn cartilage were causing the pain, a knee replacement would probably help. Is it reasonable to believe that this type of treatment can cure a patient’s disability? Yes, a knee replacement is a major anatomical change in the exact region affected.

Hopefully, these examples are giving you a glimpse into how much can be accomplished and reformed without a single new device. And I want to emphasize that Dr. Typaldos was no more intelligent than other physicians. What he had was better mental software. This means that anyone who has enough intelligence to become a skilled healthcare professional can learn to think the way he did.

Alexander Typaldos, JD

Health practitioners generally fall into one of two categories. One says that if drugs can’t fix it, then it can’t be fixed. The other says herbs and nutritional supplements can accomplish far more than drugs without the bad side effects.

You probably expect me to take sides; but I’m not going to. I am logical, rational, and reasonable, and it would be unreasonable to take either extreme position. Drugs have their place, and so do herbs. Thus, I advocate a tiered approach.

The first tier is a healthy lifestyle and sanitation. Once disease takes its toll on the human body, rarely will health return a full 100 percent. Furthermore, prevention is the least costly of all remedies. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And a doctor who is a friend of mine said, “If you can’t find time to exercise, you will have to find time to be sick.”

Tier two is herbs and natural remedies. Healthcare practitioners emphasize remedies you can take by mouth, such as nutritional supplements and herbal teas. However, I include in this category mechanical treatments such as physical therapy, hydrotherapy, and manual therapy.

Natural remedies are definitely preferable to medications if they can get the same result. But I will tell you from experience that even supplements and hydrotherapy can wear out the body over time. So be rational and use common sense when approaching tier two options.

Only when natural remedies fail, or are clearly insufficient, should healthcare practitioners move on to drugs and surgery. These remedies are powerful but risky, abounding in side effects and long recovery times.

And there is another reason to save drugs for last. They rarely resolve the underlying condition. Pain medication, insulin, hormones – these are patches that allow patients with debilitating illnesses to live normal lives until things resolve on their own. If a condition never resolves, then a lifetime of medication is all tier three has to offer.

This tiered system does combine standard and complementary medicine, but does not fall into another extreme, that of all-inclusiveness. Too many healthcare practitioners turn continuing education into a show-and-tell for new treatments. We need to be discerning, rather than ideological or frivolous. This is not a game. Millions of people are living in continual pain and disability. They need mature, honest, compassionate physicians who will take ownership of their cases.

And, yes, they need doctors who are logical, rational, and reasonable. If these qualities sound out-of-place in medicine, it’s because they are. Shotgun techniques and religious adherence to the tenets of one’s healing philosophy – practices that would never be tolerated in a field such as engineering – are commonplace in medicine.

Granted, the human body is enormously complex and dynamic, which makes the practice of medicine art as well as science. However, this very fact demands that doctors be even more logical, rational, and reasonable, not less so.

Alexander Typaldos, JD