A New Therapy Approach to Movement Organization

Abstract

This article describes a new therapeutic perspective to normal and abnormal movement organization and to the treatment of neurologically based movement disorders as developed by the Tscharnuter Akademie for Movement Organization (TAMO). While traditional therapy approaches relate developmental changes almostly exclusively to the maturation of the central nervous system, this new therapy approach emphasizes environmental forces and conditions that exert an organizing influence on motor patterns. These include gravitational torque, load, support surface and task, all of which can be directly manipulated by therapists in order to optimize conditions for the spontaneous organization of adaptive motor patterns. This leads to treatment objectives and handling techniques that differ from presently practiced therapy approaches. Rather than correcting movement patterns directly, the therapist applies forces and torques which contribute to the spontaneous formation of adaptive motor patterns. In contrast to neuro-developmental and neuro-physiological techniques of facilitation and inhibition the TAMO therapy approach provides sensory feedback of only those forces that are associated with unassisted, self-initiated movement patterns.