Do you have to stop exercising or training every few weeks due to pain, discomfort, or stiffness? Or does the problem area move around from week to week – as soon as the one settles, a new “niggle” takes its place? Stretching or foam rolling helps for a short while, but as soon as you’re back into your training, the problem reappears.
The Lyno Method takes control by finding the cause of your problem. Instead of chasing symptoms, its four components aim to find the underlying reason your pain keeps coming back.
What exactly is The Lyno Method?
The Lyno Method is a system for identifying movement patterns, restoring optimum mobility, and supporting a balanced, flexible, and fully functional body. The aim of Lyno is not only to create an awareness of body movements and habitual patterns but also to guide you towards neutral movement and more efficient movement patterns, making motion effortless, smooth, and energy-efficient.
Why we use The Lyno Method
Recurring injuries are a common problem in sports. Not only specific injuries like an ankle sprain or a hamstring tear but also discomfort, stiffness, or a sore spot that wasn’t there yesterday. A complaint we often hear is that the problem usually settles on its own but keeps returning. In some cases, it even moves around. Your ankle today, knee tomorrow, then the opposite foot or back to your ankle. There could be many causes, like compensations you’ve learned after previous injuries or a sudden increase in training volume. Even something as innocuous as everyday habits like slouching or driving long distances. Your body responds to practice. What is a practice other than repeating something over and over again?
Lyno targets these underlying causes by finding and addressing the restricted patterns. These restrictions are usually not obvious, like a stiff shoulder after surgery. The stiffness is hidden under the surface, but it is still enough to interfere with how you move. Now, every time you perform a movement, you need to use more effort to move past the stiffness. This extra effort puts more strain on other structures; over time, this pattern of stiffness and extra effort becomes your new normal.
Myofascial lines:
In the Lyno Method, we assess the movement and function of myofascial lines. These lines are named for where each one is found:
- Anterior line – at the front of your body.
- Lateral line: Along both sides of your body, you will have a left and a right lateral fascial line.
- The medial line — also known as your core line — is in the middle of your upper body and runs along the inner part of your legs to the bottom of your feet. As with the lateral lines, you have a left and right medial line.
- Posterior fascial line – at the back of your body.
- Anterior arm line – runs down the front of your arms.
- Posterior arm line – found along the back of your arms.
The spiral lines are a bit more complicated and work in pairs. The right anterior spiral is paired with the left posterior spiral and vice versa. As the name suggests, these lines spiral around the body. After the line crosses your hip to run down your legs, it can be either a weight-bearing or non-weight-bearing line.
- The anterior line spiral starts at the back of your neck, crosses your upper back, and underneath the opposite armpit. From there, the line crosses over again to end at the front of your hip. The weight-bearing spiral runs down the outside of your leg to your foot, whereas the non-weight-bearing line crosses over the front of your thigh, down the inner part of your lower leg, and to your foot.
- The posterior spiral line starts at the front of your neck, across your chest, underneath the opposite armpit, crosses over your back, and ends at your lower back. In the case of the weight-bearing posterior spiral, you will look at the buttock, across the back of your thigh, and then down the outside of your lower leg. The only difference between the weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing lines is that they run down the outside of your hip instead of across the buttock.
The Lyno Method doesn’t simply focus on your main symptom but rather examines the whole picture to release and retrain the dysfunctional patterns causing your problem.
What Lyno can do for you:
- Identify areas of restriction
- Retrain movement patterns
- Helps to improve body awareness and proprioception
- Encourages natural movement
- Improve performance (if a dysfunctional movement pattern is part of the problem)
- Improve blood supply to tissue
- Stimulate muscle activation
“Let’s find what is holding you back”
The Technique
The Lyno Method has four components: A full range of motion (FROM) test to identify patterns of restriction, myofascial release, bunkies, and wedges. Every Lyno session will have these elements, although the order may vary.
FROM test
The goal of the mobility assessment is to find your movement patterns and limitations. These restrictions are most commonly found in the spiral fascial lines. The measurements from each session will be saved, as every Lyno session uncovers another layer. The end goal will be to find the original underlying layer driving your problem.
Myofascial release
After the restricted pattern is identified in the FROM test, the myofascial release technique is applied. This technique retrains the movement we found to be restricted during the assessment. A quick reassessment afterward is used to determine if the release was effective.
Bunkie tests
There are 5 bunkie tests in total, corresponding to myofascial lines in your body. The goal is to assess fascia function using plank positions. Bunkie tests are hard work, but they give the practitioner a lot of information.
Wedge test
In the Lyno Method, wedges are made using yellow pages. These are used to activate the functional line(s) we identified during your bunkie tests. Wedges are made during your session and worn in your shoes until your next session. You can think of wedges as a temporary “inner sole” that uses proprioception, reminding your brain to activate the functional line.
Different types of application
There is only one type of application of The Lyno Method. Sessions include a FROM assessment, myofascial release, bunkies and wedges. Applying the myofascial release technique on its own or only using the movement assessment is not a Lyno session.
Changes you’ll notice:
The tightness or tension causing your movement restriction is a protective mechanism. Your body needs stability and control when you move, so after an injury, your body compensates by simply taking away the movement you can’t control. Ultimately, your brain and nerves determine what feels threatening and then restricts your movement to “stay out of danger”. Unfortunately, these compensations often turn into new habits and your movement doesn’t go back to normal after the danger (or injury) has passed. Lyno uses your own movements, experience, nerves and brain to help you move better.
Myofascial release
The myofascial release technique uses a superficial touch on your skin while you are doing the movement. The input on your skin sends a message to your brain, desensitizing the movement as your brain learns that the movement is actually safe to do. You will notice that the resistance to your movement decreases during the technique and you start moving with less strain or effort.
Wedges
You might think that these little “lifts” in your shoes will be annoying. Actually, the wedges are used on the functional line not activating as it should, so you won’t even notice the wedge. Only when the line starts to activate, due to the constant input under your foot, you will start to notice the wedge.
Changes on a neural level:
Neutral zones and thresholds
Every structure in your body has a neutral zone where there isn’t too much tension. In some cases, like a ligament, this zone is quite small and allows very little movement. Other structures, like muscles, have a much bigger neutral zone and, therefore, allows more movement. Whether it’s a muscle, nerve, ligament or the fascia connecting all these structures, each one also has a threshold to protect you from injury.
A threshold is when you start to move from the neutral or “safe” zone towards the “danger” zone where you might get injured. Once a stimulus is strong enough to reach this threshold, it triggers specialized receptors that send a message to your brain. Under normal circumstances, these receptors are triggered to get your attention and protect you from injury. How your brain responds is determined by a multitude of factors. Previous experience, old injuries, the context of what you are doing at that moment, to name a few. If your brain interprets the stimulus that triggered the message as dangerous, it should result in a protective action. For example touching a stove. A low temperature won’t reach the predetermined threshold, so your brain will probably ignore the message. However, a hot stove will trigger the receptors and your brain will respond to get your hand away from the danger.
Myofascial release in Lyno
Muscle stiffness or movement restriction also usually starts as a protective mechanism after an injury. In other cases, these changes happen due to habits like slouching or keeping your head tilted when you use your phone. Eventually, the threshold that triggers the receptors in your body gets lower. This means that your protective mechanism kicks in before the movement actually becomes a threat. The myofascial release used during Lyno aims to retrain your nerves to get this threshold back to its normal level. Almost like recalibrating your nerves to decrease the threat value of the movement.
Proprioception
Special receptors in your body send information to your brain about where each part is and what it’s doing. For instance, if you close your eyes and lift your hand, you will still know where your hand, arm, and fingers are, even though you can’t see. This might not seem very important, but proprioception is how you can take a sip of coffee without concentrating on how the cup gets to your mouth. Balancing on one leg or throwing a ball are other examples of how useful proprioception is.
Wedges in Lyno
The yellow page wedges in Lyno use proprioception to activate functional lines. Even though you aren’t aware of it, the pressure from the wedge will trigger receptors under your foot and send information to your brain.
Lyno feels like:
The myofascial release used during Lyno is a gentle, superficial technique. You are encouraged to do a movement as instructed and guided by the practitioner. The range of motion increases with repetition and the movement becomes more comfortable.
Your movement is guided by what you feel, so you won’t be moving into pain. Forcing through pain only reinforce and encourage the protective, dysfunctional pattern that we are trying to correct.
How long is a Lyno session?
The Lyno Method session as a whole is a specific treatment technique. Other treatment modalities like electrotherapy, dry needling and strapping will not be used during your session. The FROM assessment, myofascial release, bunkie tests and wedge tests take up the whole hour.
This treatment technique is only used when a patient specifically requests a Lyno session when making the appointment.
How many times should I come in for a Lyno session?
In most cases it takes 4-6 Lyno sessions to treat the different layers and retrain movement patterns. At first you will have 2 sessions in one week, then a week in between treatments. Initially the improvement in range of movement lasts 2-3 days, but with retraining and homework, the layers or dysfunctional patterns take longer to come back.
Athletes (especially twisting or turning sports like tennis, golf or boxing) will need periodic sessions to keep the restrictive pattern from taking over again. The time in between sessions will depend on the sport and how often you train.
The “stuck” patterns will always return with these asymmetrical sports or with habits that you can’t change, like sitting at a desk or in your car for hours at a time. In these cases you will need a follow-up Lyno session every 4-6 weeks.
What should I do at home to ensure Lyno is effective?
The Lyno Method is not a passive process. You get “homework” to do in between sessions to maintain improvement. Otherwise the initial restriction comes back between each session and you won’t achieve the progress you’re looking for.
Homework usually involves one bunkie exercise and a mobility/retraining exercise. You must try and avoid habits that drive the old patterns identified during your session.
Cost of a Lyno session
A Lyno session involves multiple techniques to more than one area or joint, depending on the results obtained from the movement and bunkie tests. The techniques used determines the cost of the session.
Medical Aid Codes
Medical aid codes used can include assessment or reassessment (701, 702 or 703), myofascial release (303), spinal joint mobilisation (401), peripheral joint mobilisation (405), neural mobilisation (310), rehabilitation of movement (501 and 509) and immobilisation (407).
Does it make a difference to have an experienced physiotherapist apply The Lyno Method?
Our physiotherapists are keen observers of biomechanics and movement from years of experience. Their hands are trained to feel tissue tension and resistance to movement. Like a baker knows when the dough is “just right.” Tissue tension and resistance varies from person to person – what is normal for one causes dysfunction in another.
Physiotherapists are also trained to treat all phases of injury, whether you got hurt yesterday, 2 weeks, or even 2 years ago. If you have a fresh injury, a physiotherapist can guide you through the initial healing phases until Lyno is appropriate for your condition or problem.
Additional training and certification is required to apply the Lyno Method, so this technique is not used by all physiotherapists.
Other Lyno Method answers:
