1. What is FNOR^TM (Functional Neuro-Orthopedic Rehabilitation)?

A Unique, Modern Approach to Rehabilitation.Functional Neuro-Orthopedic Rehabilitation (FNOR^TM) is a modern rehabilitation approach that is a combination of neuroscience, physical therapy, biotechnology and pain management. FNOR^TM began as a project that was aimed at developing non-invasive solutions to stubborn, treatment-resistant post-surgical pain but developed into a comprehensive system of physical rehabilitation that can be effectively applied to a range of common orthopedic conditions including:

FNOR was developed from a project that was dealing with developing pain treatment methods for post-surgical pain. Above is a typical patient who presented with severe, persistent knee pain that was not alleviated by surgical, knee replacements in both legs. Pain that persists after surgery is a near-epidemic and it is typically very difficult to treat by any single method. FNOR was developed to offer a treatment option for chronic pain sufferers like this.

• Arm and Shoulder Conditions (e.g. rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder, shoulder pain, tennis elbow, golfers elbow.)
• Spine Conditions ((e.g. lower back pain, neck pain, spinal stenosis, disc injury.)
• Hip and Leg Problems (e.g. IT band syndrome, hip arthritis and pain, knee pain, runners knee, Achilles tendon pain, plantar fasciitis.)

Because the FNOR^TM system addresses body and brain is also used to rehabilitate those who have suffered from serious injuries including:

• Brain injury (e.g. stroke, concussion.)
• Instability and Frequent Falling.
• Traumatic injuries involving body and brain issues.

How does FNOR^TM differ from other rehabilitation approaches?

1. Body and Brain Approach

Based on modern research in neuroscience and rehabilitation, FNOR^TMis based on the concept that musculoskeletal injury (i.e. injury to joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments), particularly injury associated with pain that lasts a long time after the injury, most often causes changes in the nervous system (brain and nerves of the body). This is why many patients fail to respond to conventional physical therapy and medical measures that only address the injured or painful area – these limited approaches do not address the changes in the nervous system that result from injury. This might be likened to only removing an infected thumb drive from your computer after the virus it delivered has already infected your system – the thumb drive is where the problem started but it is now only part of a bigger, growing problem. Modern research suggests that chronic pain and injury are very much like this.

FNOR^TM practitioners therefore treat the body and brain at the same time through the use of a range of unique techniques. While some look similar to common physical therapy methods and some look very different (almost space-age) but all FNORTM methods are non-invasive.

2. Different Pain Treatment Methods

The FNOR^TM practitioner likes to take on pain head-on! In consulting the FNOR^TM practitioner, many patients report that they feel like “somebody finally understands their pain” and its effects on their life. The FNOR^TM practitioner utilizes a range of non-invasive, modern techniques to treat pain, including the most stubborn forms of chronic pain, including post-surgical pain. In fact, the FNOR^TM system was first developed to treat pain sufferers, many of whom had undergone multiple failed surgeries.

If you have never consulted an FNOR^TM practitioner, you will likely not recognize many of the non-invasive techniques utilized to reduce your pain. Most of these techniques are directed at the various nerves of the body and limbs (called the peripheral nervous system) and the brain and spinal cord (called the central nervous system.) By going after changes in the nervous system, the FNOR^TM practitioner aims to reverse the effects of chronic pain on your body, boosting the function of your nervous system rather than just dampening the areas dealing with pain. The result is that following treatment, you are literally a higher functioning individual with an increased capacity for work, performance and function. From day one, the FNOR^TMpractitioner’s objective is to get you your life back, to get you on your own feet (rather than building dependence on yet another therapy) and to show you how to keep going.

3. Variety of Techniques & Approaches

If you are a chronic pain sufferer or someone who has seen multiple, specialists for your injury, then you have likely seen physical (physio-) therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, medical physicians and even surgeons. You probably noticed that each had their own approach to your problem. As with many chronic pain sufferers, you may have found that each of these approaches had some, limited benefit but none really completely resolved your problem. One of the reasons that many patients have this experience is that while each healthcare discipline and approach has its merits, for most people, their chronic pain and injury requires a multi-pronged approach, involving a range of methods rather than one-at-a-time. In fact, in many cases, the process of undergoing therapies one-at-a-time, can actually prolonged recovery and complicate the problem.

The FNOR^TM approach is developed by a team of specialists, drawing from elements of medicine, physical (physio-) therapy, psychology, complementary and alternative approaches and most of all, clinical neuroscience. For this reason, some of the elements of the FNOR^TM approach may be familiar to you while others will be quite different. It is likely, however, that the overall experience of FNOR^TM treatment will be quite different and probably a bit more intensive than your previous experience. You will also likely notice the use of a number of new technologies that are aimed at analyzing your brain and nervous system, movement and physiology. The use of modern technologies allows the FNOR^TM practitioner to develop unique treatment approaches based on sensitive measures of function.

The FNOR^TM practitioner is trained to confidently deal with rehabilitation of each region of the body in a diverse patient population, ranging from elite, high-performance individuals to highly unstable, complex patients. For many patients, the FNOR^TM approach brings the real relief that they have been waiting for.