My first experience with SDTT® has had a profound impact on me, both physically and professionally, in a very positive way.
I received my first SDTT® treatment from the therapy’s originator, Armand Ayaltin, RHP, RMT, at a course I attended. After the first day of the course, I was impressed with the theory we had been taught and after having my own “structural deviations” pointed out during an assessment portion of the day, I wanted to experience the results for myself.
Prior to the treatment, I had been struggling with what had been diagnosed as a “bone bruise” in my right knee that came on very suddenly almost a year before. Literally one day I went for a run and felt great, the next day I went to do the same run and I couldn’t continue for more than two minutes at a time without excruciating pain in my right knee.
In the year since the injury I had seen medical doctors, a musculoskeletal specialist, two chiropractors, and massage therapists, all with no improvement, no explanation for why the injury had occurred or any suggestion for what I could do about it other than “stay off it”. After staying away from running for almost a full year, I was trying to slowly ease back into it, with a frustrating recurrence of symptoms only fifteen minutes into a run.
Other than this frustrating pain, I had an assortment of “discomforts” accumulated from eight years of kickboxing, six years as a student and years of working in a very physical profession. Here is the list of my symptoms, from head to toe:
Before Treatment:
Feet– The outside of my right foot felt “stuck” and had required adjustment by a chiropractor – My weight very unevenly distributed between both feet, as evident in the uneven wear in the soles of footwear I had worn for less than two months.
Ankles– Both ankles felt unstable, I would constantly catch myself standing on the very outer edge of both feet, turning the bottoms of my feet towards one another.
Knees– Persistent bone bruise in my right knee that caused excruciating pain when running.
Calves– I had noticed a sensation of muscle shaking and tingling in both calves while lying down every night for over two and half years.
Hips- Chronic pain and tightness experienced in superior gluteal muscles bilaterally along with painful, tight hip flexors. In addition, there was a constant “clicking” and “snapping” of both hips and a feeling of the joints being “stuck.”
Lumbar Spine– I noticed a frequent, violent “clunking” as the vertebrae in my lower back would “self adjust” with certain movements. There was also a persistent feeling of tightness and restriction of movement in my lower back and discomfort experienced when sleeping on my back.
Thoracic Spine and ribs– Here I felt discomfort, tightness, and restricted movement, especially right along my spine leading to my constant fidgeting and shifting to try to find a comfortable position. My lower ribs on my right side felt like they were being pulled down and needed to be released.
Cervical Spine (Neck) – I found myself frequently stretching and fidgeting, seeking relief from the persistent tightness and tension I felt in my neck and upper back. Also after one manipulation, my neck had started making a sickening “clunking” sound as the vertebrae adjusted when I would stretch out the tight muscles.
In short, I was uncomfortable. All over. I had also figured that I would just have to deal with the discomfort since I had already sought out treatment and experienced very little in terms of relief.
The treatment I received from Armand Ayaltin RHP, RMT, was just over an hour and fifteen minutes long. There were certainly some uncomfortable, intense moments during the treatment due to the years of accumulated dysfunction he was working through, yet he was always good at checking in to make sure the pressure was “bearable”.
After Treatment:
Right after getting off the table, I immediately noticed how overall relaxed my body felt. My shoulders were so relaxed, it felt like they were just hanging comfortably off my body. In fact, I couldn’t remember my upper body and neck ever feeling so relaxed! My neck no longer snapped when I moved it, and even bringing my ear to my shoulder couldn’t elicit any tension or stretch in the muscles.
I was no longer “wearing my shoulders as earrings”. I felt warm and my whole spine felt delightfully loose and mobile.
Within four hours of the massage, a nice reddish-purple bruise had started to appear along my right thigh where some particularly nasty adhesions had been treated. Although the rest of my body felt so goodthat I didn’t mind! I was definitely a bit sore that evening and a bit the next day but I applied heat as Armand had recommended and this helped quite a bit. Within a few days, all discomfort had subsided and I felt so good!
Feet– My weight now felt evenly balanced between both feet and I felt as though each foot sunk evenly into the ground
Ankles– Felt stable, I now found myself standing balanced with my feet rooted easily, flat on the ground
Calves– No longer tingled or shook at night. Plus standing now felt effortless and I realized how much energy I had been expending just to stand up straight on such imbalanced, tight muscles.
Knees– Pain free! The week after my first treatment I was able to run for a full hour without any pain for the first time in a year!
Hips– The chronic muscle pain, tightness and snapping of joints was completely gone.
Lumbar spine– My lower spine no longer made that abrupt “clunking” sound or self-adjusted and I was able to comfortably sleep lying on my back.
Thoracic spine– I felt like I was able to breathe easier, fully expanding my ribs. Also, I no longer experienced the feeling of tightness and restriction on my right lower ribcage.
Cervical spine– My neck completely stopped making that sickening “clunking” sound and no longer felt like it constantly needed to be stretched out. I could place my ear to my shoulder without even a sensation of stretch being felt in my neck muscles.
My fellow colleagues noticed at the second day of the course that I was standing relaxed and straighter, the excess curvature of my lower back was reduced, and I was no longer constantly fidgeting, stretching and moving around.
Overall, I felt fantastic. I felt as though all the tension that had been stored in my muscles had been shaken from my entire body. I felt like each muscle had breathed a huge sigh of relief!
With results this dramatic experienced after just one treatment, I was convinced of the therapeutic benefit of SDTT®. Since then I have completed both courses in SDTT® and have enrolled in the mentorship program offered by Armand to complete my Advanced level certification (approximately a three-year process) to pass on results like this to my own clients!
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