Injury Recall Technique (IRT) is by far the most highly acclaimed procedure of all of Dr. Walter Schmitt’s many clinical innovations. IRT (Injury Recall Technique) is a gentle procedure used following a recent or ancient injury or trauma. IRT restores muscle balance to pre-injury status, often dramatically relieving pain and restoring range of motion.
Set Point Technique is a system of pain control and often pain relief based on combining knowledge from modern neurosciences with the ancient science of acupuncture therapy. It was developed by doctors and is based upon years of clinical experience. It employs the simple procedure of tapping points on your face with your finger in combination with another pain-related stimulus. The results are rapid, almost immediate, and although the techniques may need to be repeated, they are usually long lasting.
The late Robert Crotty, DPM, made the first observations of what is now called IRT. His protégé and colleague, Gordon Bronston, DPM, made additional contributions to what they called the “Muscle Chain Response.”
In the late 1980’s, Walter Schmitt, D.C., added manual muscle testing and applied kinesiology assessment procedures to the original observations and more fully described the “Muscle Chain Response” in terms of modern neurological concepts.
To understand why IRT works, you must first understand what happens when the body encounters an injury or trauma. To any injury in any tissue of the body (including surgery and some dental procedures) there is a muscle response.
For example, what do you do if you put your hand on a hot stove? You immediately pull your hand away and, in fact, you tend to move your whole body away from the burner. If you step on a tack, you lift your foot quickly and shift your entire body weight to the other foot. These muscle responses to injury are designed to protect you from further injury and are supposed to last for a brief time and then return to normal.
But, if the injury is serious enough or lasts long enough, the muscle response continues and remains as “muscle memory.” IRT erases the muscle memory so the brain can begin the healing process for that specific area.