Wartenberg's pendulum, repose and the ‘gripped’ patella—Part 2: Torsional forms of manual therapy

Summary 

This paper, the second of a three-part series, presents examples of manual therapy, gentle to patient and therapist, useful in reducing patello-femoral tension. The previous installment explored the concepts of least effort and repose. This segment describes clinical tools helpful in promoting relaxation of the anterior thigh muscles.

The tools consist of props to encourage repose, oscillation and myofascial release techniques. The myofascial techniques are presented at three different levels of scale. The manual oscillation discussion includes three concepts: oscillatory still points, bridging and standing wave procedures. All these techniques embody a basic principle of traction and twist.

Keywords: Wartenberg, Relaxation, Least effort, Quadriceps, Oscillation, Exercise