Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF)

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, also called Kabat rehabilitation after its founder, is one of the basic neurophysiological rehabilitation techniques.

History

This technique was pioneered by the American neurophysiologist Herman Kabat (1913 – 1995) and colleagues Margaret Knott and Dorothy Voss in the 1940s, and quickly gained popularity with physicians and physical therapists. Originally developed to treat poliomyelitis (polio) patients, it soon proved effective for a much broader range of musculoskeletal conditions.

Mechanism

The primary purpose of Kabat rehabilitation is to facilitate the learning of certain patterns of movement, using signals from the musculoskeletal system (e.g. from muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and joint capsule and skin receptors). The aim is to influence the motor neurons of the anterior grey columns. Together with targeted impulses from brain centers, this is usually sufficient to elicit a motor response.

Source: https://www.wikiskripta.eu/w/PNF (in Czech)