PDS Symptoms

Proprioceptive Dysfunctions may lead to Postural Deficiency Syndrome (PDS) described by H.Martins da Cunha, MD in 1977. Martins da Cunha described several kinds of symptoms with the most relevant being Pain, Unbalance, and Cognitive Dysfunctions.

Pain includes back pain, neck pain, high pain torticolis, brachialgia, chest pain, limb pain, hyperalgia and migraine.

Unbalance includes vertigo, dizziness, body disequilibrium

Cognitive Dysfunction includes dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysorthographia, lack of attention and hiperactivity.

Vascular dysfunctions like Reynaud Syndrome, cold extremities (even in summer time), narrowing between high and low arterial pressure, and asymmetrical blood supply without arterial lesions are also important symptoms which lead patients to search for medical help.

The sense of body localization is disturbed, patients bite involuntarily their inner mouth, they fall down without evident reason, they lose sense of orientation, they run into doors and furniture at home, and they can't walk straight with their eyes closed.

These symptoms are not present in every patient but in a significant part of them.

Whatever the type of symptom the patient presents, all are eliminated by the same treatment. The symptoms change for every individual but the type of treatment does not. Only the details are different but not according to the symptoms but to the type of PDS. This means we can use the same treatment for cognitive dysfunction, back pain or vertigo and different treatment details for two cases of similar back pain.

Conferences and Seminars

• Barcelona Spain 29th and 30th January 2010International Meeting on Posturology
• Marseille France November 2009 Congrès de Posturologie CHU NORD
• Bilbao, Spain, January 17th 2009 -Workshop on Posturology and proprioception
• Belo Horizone, Brazil. August 23rd 2008
• Sao Paulo, Brazil. August 22nd 2008
• Barcelona, Spain. June 28th 2008
• Lisbon, Portugal. 6-7th June 2008 (Advanced Course in Proprioception at Lisbon's High Orthoptic School).
• San Diego, USA. May 19th 2008
• Sintra 18-19th May 2008- International Meeting on Proprioception
• Porto, Portugal. February 5th 2008
• Porto, Portugal. October 28th 2007
• Brasilia, Brazil. 2007
• Fortaleza, Brazil. 2006
• Recife, Brazil. 2005
• Cairo, Egypt. 1998
• Madrid, Spain. 17-19th October 2008
• Dijon, France. December 11th - Invited lecturer to Post Graduation on Proprioception and Learning Disabilities at Dijon University
• Madrid, Spain. February 28th
• Bucharest, Romania. October 19th, 2005 at World Congress of Posturology
• Rio de Mouro-Portugal, Learning Disabilities in Intelligent People November 14th 2009
• Marseille-France Meeting on Prematurity Plagiociphaly and Neurosciences November 17h
• 2010 February 26th Lisbon, Symposium on Dyslexia for School Teachers- A Lions Club meeting

Lecture on Early Symptoms leading to learning difficulties before school age

• http://www.roposturo.ro/participanti/Dasilva.htm

Books

Dislexia Uma Nova Abordagem Terapeutica (Dyslexia: A New Therapeutic Approach)

• Authors: Graciete Serrano; O. Alves da Silva
• Language: Portuguese

Dyslexie de Developpement (Developmental Dyslexia)

• Authors: P.Quercia; F. Robichon ; O. Alves da Silva
• Languages: French and Portuguese

O Meu Filho Não Aprende Porquê? (Why Can't My Child Learn?)

• Author: O.Alves da Silva
• Languages: Portuguese

Proprioception and Dyslexia

Proprioception is our sixth sense. It informs the brain about the body itself and the relationship between body and space. Proprioception is the first part, the afferent part, of the PROPRIOCEPTIVE SYSTEM. This is a complete neurological system that includes receiving and processing information brain centers, efferent neurological pathways and effector organs, a feedback mechanism that is associated.

Common Dyslexia is a consequence of a proprioceptive dysfunction. The good news is the body has the necessary know-how to normalize the proprioceptive dysfunction and improve reading ability as well as other associated symptoms. We are using ACTIVE PRISMS and other complementary treatments. Complementary treatments include specific motor coordination training developed by Martins Da Cunha, MD that was named Postural Reprogramming. The reason why some types of motor training can improve reading ability is that they can interfere with the regulation of the proprioceptive system. Reading our work, the authors of some motor coordination trainings will finally understand why their treatment increase, although slightly, reading ability... However, Active Prisms are the strongest component for dyslexia treatment and the results appear in a short period of time, even in severe cases.

Active prisms are not yoked prisms but prisms prescribed according to previous proprioceptive status evaluation by use of specific techniques. Each type of proprioceptive dysfunction requires a specific active prism.

Dyslexia and associated symptoms

What is new is the confirmation that common DYSLEXIA is not a disease but just one of the PDS's symptoms.

The main benefit is that we can treat Dyslexia by treating the proprioceptive dysfunction which produces all PDS symptoms, including Dyslexia. Many kinds of pain and unbalance don't need drugs to be treated but only the techniques to correct proprioceptive system dysfunctions. These techniques are neither iatrogenic nor invasive. Our experience dates back to 1977 and we have treated more than 30 thousand patients with success. This represents a very long background and a very high number of patients treated.

The classical treatment for Dyslexia has a low percentage of good results because its aim is to reduce the symptom but not to eliminate the origin of the disease. The same goes for some kinds of pain that are only due to muscle contracture arising from wrong brain proprioceptive information. Everytime the brain is informed the muscles are too relaxed, it sends the neurological output to normalize their tonus. But if this information is wrong - as in the case of a proprioceptive dysfunction - the brain sends a similar neurological output, the muscle contracts and reaches the pain level. This is very common and we estimate, according to our experience, it affects more than 10 per cent of the adult population in industrialized countries. Many muscle pains are found not to have an evident organic origin.

The body's balance system is also affected by wrong proprioceptive information. The brain doesn't know where the body segments and space are exactly located and it keeps sending wrong neurological outputs which lead to unbalance.

In case of dyslexia, what is affected are the brain centres that locate exactly the components of the written message and also the position of the eyes relative to each part of the text. Whenever a "DE" is seen as a "ED" or a "p" is seen as a "q" or the line above is seen as the line below, the text stops making sense and people can't read . However, when we correct this wrong perception through the correction of the proprioceptive system, reading becomes possible and easy.

In case of proprioceptive dysfunctions, including dyslexia, Brain Mapping (computerized electroencephalography) shows excessive brain cortical absolut power in the low-frequency waves. When we correct this system using our methods, these excessive brain cortical levels become normal. In case of pain or unbalance, this is enough to make those symptoms disappear; in case of cognitive dysfunctions, we have the basis to continue the treatment by cognitive training. However,we emphasize that, in many cases of dyslexia, cognitive training is not necessary.

O. Alves da Silva, MD Biography

Pioneer In Opthalmologic Proprioception since 1977 with H. Martins da Cunha, MD, who first published the Postural deficiency Syndrome (PDS) in 1979.

O. Alves da Silva developed the method to prescribe ACTIVE PRISMS and influence the brain proprioceptive centers and output.

He also developed postural reprogramming techniques, cognitive training and ergonomics, which combined with active prims successfully cure proprioceptive dysfunctions associated with certain types of dyslexia, vertigo and muscular pain symptoms.

Since 1977, Alves da Silva has successfully treated approximately 30,000 cases of dyslexia, vertigo and muscular pain.

RESUME

Medical Doctor (1971) Eye Surgeon (1976)

Head of the Strabismus Department (1977-2005) of Santa Maria University Hospital - LISBON - PORTUGAL.Professor of Ocular Motricity at School of Orthoptics- Lisbon.

Director of Posturmed Clinic.

President and Founder of the Portuguese Association of Clinical Posturology and Dyslexia.

Founder and First President of the Portuguese Group of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

Guest speaker at several scientific international meetings on Proprioception.
Visitor Professor at Bologna University- Italy at the Master of Proprioception
Visitor Professor at Philippus University - Madrd- Spain at the Master of Proprioception
 Jury Member at Bourgogne University -France for the Master on Proprioception