March 31, 2015
Treating the Body Differently
By Patrick Burke, photos by Soozie Sundlun
There are those who swear by his techniques and there are those who are unfamiliar with biomechanics. At North Kingstown’s Form & Function Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, owner and lead therapist Guerrino Boni hopes to provide functional biomechanics-based physical therapy to all.
“Functional biomechanics means your body is based on three planes: sagittal, frontal and transverse planes – basically the planes are like an X, Y and Z axis,” Boni explained.
“Every joint and every muscle in your body moves along, not one vector at a time, but all three at the same time,” he continued. “A very simple way of saying it is that every movement has to incorporate both front to back motion, side to side motion and rotational motion – all at once.”
At Boni’s practice, it’s not so much “here’s the protocol” as it is “let’s find the problem” together, he said. “It’s about looking at the overall biomechanics of the body then trying to treat the angry site. It’s very easy to fix the pain – by massaging the area or using electric stimulation on the area – it’s much more challenging to find out where the pain actually comes from.”
As Boni noted, functional biomechanics views the body as a series of chain reactions that, together, work in kinetic concinnity. The therapist uses task-oriented exercises and integrates different eccentric and concentric movements, all while tailoring exercises to the specifications of the patient’s body and goals. For example, a construction worker with back issues has a different recovery path than a long distance runner with similar back issues. Boni said that traditional P.T. models tend to predominantly use isolation.
“If your lower back hurts, you did lower back stuff. You did bridging and pelvic tilts and dead bugs,” Boni said. “But when you think about how the pelvis works with every step you take, the pelvis actually rotates, it has all these intricate motions. It’s all a very meticulous chain setup, one leads to the next, which leads to the next – all the way from your foot to the base of your neck, it’s all very intricately related. Put simply, a problem with your big toe could lead to a headache.”
After receiving his masters degree in Physical Therapy from the URI in 2003, Boni became a Fellow of Applied Functional Science (FAFS) through Gary Grey’s Institute for Functional Transformation. While there, he studied advanced biomechanics and learned to apply those concepts to injury treatment and prevention. After 11 years with a biomechanics-minded physical therapy practice in Middletown and Wakefield, Boni opened Form & Function in North Kingstown in late September last year. The office is welcoming and very personal, with signed pictures from graduates framed between exercise machines and only a few closed examination rooms in an otherwise open space. Boni highlighted a piece of equipment called the True Stretch, which he calls “the cage.” It provides patients with numerous support bars and allows them to perform myriad stretches.
Boni grew up playing soccer and even represented a New England team in Europe while in high school. He currently volunteers with nearby high school teams, creating sport-specific workouts.
“I can tailor athletes’ stretches to help with the dynamic motions they’re going to use most and the workout movements that are going to be pivotal to their movements in their sport,” Boni said.
“I’ve seen many times over how beneficial this kind of physical therapy can be,” he continued. “People are often pleasantly surprised. I can teach people about their bodies. I’m not just going to put you through therapy – I’m going to explain it to you.”