Manipulation: A non-specific manual procedure that involves a general thrust to move a joint.

Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI): A condition or state that is well stabilized and unlikely to change substantially in the next year, with or without medical treatment. Over time, there may be some change; however, further recovery or deterioration is not anticipated.

Mechanoreceptor: A specialized nerve ending that has been found to influence the neurological response of the brain, spinal cord and spinal nerves. Mechanoreceptor stimulation serves to reduce pain transmission and is highly distributed in the joint spaces.

Mobilization: Method of manipulation, movement, or stretching to increase range of motion in muscles and joints which does not involve a high-velocity thrust.

Motion Palpation: A diagnostic tool and examining method of locating fixations and loss of mobility in the spine by feeling the motion of specific spinal segments as the patient moves or as the doctor moves the spine. Motion palpation is based upon the work of many authors and clinicians from a diverse background and from locations throughout the world. This technique was brought to the United States in 1981 and quickly gained acceptance as a standard diagnostic tool for the chiropractic profession. The history of motion palpation includes the contributions of Illi; Gillet; Kaltenborn; Grieve; Mennel; Cyriax; Dvorak; Faye; Grice; Gittleman; Fligg; Palmer; Wyke; Korr; Carrick; Seaman; Edwards; Gonstead; Lantz, etc… .Motion palpation is now taught in chiropractic colleges throughout the world.

Motion Palpation Institute (MPI): MPI is a nonprofit organization established in 1981 by Dr. Faye and Dr. Petersen to promote education and research within the chiropractic profession. This purpose is achieved through MPI's cutting edge postgraduate educational seminars, and MPI Publishing which has published several textbooks and charts for chiropractic doctors and students. MPI cosponsors, with chiropractic colleges, many educational seminars on a worldwide basis each year. The majority of these are held in the United States and Canada. MPI's textbooks are required reading in many of the chiropractic colleges. http://www.motionpalpation.org/

Motor: Neurological term to represent that portion of the nerve or joint responsible for activity or motion. Nerves that send signals to the muscle are motor nerves.

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging, a diagnostic tool that subjects the patient’s body to massive doses of magnetism to induce an energy reading that the MRI computer interprets as images based upon water content and the hydrogen ion. It is a non-invasive and non-radioactive technique considered the gold standard for soft tissue imaging. http://www.idifwb.com/services/mri.htm

Myotome: Each muscle in the body is supplied by a particular level or segment of the spinal cord and by its corresponding spinal nerve. The muscle and its nerve make up a myotome. They are approximately the same for every person and are as follows:

• C3, C4 and C5 supply the diaphragm (the large muscle between the chest and the belly that we use to breath)
• C5 also supplies the shoulder muscles (Deltoids) and the muscle that we use to bend our elbow (Biceps)
• C6 is for bending the wrist back (extensor muscles)
• C7 is for straightening the elbow (Triceps and Anconeus)
• C8 bends or flexes the fingers
• T1 spreads the fingers (abduction)
• T1 –T12 supplies the chest wall & abdominal muscles
• L2 bends the hip (Iliopsoas musculature)
• L3 straightens the knee (quadriceps muscle group)
• L4 pulls the foot up (dorsi-flexion of the foot by the Anterior Tibialis muscle)
• L5 wiggles the toes (dorsi-flexion of big toe by the Extensor Hallucis Longus muscle)
• S1 pulls the foot down/toe standing (Peroneus Longus and Brevis)
• S5 supply the bladder, bowel, sex organs and the anal and other pelvic muscles