This brief post is to ask all who visit it to have in their prayers and thoughts the final days of a great man, David Simons
A message from his family and carers has been widely disseminated, asking for our thoughts to be with him and his family as he nears the end of his life
To be sure, David's life has been remarkable - ranging from his airforce days when he became one of the first men in space (see photo of him on cover of Life Magazine above, 1957) - to his decades of research and writing on the theme of myofascial pain.
And all those associated with manual medicine owe him a profound debt of gratitude.
Now is not the time for expanding on this theme, there will be time enough for tributes and memories later.
For now - please hold him in your thoughts and wish him well in what he has termed "the next adventure"
Travel safely David
It is huge loss for all World. We have lost the second genius of the trigger points.
ReplyDeleteWe condole with a David family.
Vladimir Gromakovski MD, PT (Riga, Latvia)
Dear Leon,
ReplyDeleteGod bless David Simons!! Dr. George J. Goodheart (applied kinesiology's founder) told many of his students that Simons and Travells books were always by his side in his study, and that he had read their books over many times.
Everyone involved in hands-on therapy has been incredibly gifted by the Herculean labors of Dr. Simons in the area of myofascial pain...its diagnosis and treatment. The evolution of his ideas on this subject never slowed or clotted around the fixed ideas he initially formed in his years with his great teacher Dr. Janet Travell, and his later works expanded on the earliest work of Travell beautifully.
In the applied kinesiology world view, the triad of health involves (originally propounded by the founder of chiropractic) the discovery and resolution of factors that perpetuate the clinical activity of trigger points. This is so clinically important in preventing an acute trigger point pain situation from evolving into a chronic pain problem. The three kinds of factors in the triad of health (mechanical, chemical, and emotional) were so extensively covered in previous publications by Drs. Travell and Simons.
Management of these three kinds of factors demands very broad skills that require time and effort to learn...Dr. Simons made all of this much clearer for all of us!!
Dr. Simons also said that the recognition of muscle weakness and/or inhibitions caused by trigger points is often a critical step in the restoration of normal function. Other muscles suffer from compensatory overload in Dr. Simons' view. The cause of the muscle imbalance and the initial muscle weakness must be identified and addressed.
All of this needless to say made Dr. Simons' tremendous gifts to all of us in the applied kinesiology world...immeasurable.
Thank you Leon for informing us of Dr. Simons' state, and more than that thank you for presenting his work to us throughout your publications.
Our prayers go out to David and his family.
Scott Cuthbert, D.C.
ICAK USA Board Member
I had the great honor of meeting Dr
ReplyDeleteDave Simons in 2007 in Crosby, MN
where he recieved his 50t Anniv.re-
cognition for his work with Project
Manhigh. He wore a very cute little
hat given to him in Iceland where he had just recieved an award, he had a photo of his local Covington,
Georgia newspaper with a photo of the planets and him wearing that hat..I told him he looked like Galileo and he laughed and enjoyed it. We got to spend 3 days with Dr Simons and listen to his story of the Project...I remember him with warmth. When he spoke I felt I was in the presence of a brilliant man. Rest in Peace, Dave and our condolences to his family. My husband, Greg Kennedy wrote a book on Dave's work with Project Manhigh
and Dave could not believe I had attended this function, it being my honeymoon! he laughed and said, now that's committment..:) Marta Hawryluk-Kennedy.
Dr. Simons was one of the giants of space exploration. His research on the effects of cosmic radiation and design of the Manhigh capsule helped build a foundation for the space program. The world has lost a great man.
ReplyDeleteGreg Kennedy and Marta Hawryluk
Philadelphia, PA, USA