Motor Point Acupuncture: Unlock Peak Muscle Performance, Prevent Injury, Transform Human Movement Potential with Rich Hazel

PURCHASE COURSE HERE

Workshop recorded 15th – 17th May 2026

Course Overview

Motor Point Acupuncture is one of the most powerful yet underutilised tools available to acupuncturists working with pain, injury, and performance-driven patients.

This workshop introduces a biomechanics-informed framework for understanding and treating muscle dysfunction. Rather than viewing muscles simply as sources of pain or tightness, participants will explore how muscles behave within larger movement systems – how they activate, coordinate, and transfer force throughout the body.

The three-day curriculum draws on the work of Dr. Vladimir Janda, integrating his approach to movement dysfunction with the clinical precision of motor point acupuncture. Day 1 establishes the theoretical and neurophysiological foundations. Day 2 applies those principles to sports performance and common lower-limb pain syndromes. Day 3 turns to Janda’s crossed syndrome model and its application to chronic spinal pain, headache, and nerve entrapment conditions that are frequently encountered in general practice but rarely addressed with a clear and effective treatment strategy.

 

Why This Recording Matters

Many patients present as physically active and well-conditioned, yet continue to experience recurrent or stubborn injuries, persistent pain, and limited recovery. In these cases, the issue is often not a lack of strength but impaired muscle activation, timing, or coordination within the kinetic chain.

Conventional assessment approaches frequently fail to identify:

• Subtle muscle inhibition beneath apparent strength
• Compensatory movement patterns that perpetuate injury
• Inefficient force transfer between regions of the body
• The relationship between proximal dysfunction and distal pain

Motor point acupuncture, applied with an understanding of these mechanisms, offers a precise and evidence-informed approach to restoring efficient muscle behaviour and reducing the risk of recurrence.

 

Course Outline

Day 1: Foundations of Motor Point Acupuncture and the Janda Approach

Day 1 provides a thorough grounding in the “what” and “how” of motor point acupuncture, and introduces the Janda approach to muscle function and movement assessment. This is a new and complete explanation of the underlying science and clinical rationale, regardless of prior exposure to the subject.

Motor Point Acupuncture Foundations

• What defines a motor point and how it differs from trigger points and channel-based needling
• The neurophysiological basis for motor point stimulation
• Local, central, and molecular effects of treatment
• Current research and clinical evidence in pain, performance, and rehabilitation
• Safety considerations, contraindications, and practitioner responsibility

The Janda Approach: Muscle Imbalance and Movement Dysfunction

• How sustained muscle tone progresses into shortening, contracture, and dysfunction
• The distinction between tonic (postural) and phasic muscles, and their differing responses to overload
• How joint irritation or overload inhibits muscle activation both peripherally and centrally
• Why pain is often a downstream consequence rather than the primary problem
• The concept of the kinetic chain and integrated movement systems

Muscle Inhibition and Functional Assessment

• The difference between normal protective inhibition and pathological inhibition
• Why strength testing alone is a poor indicator of functional capacity
• Clinical strategies to identify and restore effective muscle recruitment
• Linking assessment findings to motor point treatment decisions

 

Day 2: Sports Performance, Lower Limb Function, and Common Pain Syndromes

Day 2 applies the principles from Day 1 to the demands of sports performance and the treatment of lower-limb pain syndromes. This content is directly relevant to any practitioner treating physically active patients, not only those working in elite sport.

Sports Performance Concepts and the Lower Kinetic Chain

• Triple extension and its role in running, jumping, and change-of-direction movements
• The stretch-shortening cycle and rate of force development
• How breakdowns in timing and sequencing increase load on vulnerable structures
• Reducing injury risk by improving force distribution and muscular coordination
• Key motor points for speed, power, and injury prevention in running-based sports including football and rugby

Clinical Protocols for the Lower Limb

• Motor point protocols for the hip, thigh, and lower leg in performance and rehabilitation contexts
• Treatment of Achilles tendinopathy: relevant motor points, load management considerations, and clinical reasoning
• Treatment of plantar fasciitis: the relationship between posterior chain dysfunction and heel pain
• Live demonstration of motor point assessment and needling for the above conditions

This day covers a large number of important motor points, all taught within the context of specific clinical presentations and movement demands rather than as isolated point locations.

 

Day 3: Janda’s Crossed Syndromes: Spinal Pain, Headache, and Nerve Entrapment

Upper Crossed Syndrome: Chronic Neck Pain, Tension Headache, Migraine, and Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

The afternoon session applies Janda’s Upper Crossed Syndrome framework to conditions that most acupuncturists see every week in clinic. The focus is on conditions that are rarely resolved quickly with conventional acupuncture approaches – this session provides a roadmap for achieving consistent and lasting results.

• The Upper Crossed Syndrome model: characteristic patterns of inhibition and overactivity in the neck, shoulder girdle, and thorax
• Why conventional treatment of neck pain and headache often falls short, and what the Upper Crossed approach addresses differently
• Motor point and trigger point treatment of the upper trapezius
• Levator scapulae: an underappreciated contributor to neck pain, headache, and restricted cervical rotation
• Latissimus dorsi and semispinalis capitis trigger points and their role in occipital and migraine-type headache
• Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: clinical recognition, distinguishing features, and treatment strategy
• Building an integrated treatment approach for chronic neck and headache patients using Janda’s model as a clinical guide

 

Learning Outcomes

• Understand muscle dysfunction beyond trigger points and pain
• Recognise patterns of inhibition, compensation, and overload
• Apply motor point acupuncture with greater precision and purpose
• Integrate biomechanical and neurological reasoning into clinical practice
• Improve confidence when managing complex and recurrent musculoskeletal cases

 

PURCHASE COURSE HERE

 

 

About the Presenter

Rich Hazel uses a unique style of acupuncture that relies heavily on knowledge of neurology and sports medicine. He was one of very few people to learn Motor Point Acupuncture at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York where he completed his Master of Science in Acupuncture, Orthopedic & Sports Medicine. Rich has also studied Neurofunctional Acupuncture and Exstore Functional Muscle Assessment with some of the best orthopedic acupuncturists in North America and spent years studying trigger points and the treatment of myofascial pain from the works of Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. C Chan Gunn.

His unique style allows Rich to get excellent results for sports injuries, sports mobility and performance, and acute and chronic pain of all kinds. He now teaches this unique style of acupuncture to other acupuncturists in the US and abroad and is on the faculty at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York.

 

What You Get After You Complete The Course