Motor Point Acupuncture: Foundations and the Janda Approach with Rich Hazel

PURCHASE COURSE HERE

Extracted from the Motor Point Acupuncture: Unlock Peak Muscle Performance, Prevent Injury, Transform Human Movement Potential 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 course is the foundational component extracted from Day 1 of our 2026 three-day workshop, Motor Point Acupuncture: Unlock Peak Muscle Performance, Prevent Injury, Transform Human Movement Potential with Rich Hazel. It contains the complete theoretical and neurophysiological grounding in motor point acupuncture, along with an introduction to the Janda approach to muscle function and movement assessment, regardless of your prior exposure to the subject.

This course does not include the practical needling demonstration recorded on the day. For hands-on application of these principles across the hip, thigh, lumbar spine, and abdominal wall, see our full workshop recording and upcoming live events.

Why This Course 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. This course lays the theoretical groundwork needed before applying these techniques in practice — and is the recommended starting point for anyone preparing for our motor points live workshops.

 

Course Outline

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

Lecture Breakdown

Part 1 — The Chemistry of Neuromuscular Repair Intramuscular electrostimulation of motor points, clinical safety guardrails, and the physics of polarity.

Part 2 — The Broken Circuit Decoding and re-wiring arthrogenic muscle inhibition, the macroscopic domino effect, therapeutic mapping, and the architectural blueprint of human tensegrity.

Part 3 — Motor Point Treatment with Pointer A guided look at motor point treatment technique using the Pointer device, with a selection of points covered to give you a feel for clinical application: psoas, tensor fasciae latae, rectus femoris, quadratus lumborum, iliocostalis lumborum, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, gluteus maximus, internal and external obliques, and rectus abdominis.

Note: this course focuses on the theory and clinical reasoning behind motor point treatment rather than a full needling demonstration. Part 3 gives you a working introduction to several key motor points so you can see the technique in context; for the complete hands-on demonstration across all of these points, see the full workshop recording.

 

Learning Outcomes

• Understand what a motor point is and how it differs from trigger point and channel-based needling
• Understand muscle dysfunction beyond trigger points and pain
• Recognise patterns of inhibition, compensation, and overload
• Apply the Janda approach to assess movement dysfunction
• Build the theoretical foundation needed to apply motor point acupuncture with precision and purpose

 

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