IS DYNAMIC MOVEMENT INTERVENTION THE SAME AS CUEVAS MEDEK EXERCISES (C.M.E.)? 

In short, they both use similar exercises, though DMI has added tweaks to execute each exercise with correct alignment throughout the maneuver, utilizes contemporary research, and values and encourages use of concurrent modalities to improve alignment and benefits of movement outcomes. 

WHY WOULD WE DO THIS? 

To understand this, it is important to understand a bit of the history of C.M.E. and the C.M.E. Educational program. 

C.M.E. was created. by Ramon Cuevas, a brilliant and pioneering Physical Therapist, who challenged many of the trends of the pediatric PT world at the time. Though some of the concepts existed at the time, he strove to push the limits by using distal support, greater exposure to gravity, and tried to provoke absent gross motor milestones. The results were astounding, and through his efforts, he helped thousands of kids in his career. 

We are forever grateful to Ramon for what he taught us and introduced to the world. 

C.M.E. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 

The C.M.E. educational program is divided into 4 levels: 

Level 1 is introductory. It consists of learning the C.M.E. assessment and a total of 41 exercises. 

Level 2 is intermediate. 

Level 3 is for advanced practitioners and is taught by invitation only. Practitioners need to travel to Chile several times to be certified. 

Level 4 is the teacher’s level, which until recently was only granted to 2 people in the world. Since DMI was announced in March 2021, two new level 4 practitioners have been certified, doubling the number of teachers allowed in the last 50 years. 

HISTORY OF C.M.E.

In the over 50 years since its inception and in the 30+ years since coming to North America, there have been a few thousand people who have been taught C.M.E. Less than 50, and probably closer to 40 have been Level 3 certified. 

Most of the time, we encounter therapists who have never heard of C.M.E. 

Why? Because Ramon never allowed others to teach or disseminate his material. 

One man teaching = limited access to children and their families. 

This approach of limiting dissemination of the therapy technique left therapists stagnated and stifled in their careers, without any opportunity for advancement. Finally, without practitioner contact information readily shared, referrals to families seeking a C.M.E. provider over the years was nil. 

We believe that enough is enough. 

WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING. 

Why Ramon never chose to allow others to teach is hard to understand, though purely his business. He created this method and has the right to do with it as he chooses, right? Over the years, we and many other Level 3 practitioners around the world, asked Ramon numerous times to allow us to teach C.M.E. and spread his wonderful method. Both the creators of DMI have been practicing MEDEK, as it was then known, then later C.M.E., 

for 24 years respectively, which is just as long as any other CME Level 4 teacher. 

We recognized that it was the children and families around the world who were suffering without access to these techniques. 

We had to do something. 

A few years ago, WE started pushing things forward, by posting more and more on social media, together with families that we had helped. 

This is why so many people only now have recently found out about C.M.E. And bit by bit, C.M.E. started posting too. We had started a ripple! 

SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

DMI utilizes the latest research and follows current trends in developmental therapy that are well respected and followed, which helps shape the way we work with children. We focus on harnessing the power of neuroplasticity as it is dictated by best practices in the literature. 

DMI teaches critical thinking using principles of anatomy and human kinetics to create optimal outcomes for the child with each exercise, as well as focus on body mechanics to ensure the safety and well being of the practitioner. 

Current research and literature clearly indicate that when alignment is created first, the child’s brain processes afferent information differently, and creates better outcomes. That is why with DMI, we choose to welcome other equipment and modalities that can facilitate those better outcomes. Tools such as TheraTogs, electric stimulation, Suit Therapies, Whole Body Vibration, kinesiology-taping, etc. have all emerged over the years as current best practices to achieve stronger alignment and create better outcomes. 

DMI WAS CREATED TO BRIDGE THE GAPS OF THE C.M.E. PROGRAM 

We found that CME Level 1 was lacking. Firstly, the assessment is not a standardized test. It cannot be used as a valid assessment anywhere outside the world of C.M.E. Its results cannot be submitted on legal paperwork in North America. Its results may not be reimbursable by insurance companies. It doesn’t cover all of the gross motor milestones that are covered by other standardized tests. 

In addition, CME Level 1 (1 introductory course), has 41 exercises. It does not have exercises to address every gross motor challenge. Students are expected to go from Level 1 to Level 2 (1 intermediate course) without having a way to teach or provoke rolling or other functional skills. 

DMI Fixes these shortcomings by providing 3 introductory courses, with many more exercises, variations and progressions, as well as 2 intermediate courses. These courses feature over 100 exercises each! 

The exercises in the Introductory levels follow a cephalocaudal progression, each one addressing EVERY SINGLE ONE of the functional gross motor developmental milestones that occur from birth through walking and beyond. It will give our practitioners the handling skills to address most issues that arise. 

Our intermediate courses ramp up the handling skills and teach therapists how to address more in-depth gross motor challenges. With over 100 exercises each, not including endless variations and progressions. Finally, our teacher’s level courses will provide further training as well as a clear pathway for job growth and progression in our field. 

Every DMI Practitioner who takes any one of our courses will have their certification level and contact information prominently posted on our website, www.dmitherapy.com, free of charge, if they choose. This is so families can find the help they need. 

We also work to grant CEU’s to American therapists and have already approved CEU certifications in several states. 

We ask our students to use standardized tests and checklists that will best serve their client’s needs and to allow them to be submitted and reimbursed as necessary. We do suggest a valid and reliable way to score each exercise and goal numerically, to record progress in session notes. 

DMI was created to foster a worldwide community of therapists who share their knowledge and skills, utilize best practices and research, and have a clear pathway to advance their careers without exclusivity that hinders our ability to help children who have been waiting for years for this type of therapy. 

As with many other great techniques, others have stepped forward to evolve and improve the old. DMI is an evolution and we intend to do our part to create better outcomes for children and their families. 

We hope you take advantage of the opportunity to learn DMI and help the children and families you work with reach their greatest potential!

For more information about Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI), please visit our website or email us at [email protected].