Comprehensive Movement & Posture Evaluation

What Is a PRI Assessment?

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A Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) assessment is a whole-body evaluation that looks at how your breathing, posture, rib cage, pelvis, and nervous system influence pain and movement.

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Rather than focusing only on the area that hurts, a PRI evaluation looks at underlying asymmetries in how your body is positioned and how it functions — especially how you breathe, how your diaphragm works, and how your body manages rotation.

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At Root & Branch Physical Therapy, a PRI assessment may include:

• Breathing pattern analysis

• Rib cage and pelvic position testing

• Movement and gait analysis

• Neurological and sensory integration screening

• Specific positional muscle tests

 

How Is This Different from Traditional PT?

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Many traditional physical therapy evaluations focus primarily on the painful area — stretching what’s tight, strengthening what’s weak.

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A PRI-based evaluation asks a deeper question:
Why is this area overloaded in the first place?

Instead of treating symptoms alone, we look for:

• Underlying postural patterns

• Asymmetrical muscle chains

• Breathing dysfunction

• Nervous system imbalance

 

The goal is not just to reduce pain — but to restore balanced function so the problem doesn’t keep coming back.