Susan
came into our Sugar House clinic discouraged and totally frustrated, looking
yet again for another chiropractic physician. For the last 12 years she had
been to Chiropractors, M.D.'s, Family Practitioners, Orthopedic Specialists,
Neurologists, and even a Psychologist. She had received x-rays, MRI's, been
probed, blood drawn, examined, and given many other exotic tests administered
by the best that modern medicine had to offer. Nevertheless, they could not find
anything physically wrong with her. There was no disease or pathology present.
The final diagnosis: “The pain was psychosomatic.” In other words, it was all
in her head. She was subsequently prescribed some medications to dull the pain
and given even more to reduce her anxiety and to counter the side-effects of
the first medications. Susan was slowly being poisoned by the medicines she was
taking. This was her life now. Yet she knew “deep down” that something WAS
wrong. So, partly out of desperation and partly lead by her intuition, she
showed up at The Joint hoping to get “just a little relief.”
I’m
often asked, “What is the most common condition I see as a chiropractic
physician.” Well, usually most
chiropractors would say it’s headaches, neck pain and back pain. But, I have to
confess, I believe those to be symptoms of a more sinister problem. The problem I see most often – is that of a
pelvic foundation being “off”. Allow me
to explain.
A healthy spine is straight from back to
front; with three curves when viewed from the side (Cervical, Thoracic, and
Lumbar.) These curves provide strength and mobility. [picture
spine.png] A perfectly balanced body also has five foundations (your
feet, knees, pelvis, diaphragm, and shoulders). Whereas stress is a normal
function of life, excessive stress will alter those curves and affect those
foundations. So when stress becomes problematic, our body begins to protect
itself. Thankfully, our bodies have a remarkable ability to change. This change
(compensation) can be caused by a number of factors and be expressed in many
ways, but the first step in self-protection and self-preservation is to
compensate (and not always for the best.)
How
often have you felt tense or tired after a days work or activity? Have you ever
been mentally off and not on your “A-game?” Are you getting sick more often, or
is it you are just feeling run down? These are all different types of
compensations, i.e., your body trying to protect itself BEFORE you get the
headaches or neck and back pain. Unfortunately, many doctors stop looking after
they find the first symptom and never ask, “Why is the body compensating?
What's the underlying factor?”
One
of the body's first lines of defense is to tighten or contract the muscles and
connective tissues. This is why many people run to the massage therapist to
loosen the muscles, not realizing they are actually working against the body’s
defense mechanism. Now, I'm all for
massage and body work; there is a time and place for it. However, if your symptoms
continue, or return soon afterward, then there may be an underlying cause that
needs to be addressed.
While
all the above is happening, your joints are also trying to reduce the pressures
placed upon them. This could be a joint in your neck (cervical), upper back
(thoracic), or lower back (lumbar). One of the major joints affected is the
Sacroiliac joint. This is the joint between the sacrum
(tail bone) and your ilium (hip bone). [picture: si_joint.jpg]
Think about it: ALL of your body weight above your legs
goes through these two joints. They are normally under a lot of pressure.
When
these two joints get stressed they compensate by rotating. One hip bone goes
back and the other goes forward. It's like a dish-rag twisting to tighten up.
Now seated between the two ilium is the sacrum. [Picture:SacralBase.jpg]
When the ilium twist (to tighten up the foundation) the sacrum is caught in the
middle and is scissored and pinched. It compensates by rotating forward and off
to the side.
Here's where things get interesting. The top
of the sacrum is the foundation for your spinal column. As the sacral base
changes, the spine follows. The lowest vertebra rotates and your spine leans
off to one side – just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. [picture:
Pisa.jpg] 
However,
we are not the Leaning Tower of Pisa; we are living human beings and don’t walk
around with our head off to one side over our shoulder. No, we compensate
further, by twisting our neck and upper backs – which brings our head
vertically over our tail (pelvis).
(Basic physics demonstrates that when a curved object is twisted, the
curve straightens out and is weakened. This is why bridges are arched (curved)
and not straight.)
NOW,
we are experiencing symptoms!
HEADACHES
(our head is not centered). NECK PAIN ( our necks are twisting). UPPER BACK
PAIN between our shoulders (our thoracic spine is twisting). LOWER BACK PAIN
(our foundational vertebra are rotating). And HIP PAIN (we have a twisted
pelvic foundation). You may not experience all of these symptoms at once, you
may only be experiencing a loss of mobility or what others call “normal back
pain” (What's normal about pain?) Nevertheless, if your pelvis is “off” – you
have compensatory symptoms that are getting worse!
Imagine
what would happen if while under this kind of stress you bent over to pick up
your child? Or to tie your shoe? Or just tried to get out of the car? Pow! Your
back “goes out” for no reason (or is there?) Did you ever hear of the straw
that broke the camels back? (Sorry, bad pun intended.)
When
Susan came to our clinic, I did a brief but thorough examination. I was looking
for symmetry and function, not symptoms. I was looking for the root cause of
her pain. And I found it – her foundation was not only off, but way off! Susan
left our clinic shouting our praises. After 12 long years I had finally found
the cause of her pain and fixed it – bringing a much sought after relief. Susan
continues to receive regular chiropractic care at The Joint in Sugar House and
happily shares her story and new found joy with others.
-Dr.
Michael Lindstrom
Chiropractic
Physician
