“Dr. Mark- I’ve had low back pain for years but now for some reason my ankle hurts…by the way my GP says I have to get knee surgery because of the arthritis in it…the OTHER knee is just fine though- weird huh?”
It’s actually not weird at all. Here’s why-
All the joints in your body are connected and many of them are working together in harmony to support and distribute your body weight and forces acting on your body 24/7. This means that a problem in one joint can cause an issue in another.
This is called the ‘Kinetic Chain’- and means that force created in one area (like your foot striking the ground when you walk) is transferred to your ankle, then your knee, then your hip, then your pelvis and spine.
When bones in the foot or ankle become misaligned, it can create problems in the knee, which can cause problems in the hip, and then the low back AND vice-versa- it’s all connected!
Assuming the alignment of these joints is correct and you’re as fit and flexible as you should be, then this is happens like a well-orchestrated classical concerto.
If however, when you walk or run it feels more like an 80’s garage hair band doing a sound check then you likely have misalignment in one of these joints!
Damage from subluxated feet, ankles, hips, and low backs can accumulate without notice until it finally reaches a breaking point…
These small misalignments- called subluxations- are caused by stresses such as a sprained ankle from a past sports injury or poor posture at the desk over the course of years. You may or may not feel these subluxations initially and your body does its best to adapt through things like forming arthritis, scar tissue, muscle imbalances, and postural leans to one side or the other until so much damage accumulates that it finally hits a breaking point, creates pain, and you finally notice it.
Thankfully, chiropractic can help- preferably BEFORE things get bad.
At Progressive Chiropractic we do this by locating the misaligned areas and adjusting them back into proper alignment after:
1. Taking still xrays of the pelvis to determine if there is pelvic tilting or twisting causing uneven weight distribution
2. Taking video motion xray of the spine to determine if the low back and spinal nerves are involved
3. Assessing alignment and motion in A.) The hips B.) The bones of the feet C.) The ankles and D.) The knees
Once the kinetic chain is working properly, YOU start working properly too!
By realigning the affected areas the kinetic chain works better. Scar tissue is broken up, muscles no longer have to be chronically tight to compensate, range of motion improves, weight is distributed more evenly, and most importantly- stress and irritation is taken off the nerve system- the system that controls ALL functions of the body!
Mar 12, 2014 at 12:18 PM
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