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Pelvic Tilt, Neck Pain and Low Back Pain Symptoms

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pelvic tilt

Pelvic Tilt, Neck Pain and Low Back Pain Symptoms

Balance is the key of life the Chinese called it Yin and Yang. The human body is always seeking homeostasis and when out of balance disease and pain will consume you. It is only until balance is restored the body can heal properly. Human structure needs to be balanced from all 3 planes. In static posture and also in movement. Obviously we are asymmetrical beings and perfect alignment will never exist, but we must strive to be as close as possible or problems will exist later on down the road as we age. Also spine is a gravity depending structure. When sacrum and pelvis are off the rest of the spine will be off. Fix the foundation and the rest of the symptoms will disappear.
In the picture above we are looking at the balance of the pelvis from the front and back specifically the relationship between the quads and hams. In the first picture we have a neutral pelvis where the quads and hams are well balanced. In the second picture the pelvis is imbalanced due to the shortening of the quads which led to the lengthening of the hamstring. In technical terms the quads are concentrically loaded and the hams are eccentrically loaded causing an anterior pelvic tilt. Now that the pelvis is imbalanced symptoms of tight hamstring, lower back pain, upper back pain, tight traps, neck pain, headaches etc… will emerge. Until we balance the pelvis symptoms will continually plague the individual.

Our spine has three curves in it: One in the low back called the lumbar curve; one in the upper to mid-back called the thoracic curve; and a curve in our neck called the cervical curve. These curves influence one another. If something is off balance in one, the other two will also be out of balance.Since the spine rests on the pelvis, the curves of the spine are also influenced by the position of the pelvis.

Key to skeletal balance, a sense of orientation and muscular coordination, the balanced pelvis forms a rim-like base for the spinal vertebrae, rib cage, shoulder girdle and head.

Like the sprout growing up to form leaves and down to become roots; pelvic core integrity expresses itself in two directions simultaneously. The pelvic basin is responsible for not only being the base of support for the upper body but for transferring weight through the femur heads down through the knees, ankles and feet. How weight transfers through each leg and foot is dependent upon the positioning of the pelvic basin. Only when the pelvis is gravitationally centred can the feet receive and distribute weight evenly.

Pelvic instability shows itself as pelvic tilts, forward flexion, twists, dips or torques. Symptoms associated with instability include mid and low back pain, hip socket tension, leg length discrepancies, knee and ankle problems, TMJ and jaw pain, difficulty in breathing, groin pain, shoulder pain, difficulty in standing and walking, an inability to stand on both feet and excessive muscle tension throughout the body. Even headaches and dizziness may be traced to pelvic instability.

These diverse and complex symptoms reflect the innate involvement of the pelvis with three distinct bio-rhythms. Not only does the pelvic keystone provide the foundation for muscular-skeletal support but it cradles the meningeal-cranial-sacral system (the dynamic fluid relationship between sacrum and cranium) and provides the hard drive for the proprioceptive nervous system (our energetic sense of orientation).

 

Having Trouble Sleeping? Easy Remedies for Chronic Back Pain

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low back painHaving Trouble Sleeping? Easy Remedies for Chronic Back Pain

Is back pain ruining your sleep? While back pain at night is one of the leading causes of insomnia, there are things you can do during the day that will help you at bedtime. By treating your chronic back pain naturally with the following home remedies, you may be able to fall into a deeper sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

1.  Meditate
Your body is equipped with natural pain relievers called “endorphins.” When you meditate, your mind and body become relaxed. This triggers the release of endorphins, which help relieve pain. In one study, pain sufferers who engaged in meditation for 20 minutes three times a week began to notice a reduction in their pain symptoms.

2. Exercise Your Abs and Back
Exercise is a natural remedy for many ailments, including chronic back pain. However, before you start any type of exercise regimen, it’s important that you consult your doctor first. Focusing on your back muscles may be an easy way to strengthen your back, but don’t neglect the abdominals—your abs. Your abs and back muscles work together to support your lower back, so your exercise regimen should target both.

To make exercise easier, you can use an exercise ball that was designed to strengthen the muscles on your front and back. If you need help, consider a couple of sessions with a personal trainer. He or she can help you put an exercise plan together that is designed to strengthen your back and help relieve your pain.

3. Apply Heat—and Cold

Cold and heat are easy remedies to apply at home.

 

  • Cold will benefit you if your back tends to become inflamed. It can also reduce muscle spasms that can cause pain.
  • Heat helps alleviate back pain by increasing the blood flow, thereby stimulating your sensory receptors and taking the tension off your muscles.

 

For cold, all you need is an ice pack. For heat, you can soak in a hot bath, or you may place a heating pad on the painful area.
4. Stretch Your Hamstrings
Tight hamstrings can cause discomfort because the tightness places stress on your lower back and prevents your pelvis from moving freely. A very simple remedy is to stretch your hamstrings twice a day. One of the easiest — and most effective — exercises is the standing hamstring stretch. Simply bend over and try to touch your toes. Make sure that you are not forcing the stretch, which can worsen your injury.

These suggestions are home remedies that you can take advantage of even if you are being treated by a physician. With these tips in mind, a better night’s sleep may be a blink away.

Author Bio

Doug Johnson, PA

North American Spine
Doug Johnson helped create North American Spine in 2009, and is certified with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. In addition to managing all medical staff, Doug also facilitates all new location launches by training physicians in proper AccuraScope procedure techniques and instructing office staff in North American Spine expectations of quality patient service.

 

 

Back Pain and Spinal Motion

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back pain

Back Pain and Spinal Motion

Your spine is an intricate system of muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments that allow you to move in a very complicated manner by working together. It is therefore remarkable. However, when something is not right, you can experience pain even when there is minimal micro-motion at a certain spinal segment. If you experience pain when you move, it is important for you to understand the things that are happening in your spine because this helps you to explain to your physician in a better manner. Hopefully, you can quickly find an effective treatment when you communicate better to your physician. The following are the most common ways in which motion causes low back pain.

• Twisting motions easily strain large spinal muscles:

The main reason motion causes low back pain is not because of your spinal structure. The ligaments or muscles that surround the spine in your back can tear or overstretch. Inflammation and pain occurs because of this while your body makes an effort to heal by limiting motion.

• Cartilage breakdown can occur because of motion:

Spinal arthritis is very common and people who are more than fifty years old are more likely to suffer from it. The mechanical breakdown of your cartilage that is between your aligning facet joints in your spinal back portion is known as spinal osteoarthritis. Inflammation occurs in the facet joints and more frictional pain occurs when the joints degenerate progressively. There is a decrease in the flexibility and motion of your spine when the back pain progresses.

• Compensation for excessive motion can occur because of the formation of bone spurs:

With osteoarthritis, there is a typical formation of osteophytes, which are also known as small irregular growths on your bone (bone spurs) on your facet joints that occurs in response to the instability of your joints that the degeneration causes.

Bone spurs are not responsible for directly causing pain because they can occur when you age. They may entrap or irritate your nerves that pass through your spinal structures by becoming large enough. Consequently, this may diminish the room for your nerves to pass.

Pain (and perhaps tingling and numbness) into your legs can occur when you walk because of most cases and you can relieve the pain with sitting.

• Pain from micro-motion occurs because of disc degeneration:

Degenerative disc disease is a syndrome in which chronic pain in the lower back occurs because of a painful disc, typically in people who are 30-40 years old. Excessive vertebral level micro-motion occurs because of the aforementioned symptomatic disease and it causes pain.

• Pain can occur because of motion in your lower spine:

There is a lot of motion in your lower back (lumbar spine) as compared to the four major regions that your spine has. This region carries all the torso weight and in effect, it makes it the spinal area that is injured most frequently.
There is a division of the motion in your lower back between five of your vertebral motion segments (all of which have facet joints that are covered by 2 cartilages and a disc). However, the lower segments (L5-S-1, L4-L5, and L3-L4) have a disproportionate amount of this motion.

You can help your doctors in the accurate identification of the specific cause of your pain by giving a better description of your symptoms when you understand better the pain that you experience owing to motion segment disorders. You should therefore use your EHIC to access appropriate and affordable treatment from them.

Author Bio:

Melody Cleo is a passionate blogger from Manchester, UK. In her free time, she writes articles on various topics such as technology, gadgets, travel…etc. As of now she is focusing on European Health Insurance Card, which provides health insurance services for the European people.

Swimming Exercise and Pain Management of a Human Body

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swimming

Swimming Exercise and Pain Management of  a Human Body

This is a guest post by Felicia Baratz-Savage from Eat Breath Blog.

At first, it may seem counter-productive to hit the gym or pool when you experience pain, but science and anecdotal research have shown that exercise may actually help to alleviate pain. While some people are more likely to reach for a painkiller to deal with back pain and others may even go so far as to opt for surgery. Low impact exercise such as swimming is a healthy and enjoyable way to reduce musculoskeletal pain.

The idea that exercise can help to eliminate pain isn’t entirely uncommon. Many people are accustomed to “walking it off” and exercise is one of the main recommendations for a woman who is experiencing pain due to menstrual cramps. It should come as no surprise, then, that exercise can also help to relieve back pain. Because it’s exercise, it can also help strengthen a weak back and, potentially, reduce future pain.

Why is swimming the ideal type of exercise when it comes to pain management? Unlike jogging, weight lifting or other high-impact sports, swimming does not require any twisting or direct stress on your back. There are no hard concrete sidewalks or difficult equipment that can actually increase pain. Swimming relies on fluid motions with less resistance than other sports. Swimming can also help to strengthen muscles to make them less impervious to pain in the future.

Finding a place to swim isn’t difficult either. You can swim in a lake or pond, go to the beach or find a local gym. Some people have above ground pools in their backyards that they can swim in.

Experts especially recommend the front stroke or breaststroke methods for patients who are using swimming as a method of exercise to eliminate back pain and other aches. The common front crawl also offers a pain-free way to strengthen back muscles that can commonly cause pain. However, you can actually do more harm than good by swimming for too long or by using improper form. Consider the following suggestions to maximize pain relief from swimming:

  • Keep your head straight to minimize strain on the neck and twisting the back. Many swimmers over-rotate when taking breaths. The head should remain along the axis of the body.
  • Using wider strokes when performing the breaststroke ensues that the water serves as a cushion while strengthening back muscles in a therapeutic form.
  • The body should remain flat when doing the front crawl. The best form involves strong leg kicks so that the lower body does not drag in the water.
  • Strokes should always remain fluid. Jerky movements can further increase pain and lead to damage to the back or other parts of the body.
  • The sidestroke is ideal for alleviating back pain because it doesn’t require excess amounts of pressure on any part of the body. However, you should always alternate sides to prevent exhausting of and muscle strain. Switching it up also helps swimmers to maintain the sidestroke for longer periods of time.
  • The backstroke can quickly exhaust neck muscles if you don’t consistently practice it. You should take it easy when picking it up once more, or for the first time.

Physical therapists and chiropractors agree that swimming is one way to reduce both current and future pain, and can complement any current pain management program.