Joint Pain
Joints are the space between bones that allow for proper movement and function. Our body has many different types of joints, from those that barely move at all (e.g., the sutures in your skull) to synovial joints that move in many different directions (e.g., shoulder joints, ankle joints, hip joints, etc.). When the joints move properly, your muscles and ligaments function at an optimal level. This affords you proper function and no pain. When the joints don’t move properly, however, the function of your muscles and ligaments is adversely impacted. This is an ideal time to call to set up an appointment with a chiropractor.
Joint Pain Arthralgia (Greek for joint pain) is discomfort that occurs in a location where two bones meet. Pain can occur in joints anywhere in the body, including the hands, back, knees, neck and shoulders. There are many common causes of joint pain, ranging from injury (e.g., broken bones, dislocations and muscle sprains and strains) to arthritis (e.g., osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, etc.) to infectious and inflammatory diseases (e.g., autoimmune disease, bursitis, and tendonitis).
Improperly Working Joints When joints do not work properly, it can lead to a variety of problems. Primarily, when the joints do not work properly, the muscles and ligaments cannot function properly either. They will tend to either shorten or elongate, depending on the joint problem. When this occurs, they will leak chemical messengers that will irritate local tissues and nerves. This leads to further pain and dysfunction. It turns out to be a vicious cycle until the underlying joint problem is addressed.
Factors Affecting Joint Function The causes of joint problems fall under one of three main categories: mechanical, chemical, and/or mental. Macro trauma (big trauma) such as a car crash or bad fall and micro trauma (repetitive-use injury) are both mechanical factors that inhibit joint function. An example of a chemical factor would be making dietary choices that are inflammatory, which increases the likelihood that your joints will swell more easily and become susceptible to additional injuries. Mental factors become more apparent when people are under stress. Many times they will get headaches, back pain, neck pain, stomach pain, etc. Stress affects the hormones and chemicals in your body and can create an environment where healthy joint function is hard to maintain.
Chiropractors help primarily with the mechanical causes of joint pain and dysfunction; however, we are trained to deal with certain chemical and mental influences as well. Rather than a temporary solution with medication, or risky surgery, chiropractic treatment is the primary treatment that addresses the underlying cause of joint dysfunction. Normal ranges of motion are restored and inflammation reduced, allowing for soft tissue reactions to heal. After a thorough examination, occasionally, the chiropractor will find that this patient would be better served by another medical professional. If this is the case, East End Chiropractic will let you know promptly and will refer you to a professional that can provide you with the necessary treatment.
Knee Pain and Chiropractic Care
A very common condition we see in our office is knee pain with no particular mechanism of injury (in other words, the knee became painful over time and didn’t occur as a result of a specific trauma or disease.)
When there is a specific traumatic event (like having your legs knocked out from under you in a football game) or a disease process (like rheumatoid arthritis), It is very easy to understand why the knee tissues have failed.
Most knee injuries fall outside of these categories. Most knee injuries happen over long periods of time as a result of repetitive abnormal stress. The condition is usually unilateral, meaning that only one knee is symptomatic.
The question is, why are knees so problematic? Really, as far as joints go, they are relatively simple. They only move along one plane of motion – they flex, as in moving the heel toward the buttock, and extend, as in straightening the leg. There is a tiny bit of normal rotation in the knee joint, but let’s not split hairs here. Compared to the shoulder, which moves in many directions, the knee is very simple.
The answer lies in the fact that most knee problems do not originate in the knee. Most knee problems originate in either the pelvis/lower back region (above the knee) or the foot/ankle region (below the knee).
Dysfunctional hip, pelvic, or lower back motion transfers a lot of extra stress to the knees. In these cases, one knee is usually taking more impact than the other, and the impact is occurring at an abnormal angle. This quickly wears out the cushioning tissue and over-stretches the ligaments that support the knee joint.
Sometimes the root of the knee problem lies in the foot or ankle. Collapsed longitudinal arches in the feet are a frequent cause. The tibia and fibula (leg bones) sit on top of the arch of the foot. When the arch collapses (there are many reasons for this – we’ll save those for another blog), the leg bones fall as well, causing uneven stress on the knees.
Chiropractic manipulation has a very good track record of restoring normal motion patterns to the hip/pelvis/lower back complex. Foot dysfunction also responds well to chiropractic care, along with orthotics in some cases (refer to blog on orthotics). There are also some minor manipulations that we can perform on the knees. We have found, though, that this is often not necessary if we restore normal motion to the hips, pelvis, lower back, and feet!
In summary, if you have knee problems, try our office first. Your knee problem may turn out not to be a knee problem at all! We will assess the situation and if we can help you with it, we will gladly do so. If we feel that it is a problem that would best be handled by another professional (orthopedist, physical therapist, physical trainer) we will gladly refer you to the appropriate professional.
