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DIAGNOSTIC INSTRUMENTS
It is my belief that bulging disks and
lower back pain are indicators; indicating that some of
your vertebrae are out of alignment.
Getting yourself back into alignment
relieves the pressure on muscles, ligament, tendons and
disks. The pain goes away.
The good news is that you can
relieve the pain yourself if you do the right exercises.
The bad news is that rubbing, heating and
crunching around the area where it is painful does
little to get you back into alignment. It's palliative,
and while that's not a bad thing, it doesn't go far
enough toward restoring poor function to
good.
THE SYMPTOM
Tight muscles
In a nutshell, your back pain is a
symptom of tight and weak muscles elsewhere around your
body.
In particular, tight calf, buttock and
hamstring muscles will tilt your pelvis, backwards,
which in turn will cause vertebrae further up to go out
of alignment.
On top of that, the buttock and hamstring muscles
on one side of the body may be tighter then those on the
other side. This will cause the pelvis to twist,
resulting in further misalignment further up your spine.
Weak muscles
Weak back and abdominal muscles
exacerbate the problem. A lot of people aren't strong
enough to keep their spinal column in correct alignment.
They don't have a regular and systematic strength
training program.
THE PRINCIPLES
This theory rests on two principles
1. Muscles take bones out of
alignment.
2. The cause of the pain is rarely
at the site of the pain.
POSTURAL DIAGNOSIS
If you want an opinion as the cause of
your lower back pain and you are unable to see one of
our practitioners,
click here to go to the diagnostic service page on
our affiliate internet site
Global Back Care.
At the Global
Back Care diagnostic page, you'll be encouraged to get
someone to take photos of you in the positions
illustrated below.
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1. Standing up
straight
Wearing shorts and tee shirt
(tucked in) and with bare feet. |
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2. Standing side on.
Wearing shorts and tee shirt
(tucked in) and with bare feet. |
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3. Putting
on socks
Can you put on your socks while
standing on one leg?
If you can't, you've definitely
tightened up - hamstring, buttock and back
muscles.
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4. Wall sit
When you sit up against a wall,
I'm interested to see how close you can get your
bottom to the wall.
You could also let me know which
muscles feel tight when you push your bottom
closer to the wall. |
Poor
Good |
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5. Buttock stretch
I want to know whether you can
sit up straight with your hands clasped behind
your back.
Take two photos, one with the
right leg over the left and vice versa.
Take the photos side on.
I'm interested to know whether
you can sit up or whether you fall backwards
when your hands are clasped behind your back.
Let me know if you feel that one
buttock muscle is tighter than the other.
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Poor
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6. Hamstring test
Get in close to a wall, with both legs straight - one on the
floor and the other up against the wall.
Take two photos, one with the
right leg up against the wall and vice versa.
Theoretically your backside
should be pressing in up against the wall if
your hamstring muscles are loose enough.
I'll be able to see if one
hamstring is tighter than the other (or if both
are tight) by how far your backside is from the
wall.
Give some written feedback about
how this exercise feels. Let me know if you feel
that one leg is tighter than the other. |
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7. Hip Crossover
Put the side of the heel of the
right foot up toward the top of your left knee.
Then drop the knee and the foot
down onto the floor. Push your right knee
away from your body, opening up groin.
Repeat with the other side.
Take two photos, one with the
right leg on top and vice versa.
Do you find it easy to get your
feet and knees onto the floor.
Is one side tighter than the
other?
Does it hurt when someone gives
you a firm massage on your buttock (see red
spot).
Give me some written feedback. |
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8. Super hip and thigh
stretch
Can you hold on to the toe of a
straight right leg with the hand of your left
arm - with right shoulder on the floor.
If you can't hold you toe, try
holding the laces of your shoe, your sock or the
leg of your trousers.
A photo of each side will provide
clues to how tight some muscles are. |
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9. Shoulder, wrist and hand test
Stand with your heels, backside
and shoulders against the wall.
I'm interested to see whether you
can get the back of your forearms and hands
comfortably against the wall when in the
'surrender' position.
If you can't there's a good
chance your hamstring and buttock muscles are
too tight - plus your shoulders need loosening
up as well.
Let me know how you feel when you
do this exercise.
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10. Head alignment
Stand with your heels, backside
and shoulders against the wall.
Then place your head against the
wall. Are you looking straight out in front of
you or are you looking up at the ceiling? |
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STRENGTH TESTS
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1. Situps
I'd like to know how strong you
are.
How many situps can you do in 30
seconds.
Start with feet flat and knees up, arms
outstretched on your thighs.
Sit up so your fingers touch the
bottom of your knee caps. If you can't
get that far score zero.
No. of situps in 30 seconds
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2. Pressups
How many pressups can you do in
30 seconds - men on toes and women on thighs, as
illustrated.
How many pressups you can do
correlates highly and positively with lower back
function.
No. of pressups in 30 seconds
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3. Squats
How many times can you squat
down, with your backside as close to your heels
as it will go - in 30 seconds.
No. of squats in 30 seconds
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4. Flexibility test
With legs straight and back of
knees on the floor, how far can you reach
forward toward your toes. Do this with shoes on.
The scoring goes like this:
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0. |
Can't touch toes with
legs straight. |
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4. |
Fingers just touch end of
toes. |
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6. |
First knuckle reaches end
of toes |
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7. |
Second knuckle reaches
end of toes. |
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7. |
Bottom of fingers reaches
toes. |
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9. |
Half way between bottom
of fingers and thumb. |
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10. |
Level with thumb. |
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11. |
Wrists reach end of toes |
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Score: .......... |
MUSCLE TESTS
It is highly likely that in some of the
stretch positions some muscles will be extremely tender.
Here are the areas that are likely to be painful when
given a firm finger massage by someone else.
It is likely that one side will be
tighter than the other.
Use the diagnostic contact form to let me
know which muscles are painfully tight.
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1. Tight and
painful buttock muscles |
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2. Tight muscles
at top of buttock |
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3. Tight hamstring
muscles |
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4. Tight buttock
muscle
To
increase the stretch take your chest
closer to the floor. |
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HOW TALL ARE YOU AND
WHAT DO YOU WEIGHT?
Give me an idea of how and what
you weight in
kilograms (or pounds).
Estimate how many kilos or pounds
you are over your ideal weight. you are over your ideal weight.
Being over-weight can have a
dramatic effect on musculo-skeletal health. Once
you become 20Kg over weight you are at great
risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction.
John Miller
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