A painful back, achy muscles, a sore shoulder, a tense neck, arthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, and even most headaches are all a similar group of problems. They are biomechanical problems. In the majority of cases, these conditions are the result of wear, tear, and tension on structures in the body that are necessary for movement. So why do we develop these troubles? The answer for most people is bad habits and trauma. We acquire a pattern of movement and posture that is unfavorable. This causes undue stress and strain on ligaments, muscles, and joints. Sitting for long periods with our heads forward, previous injury that causes a limp or limited range of motion, using electronic devices, lifting objects incorrectly, bending & stooping forward during activities, and even our sleeping habits can cause us to have an unnatural posture and to move incorrectly.

It takes time for these altered positions to affect the body. As we move around throughout our day, the altered position and movement causes small but repetitive damage. This is like driving around on a misaligned tire. Biomechanical issues get worse and worse over time, and the longer we wait to address them, the more damage we do. This is why it is important to correct these abnormalities sooner rather than later. We want to quickly address joint and muscle problems that make us more susceptible to injury and eventually lead to worse things like arthritis, herniated discs and neuropathy.

So how can we fix or prevent these problems? Well, we have to retrain the body to perform the normal movement and position correctly once again. The first step is to try to eliminate or modify the activities that are causing the abnormality. Our bodies tend not to be able to align and move correctly when we are in pain, so we must reduce the pain as much as possible. We use physiotherapies like E-stim and ultrasound to do this. Next, we need to correct the alignment and motion of an articulation with joint manipulation. Next, we need to retrain basic movement patterns in our bodies with rehab. Basically, physical rehab consists of specific stretches and exercises. Rehab really focuses in on the muscles that position the body. It takes time and repetition, but these tools together form a powerful mode of manual medicine.

Traditional medical solutions for biomechanical issues like low back pain usually start with medicine and then go to surgery. Medicines work on symptoms like swelling and pain, but won’t correct posture or movement abnormalities in a biomechanical problem. Of course, surgery should be a last resort. Behavior modification, physiotherapy, joint manipulation and rehab are natural, effective, and safe methods to tackle these problems before they get so bad that surgery becomes necessary. If you are having issues that appear to be affecting your joints and muscles, contact a physician who is a biomechanical expert like a Chiropractor.