When walking, each foot lifts and hits the ground without us consciously thinking about how it’s happening. We just walk. Then, one day, we set our foot down and, “Ouch!” We have pain in the low back. How did that happen? There is something off in the biomechanics of your gait cycle. In other words, your foot is not lifting or landing correctly and it sets off a chain of events from your foot to your hip that causes pain. As your chiropractor, I can perform a Gaitscan, a computerized test, to see where along that chain the disruption occurs, so that we can correct it.
So, what does the Gaitscan (a dynamic evaluation of your feet while standing and walking) tell you as it relates to your current pain, and how will orthotic support (if indicated) help you now and in the future?
The gait cycle (walk cycle) describes what happens to the foot and ankle from the point of initial contact of one foot with the ground to the point at which the same foot contacts the ground again. The gait cycle is divided into the swing phase and the stance phase. During the swing phase, the foot is not in contact with the ground. As the name implies, it is the phase of the gait cycle in which the foot swings forward to take another step. During the stance phase, the foot is in contact with the ground. The stance phase of the gait cycle can also be divided into three stages. The first stage is called heel strike; the second stage is called mid-stance; and the third stage is called heel lift.
During heel strike of the stance phase, the foot begins to pronate. Pronation of the foot is the term that describes the rolling motion of the foot inwards and flattening of the inner (medial) arch of the foot. Pronation allows the foot to adapt to uneven terrain and absorb the impact of the foot striking the ground. It is during this phase that the foot begins to act like a shock absorber.
During mid-stance, the entire foot is in contact with the ground, and the weight of the body is directly over the foot. It is during this phase that the foot is maximally pronated. The foot also acts as a shock absorber during the early part of this phase.
Heel lift occurs at the end of the stance phase. Supination of the foot is the term used to describe the rolling motion of the foot outwards and the rising of the inner (medial) arch of the foot. During heel lift, the foot supinates to act as a rigid lever. The plantar fascia is a strong connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot connecting the heel to the base of the toes. The bones, muscles, and the plantar fascia act together to form this rigid lever.
Abnormal amounts of pronation or supination can cause a variety of foot and leg problems. Abnormal pronation (overpronation) occurs as a result of the foot pronating when it should be neutral or supinating. Abnormal supination occurs when the foot is too rigid. These abnormal biomechanics can create lower back, hip, knee, ankle and/or foot problems.
Healing Tip of the Week
If you are having pain in the feet, ankles, knees or back, take the time to consider the following:
Are your shoes in good working condition? Worn out shoes can contribute to more than just pain. They can assist in the acceleration of joint degradation.
Do you ignore foot pain and hope it goes away? It usually doesn’t.
Do you feel that you can’t afford to get the appropriate help regarding foot pain and its primary cause?
A consultation at the Advanced Wellness Center is free.
I came across the following quote by author Daisaku Ikeda: “No matter how strong the hostility another person may feel towards you, if you approach them in an attitude of sincerity and truth, they will invariably abandon their ill will and respond with friendliness. A sense of sincerity is the one thing that somehow, in a very subtle way, gets across to others. Human beings perhaps possess some deep inner power that allows them to sense sincerity instinctively. Whatever the case, the degree to which they can do so is almost frightening.”
When I read this quote, the first thing that came to mind is that sincerity is one quality you get from the doctors at the Advanced Wellness Center. They are all motivated by the sincere desire to help their patients achieve a healthier life.
Healing Tip of the Week
Approach everyone with an attitude of sincerity and truth and see if you receive different responses or feel differently each day.
In Part One of this topic, “Does Spinal Alignment Influence Life Expectancy and Disease Rate?,” I discussed how the spine acts as a circuit breaker of sorts for the nervous system’s electrical impulses coming in and out of it. When misaligned, one side of the spine may transmit too many signals, while on the other side, the circuit breaker is off completely. This can have adverse effects throughout the body. Now, let’s look at the muscles of the body and how they affect overall health.
Muscles fire and have a memory that is transmitted from the brain and spinal cord. A muscle can be functioning normally, be overly excited (hypertonic), or under excited (hypotonic). Muscles are connected to one another through fascia. Fascia is a thick covering that surrounds the muscle and links with adjacent muscles. Since the fascia is linked like a train throughout the body, a restricted fascia in the foot can affect cranial fascia or neck pain and so on. (See “Anatomy Trains,” Thomas Myer.)
Much research has hypothesized that fascia, or the fascial train, carries an electrical charge throughout the body. (See Harold Burr of Yale’s biofield studies as well as Dr. Robert Fulford’s work, ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine.) Since we are electromagnetic bodies, with polarities just like the north and south poles, it can be theorized that if a muscle is not functioning in one part of the body, it affects the whole fascial train, and ultimately the electrical charge or “healing energy” of the body. This tradition of “healing energy” has been carried down for centuries as Chi, Prana, Ki, or Innate.
We can then say that it is integral to have a balanced body, with both a balanced spine as the circuit breaker sending out proper internal messages, as well as a healthy muscle and fascial system to transmit our vital energy. If there is an imbalance, we are not at our full potential. We may be able to get by, but we can’t excel.
A full exam is necessary to diagnose your muscle and fascial system, with postural checks, movement screens, strength testing, and most importantly, palpation. A skilled clinician can often feel or sense the hidden blockages that may be the root cause of your problem. Many problems stem from old or new traumas, both physical and emotional, that must be released from the muscle in order for you to heal.
Through hands-on work, using muscle and joint manipulation, your chiropractor can balance your electromagnetic, spinal, muscle, and fascial systems. You will feel more alert, have less pain, and old conditions that you never thought would go away may clear up.
Healing Tip of the Week
If you feel like you are not functioning at your body’s full potential, have your chiropractor perform a full exam, which includes the muscles and fascial system. Some simple muscle and joint manipulation can dramatically enhance your performance.
We’ve all talked about or heard of people “throwing their backs outs.” But, when a back gets “thrown out” what exactly in the back gets thrown and where does it go? To answer these questions we must do a quick review of the anatomy of the spine.
The spine can be thought of like the mast of a sailboat. The mast is incredibly strong – able to withstand the large force of the sails. It is reinforced with multiple wires that are anchored around the ship. Without these wires, the mast would come toppling down with the slightest breeze. Within the spine the bones act as the mast and the muscles, tendons and ligaments are the wires. Our nervous system coordinates the incredibly complex action of monitoring and adjusting the tension of these “wires” so that we can move fluidly while keeping the spine stable.
So, what happens when you throw your back out? It’s like snipping one or two wires on your sailboat. All of a sudden the other wires have a much greater load placed upon them, and the mast is unable to move properly. In the case of the spine, this stretching and tearing is the fault of either:
The nervous systems not properly coordinating the tensions
Ligaments being too loose
Muscles and tendons not responding to the nervous system’s signals
It’s essentially the same as rolling your ankle. The ankle rolls over, everything stretches and tears and it’s painful and swollen. If not properly rehabilitated the ligaments will stay stretched, the muscles stay damaged and weak and the nervous system can no longer monitor what’s going on. If your back is not properly rehabbed the first time it’s injured, you’re probably going to throw it out again and again over the years.
A specialist in spinal disorders will properly rehabilitate your spine so that throwing your back out doesn’t become a recurring theme in your life. It comes down to making a choice as to what is important for you: dealing with the inconvenience of low back pain episodes throughout your lifetime or using the first or most recent incident as an opportunity to fix the problem permanently. If you want to make your back pain a thing of the past, contact Advanced Wellness Center today.
Healing Tip of the Week:
When Grandma throws her back out, keep her moving. Studies show that the longer someone is on bed rest, the longer it takes to recover. Take short walks, ice and try to get Granny back to her normal activities as soon as possible.
When you are injured in an auto accident, a major concern is how you will pay for the medical or chiropractic treatment you need. Your best option is to carry MedPay on your auto policy.
You may wonder:
What is MedPay?MedPay (“medical payments coverage”) is an inexpensive benefit offered as an add-on to your regular car insurance. For just a few dollars each month, MedPay coverage assures you and your passengers access to immediate medical coverage with typically no out-of-pocket expense.
Can I use my regular health insurance to cover my medical expenses from an accident? You can, of course — but with “regular” health insurance is your personal responsibility for a copay/deductible, pre-authorization requirements and provider network restrictions. Not to mention, you will be exhausting already limited health insurance resources, which you may need later in the year. With MedPay, you choose which doctor to see and what treatment to receive. MedPay covers all passengers in the car — some of whom may not have health insurance.
Will my automobile increase rates increase if I use MedPay? If you were not responsible for the accident, California Insurance Code §491 expressly prohibits any increase in your policy premiums. You cannot be penalized for using your MedPay benefits.
Why should my insurance pay if someone else caused the accident? Despite California law, people continue to drive without auto insurance. When someone else is responsible for the accident, you have no guarantee that that individual will be able to cover your medical expenses when the case settles months or years down the line.
Your focus after an accident is to recover as completely and quickly as possible. You’ve paid the premiums for your MedPay coverage so that it can be used when the need arises.
