LOW BACK AND HIP PAIN | NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN | BREATHING ISSUES
LOW BACK AND HIP PAIN
Approximately 80% of North Americans experience low back pain at some point in time. As well, the number of aging boomers who need hip replacements is soaring. Many sufferers depend on muscle relaxants and anti-inflamatories to cope with their chronic pain.
I found that virtually everyone with low back and hip pain has misaligned pelvic and sacral bones. These bones are the linking mechanisms between our torsos and legs. If they don't move smoothly and symmetrically, the muscles surrounding the dysfunction tighten up to splint the area that is distressed. This tightening creates symptoms of pain and stiffness. Contracted muscles around the hip joint compress the ball in the socket, and can worsen osteo arthritis.
Pelvic bone misalignment is most often a forward twist (torsion) of one side relative to the other. The other common dysfunction is an up-slip (shear) on one side. In either case, the sacrum, which lies between the two halves of the pelvis, gets stuck in a side bent and rotated position. Additionally, the sacroiliac joint jams on the misaligned side. These crooked areas in the pelvis, as well as the tightness in the surrounding muscles can result in a shortened leg or a scoliotic (side-bent and rotated) spine - or both. (And you wondered why you feel like you've been hit by a train!)
In order to get the pelvis and sacrum back into alignment, the contracted soft tissue surrounding these bones must be lengthened. (There are about two dozen muscles attached to the pelvic girdle.) Then the bones can be gently straightened, and the affected joints in the lumbar spine can be released. As soon as the bones are aligned and the joints are mobile, the surrounding muscles can relax. Without proper alignment of the bones, relaxation of the muscles will not last long.
Beyond pain relief, Rolfing aims to restore balance and symmetry to the body, which results in improved posture. For example, tight and shortened ham string muscles usually push the pelvis forward, so it is no longer directly above the knees and ankles. To maintain balance, the torso compensates by extending backwards. Instead of saying "Do these pants make me look fat?", ask "Do these hamstrings make me look like a banana?"
NECK AND SHOULDER PAIN
Who doesn't have tight neck and shoulder muscles these days? Emotional stresses are often held in this area, and the repetitive stresses of computer users, chefs, dental hygienists, trades people and many other activities all cause wear and tear in the shoulders and neck. Age is also a factor. Aging is mostly a process of stagnation and the breakdown of communication and nutrient flow between body systems. Condensed tissue causes stagnation on every level from lymph, nutrients and waste material to neural information.
Tension headaches often originate from tight trapezius muscles on the back side of the shoulders and neck. Numbness and tingling in the hands (similar to carpal tunnel syndrome) may be due to shortened scalene muscles in the front of the neck. They attach to the top two ribs, and if the scalenes are tight they can pull those ribs up towards the collar bone, compressing the nerves that extend down the arm (the brachial plexus). At the same time continuous and strenuous use of the arm muscles can feed back into the shoulders and neck, making them feel worse.
Weekend warriors often experience rotator cuff injuries, and chronic tightness in the shoulder joints can result in bursitis and frozen shoulder. The shoulder girdle (collar bone and shoulder blades) is quite mobile, and the arms have a wide range of motions. This flexibility allows us to many different things with the arms, but these structures are also prone to injury when we over-do it.
Whiplash is an obvious example of how neck issues can create problems in the head. There are interesting inter-connections between the structure and function of the cervical spine, cranium and jaw. Problems in any of these areas will often refer into the others.
Many people feel pain between the shoulder blades. This can appear when the muscles between the scapulae are short and tight, pulling them towards the spine, and also when the pectoral muscles in the front of the shoulders are short. In this instance the shoulder blades are pulled apart and the muscles near the spine are stretched and tight. In either case the shoulder girdle is out of balance, and the upper thoracic vertebrae will likely be restricted in their movement. If one shoulder is higher, lower or tighter than the other it might be a problem strictly within the shoulder, or it could originate from a misaligned pelvis and sacrum, or even from a short leg.
What to do, what to do? I suggest that you stretch, strengthen and balance. Stretching can be by means of yoga, or simple stretches that target areas of chronic tension. Likewise, areas of weakness can be identified and strengthened, either with a personal trainer, or with a holistic strengthening system such as Pilates. Balance within the components of the head, neck and shoulder complex is one of the goals of Rolfing. Rolfing is useful as a treatment for specific areas of injury, but also as a means of establishing balance of the upper body with the lower, the left side with the right side, the front with the back, and the surface with the deeper layers. For the emotional components of neck and shoulder pain I have found meditation to be the hot ticket to giving the mind some space. Some folks may need to seek out counseling services as well.
BREATHING ISSUES
Taking air into the lungs happens when a variety of muscles contract to expand the ribcage upwards and outwards. The diaphragm muscle underneath the ribcage contracts downwards as well. In relaxed breathing the diaphragm and the small muscles in between the ribs do the work, but when we need more oxygen other muscles in the shoulders, neck and back are recruited to increase the volume of air taken in.
If there are problems in any of these structures, then breathing is interfered with. Lung diseases affect the surrounding muscles, and problems within the muscles themselves need to be addressed. Injury, overuse, and aging can create areas of imbalance which need to be addressed. Psychological stress can also inhibit breathing through chronic anxiety and panic attacks. Pregnancy puts upwards pressure on the diaphragm and rib cage.
In a typical first session of Rolfing the ability of the structure to support effective breathing is assessed. The posture of the client is observed to determine if the neck, shoulders, spine and ribcage are inhibiting the ability to breathe fully and easily. The hands on work then proceeds to improve both the alignment and the mobility of these structures.
