Natural Health

Newcastle Herald

Monday December 17, 2007

East West Health Centre

WE all have little aches and pains or minor injuries from time to time. Most of the time our bodies resolve them and we get on being busy doing what we do. Every now and then we get an ache or strain that never seems to properly resolve. It's always there in the background.

Take the patient who has come in with acute low back pain. It is perfectly obvious that this patient is feeling the pain in their lumbar/sacral spine. Yet when I examine the patient this is not what their body is telling me to treat.

The examination is indicating that the problem for this patient is in their shoulder. Closer examination reveals that their second rib on the left is jammed. So I ask the patient did you do something to this shoulder. They say, "You know, it's funny you should ask". It comes out that two weeks ago they strained their shoulder doing weights, or football, or gym. It was really painful for a few days but then it settled so they didn't get it looked at.

What has happened over the two weeks is that this rib strain has been working its way through this patient's chest and rib cage. It has affected the line of pull of muscles and ligaments, the movements of the joints, and the overall movement patterns of the patient.

The rib-cage imbalance affects those structures attached to it. By causing an imbalance in the left and right stomach muscles, this rib has caused a rotation in the pelvis. This pelvic rotation has caused the sacrum at the bottom of the spine to twist.

In order to fix this strain I must fix that second rib. I can bang away at that low back where the pain is until the cows come home.

The pain will keep coming back! When we treat the body as one integrated unit and fix what the body is telling us to treat the second rib then the low back pain goes away.

In short, don't dismiss those little aches and pains as insignificant. Look after your body and it will look after you.

Article contributed by East West Health Centre, King Street, Newcastle. Phone: 49 261 318.