Joint pain is one of the leading symptoms that many doctors see throughout the country. Pain on movement, swelling, deep joint pain and muscle aches make up the many symptoms that ends up being diagnosed as arthritis. Many patients end up taking medications for many years to help control the pain and inflammation.
If you have continued joint pain (knee, hip, ankle, shoulder etc...) your doctor may order an X-ray to see the inside of the joint. If they see any types of change within the joint most times they will diagnosis it as arthritis. The doctor will say that due to the degenerative changes of the joint that is the reason for your pain.
Here is the problem, even though there are degenerative changes seen on the X-ray that isn't necessarily the origion of the damage. I submit to you that this is where the damage ended up and not where it began.
Let me explain...
When force is introduced into the body the muscles are designed to act as shock absorbers and absorb the force. Just like the shock absorbers on your car they are made to take the shock away from the body. When there is a subtle breakdown of the muscles the muscles lose their ability to absorb force and that force (walking, running, twisting, jumping etc...) will then be transferred to the joint. At the joint, the ligaments, tendons, cartilage and bone are not designed to absorb that force. When this happens excessive 'joint play' begins which causes the bones to wear and inflammation to begin resulting in pain.
The pain in the joint, belive it or not, DID NOT START IN THE JOINT...it started in other areas where the muscles were not working properly. You see, the joint pain is where the damage ENDED UP, not where it began. So by carefully testing the surrounding muscles for inhibition and restriciton we can correct the muscle breakdown and then train it to properly absorb force thus taking all of the pain away.
Here is an example of a real life patient who came into my office with ongoing hip pain. He explained that he was experiencing chronic hip pain for years and so they decided that he needed a hip replacement. They completed the hip replacement and he continued to suffer with pain. He attempted to go back and play golf and he reported that if he played one round of golf he would be laid up for three or more days afterwards. He went back to the doctor and told him his problem and he was told that there was nothing wrong with his new hip. He went to get two other opinions and both doctors told him that his hip was fine. In fact, the last surgeon told him that the pain that he was experiencing wasn't coming from his hip but from his lower back. They scheduled him for spinal fusion surgery.
A friend of his recommended that he come and see me to see if there was anything that I could do to help him avoid another surgery. I consulted and examined him and told him that yes I feel that I can help him not only avoid surgery but eliminate the pain in his hip. After carefull examination I found the problem to be in his lower quadracep (thight muscle) and hamstring (back of your upper leg). These muscles were not turning on fast enough to absrob the force and that force was being transferred to the hip area.
Treatment began to locate and eliminate the site of the muscular breakdown. In three weeks he was 90% out of pain and we began teaching him the proper exerciese needed to strengthen that area. The 10% of discomfort that he was experiencing was due to the lack of strength in his hip and his upper legs. He returned to golf playing in a few three-day tournaments without any problems. He continued to do his exercises and reported being pain free. Now, I tell this story not to boast about my unique treatment methods but to show you that they were going to put rods and screws in his lower back to "take the pain away." What do you think would have happened if he went along with this?
If you have been dealing with chronic joint pain or mild pain that seems to be getting worse don't settle for the old arthritis diagnosis. You can get rid of it and lead a pain free life. For more information contact www.ConwayClinic.com
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