Low Back Pain

 

On any given week new people will come to us seeking relief from low back pain.  And while the lower lumbar region is the area of their discomfort, it is typically a result of tight hamstrings, gluteals (buttocks), psoas and quads (hip flexors).  More and more people are spending more time at their computers and all this sitting keeps the low back under constant attack from tight hamstrings and shortened hip flexors.

Envision the Hamstrings as a continuation of the spinal muscles that run along each side of the spinal vertebrae. And the hip flexors a continuation of the spinal muscles that run deep in the front of the spine. As an individual sits for longer periods, these muscles remain shortened and cause corresponding changes in the spinal muscles in the back. The stiffness most folks experience upon standing is due to this situation where the length:tension ratio of these partner muscles is out of proportion, therefore not allowing the joints of the low back to move properly . 

So to compensate for this temporary dysfunction, the body recruits other muscles to help pick up the pelvic girdle and allow the hip joint to properly function. This recruitment pattern in movement exposes the low back's vulnerability to strain

Scientists have discovered a new body part

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

After centuries of medical science I thought doctors knew every single bit of the human body. Incredibly enough, ScienceDaily reports on the discovery of
a new body element called the anterolateral ligament, which apparently has been hiding all this time in our knees.

According to ScienceDaily "the Anatomical Society praised the research as very refreshing and commended the researchers for reminding the medical world that, despite the emergence of advanced technology, our knowledge of the basic anatomy of the human body is not yet exhaustive."

This ligament was first postulated by a French surgeon in 1879, but it's only been confirmed now by two doctors at the University Hospitals Leuven, in Leuven, Belgium.

They have been the first to identify it using macroscopic dissection techniques. The doctors say that this ligament can be found in 97
percent of all humans.

Not only this is an amazing discovery in an age when we thought we knew all about the human body but, according to the doctors, this ligament appears to be crucial in anterior cruciate ligament injuries so common in certain types of
athletes.