Joints are the mechanical components of the body. Like the hinges on a door they are intended to move in order to allow you to move through your day without pain. If the hinges of a door do not move then the door does not function as it should. This same principle applies to the joints of the body, especially the hips.
Let’s use another analogy as well. When you put new tires on your vehicle you want the front end to be aligned and each wheel to be balanced. If you take care of that and rotate your tires on a regular basis you will get the most mileage possible from your tires.
The Process of Joint Degeneration
In the body when there is imbalance or loss of proper motion in the joints it adds additional stress and consequently wear and tear to the joints.
What does this result in?
Like the tires on a car, if the body is out of balance, the additional stress causes an acceleration of the wear-and-tear of the joints. This is very common, maybe even an epidemic in our culture.
The Medical Approach
When this happens to the hip joints the common medical treatment consists first of the prescription of anti-inflammatory drugs. While these medications can be effective in reducing the level of pain and discomfort research shows that these drugs actually cause a worsening of arthritis.
Other research published by the National Institute of Health (NIH) discusses other complications of the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) that include:
- Cardiovascular Risk: stroke, heart attack
- Gastrointestinal Risk: bleeding, ulcers
- Kidney Damage
Original Equipment – Better than the Replacement
It makes sense to do what you can to keep your original joints and avoid joint replacement surgery. Surgery and general anesthesia always poses a risk of complications. And, the younger you are the greater the risk that the artificial joint will wear out and need to be replaced.
Your own joints function so much better than any artificial joint. It makes sense to keep your original equipment for as long as you can.
Uneven Pelvis and Hips are the Culprit
Outside of direct trauma to the hips that causes an acceleration of joint breakdown and degeneration, the primary cause is added hip joint stress caused by a loss of function in the joints of the hips, pelvis and lower lumbar spine.
When the pelvis and lumbar spine are out of balance it commonly shows up as an unleveling of the pelvis.
Check this out yourself:
- Get someone to assist you
- Stand relaxed
- Have your assistant from behind you put each hand on top of the sides of your pelvis
- Have them sit or bend down so their hands are at eye level
- Is one side of the pelvis higher than the other?
- Often there will be a 1 to 2 inch discrepancy in pelvis or hip height
If your pelvis is unlevel it almost ALWAYS is accompanied by a loss of motion in one of the Sacroiliac Joints of the pelvis.
Since these joints must move with every step you take, this altered motion causes increased stress to your hip joints with every step you take. With thousands of steps taken every day this over time results in accelerated breakdown of the hip joints.
We call this breakdown Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease.
The Corrective Chiropractic Correction
Corrective Chiropractic helps to restore balance, alignment, and proper motion to the joints of the hips, pelvis, and lumbar spine. When we restore this motion and alignment the result is a dramatic reduction in pain and inflammation.
At Life Chiropractic in Grass Valley we use 3 primary tools in helping to reduce stress to the hip joints:
- Corrective Chiropractic Care: to restore balance and motion to the joints of the pelvis and spine. This approach is very different from traditional chiropractic care.
- Hip Joint Alignment: with long term stress to the hips they tend to lose their ability to internally rotate. We help restore as much of that motion as possible and teach our clients home care to maintain that.
- Posterior Chain Activation: the posterior chain is a series of muscles that help with posture, stability, and movement of the pelvis and spine. These are simple yet profoundly powerful movements.
Success Story
I have a patient that illustrates this concept perfectly. She is in her mid 50’s and when she first came in she had experienced hip pain for about 10 years. She had been to her primary care physician who told her it was arthritis and referred her to an orthopedic surgeon. X-rays and an MRI were taken of her hip showing some degeneration. The only treatment the orthopedist offered was a hip joint injection.
We did an exam which indicated involvement of the lumbar spine and ordered x-rays of the lumbar spine and pelvis. This all showed involvement of the lumbar spine in addition to the hip. We put her on a corrective care program consisting of:
- Corrective Chiropractic Adjustments to the pelvis and lumbar spine
- Gentle adjustments to the hip joint
- Home stretching for the hip
- Posterior Chain Activation
Within a few weeks her pain was dramatically reduced. And, within a few months she returned to running, something she had not been able to do for years. She continues to come in monthly to maintain function and balance of the lumbar spine, pelvis, and hip.
If you would like to schedule your first visit to Life Chiropractic in Grass Valley you can use this scheduling link: Schedule Here