Have you ever wondered why your chiropractor likes to assess your whole spine, even when you feel there is a very specific location for your pain?
This may involve looking at your neck when you have pain in the hand or arm. Or looking at your hips when there is pain at your knee.
So, checking the whole body is a very important part of getting to the cause of your problem and making our diagnosis.
At Hartwell Chiropractic Centre we see many patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome, which is a common cause of pain felt at the front of the knee.
In 2019, one study assessed people with and without knee pain when performing different tasks. This included stair climbing, single legged chair stand, step downs, forward hop distance, and side hops. They measured the distance covered and number of repetitions their participants could complete. They used the data to see if there was a correlation between their performance and hip musculature strength, power, and endurance.
The results indicated that participants with patellofemoral knee pain had clear deficiencies in hip strength compared to those without knee pain. It demonstrated that a strength and conditioning program was needed to target the hip musculature.
As chiropractors it is our role to help you address any deficiencies, reduce your pain, and work toward your goals. To do this, we need to look at the whole body and determine where best to start.
References:
- Wolf Petersen, Andree Ellermann, Andreas Gösele-Koppenburg, Raymond Best, Ingo Volker Rembitzki, Gerd-Peter Brüggemann, and Christian Liebau. Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2014; 22(10): 2264–2274.
- Guilherme S Nunes , Danilo de Oliveira Silva , Kay M Crossley , Fábio Viadanna Serrão , Tania Pizzari , Christian J Barton. People with patellofemoral pain have impaired functional performance, that is correlated to hip muscle capacity. Phys Ther Sport 2019 Nov; 40:85-90.