Muscle imbalance syndromes can be held in place by a complex web of interactions between various systems in the body. Corrective techniques vary widely, and many of them work quite well…BUT…unfortunately, they don’t last over the long run.
Take therapies like chiropractic, for instance. Many of my patients tell me that whenever they would see a chiropractor, they felt better right after their adjustment, but the pain and tightness would return shortly after, only leaving them to continue to need adjustments to stay out of pain. Certainly, this is not the case with all back pain sufferers that visit chiropractors, as some of them get long term relief from just a few treatments.
So, the question is: Why do some people get relief, while others don’t?
There are 3 categories that must be addressed in the total health of the individual. They include:
1. Structure: This involves muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints.
2. Biochemistry: This area involves all the chemical interactions within our bodies, including hormones, vitamin/mineral status, and all other sorts of biochemical interactions.
3. Mental/Emotional: This area involves the concept of how our minds and emotions affect how our physical bodies function.
The interesting thing is that any of the above 3 areas can CAUSE, CONTRIBUTE, or SUSTAIN muscle imbalance patterns. The reality is that dysfunction in one of these categories cannot exist alone, but rather directly affects the other 2 areas.
Many times when structural treatments do not last is not that they don’t work, but rather they do not address the biochemical and/or mental-emotional factors that are “holding” the muscle imbalance pattern or are causing it to return.
Its about time for us to not only conceptually understand how the body works as a whole, but instead, start developing PROTOCOLS and treatment programs that USE this information!
Sam Visnic–