Jeanne Kennedy Crosby, D.C.: What's Your Problem?

Many recovery plans in low back pain focus on the spasmed muscle: relaxing it, stretching it and prescribing exercise regemins to strengthen the weak muscles opposing the spasm. Applied Kinesiology diagnostic techniques identify and correct the weak muscle that precipitates the spasm. Once the weakness is identified, the doctor can administer chiropractic adjustments, treatment of the acupuncture meridians, muscle and ligament massage, and nutritional support to strengthen the weak muscle immediately and with change that can be demonstrated and you can feel. The position or activity that is the most painful can give a big clue as to what muscles are weakened and what muscles are in spasm. Low back pain can often be qualified as “can’t sit down,” “can’t stand up or walk,” or the ever-popular “I'm crooked.” The weak muscle or muscle group is usually the one that engages with activity: The spinal extensor muscles (i.e. in the back of the body) and hip extensor muscles (back of the hip) are usually found to be weak with standing pain, and the spinal flexor muscles (i.e. abdominal muscles and front of the hip muscles) are found more with pain worse with sitting. The patient who looks crooked from side to side usually has flexor and extensor muscle weakness on one side. When adjusting the spine, some segments will usually need to be flexed and some need extension. The low back has a significant relationship with the intestines, the kidneys, the adrenals. It is always advisable to treat these systems for any functional illness that is present to support the structural corrections on a deeper level and prevent re-injury.