Liebenson, DC. Rehabilitation of the Spine. Baltimore,
Williams and Wilkins 1996:13-43
With injury and inflammation, chemical mediators are released
leading to pain and further compensatory muscular adaptations
including increased tome in some muscle and reciprocal
inhibition of others in order to avoid further failure
or damage. These protective muscular reactions immobilize
an injured area and are appropriate in the acute stage.
If they become programmed in the form of new movement
patterns, “Pain-Motor Programs,” stored in
the Central Nervous System, they can lead to a chronic
state.
Consequences of Muscular Imbalance 1. Altered joint mechanics/uneven
load distribution; 2. Limited Range-Of-Motion and compensatory
hypermobility, 3. Altered proprioception due to altered
load bearing, tension, compression and stress on various
tissues. 4. Impaired reciprocal inhibition, 5. Altered
programming of movement patterns.
Etiology of Symptoms with injury. Tissue Overload, acute
or gradual, leads to tissue damage and the release of
chemical mediators resulting in 1) Inflammation and swelling
which restrict motion, 2) Pain and Sensitization of Nociceptors
which restricts motion, 3) Nocifensive Reflexes –
Pain Spasm Reflexes which restrict motion. These responses
lead to classic clinical symptoms of: Swelling, Pain,
Muscle Spasm, Restriction of motion, and loss of normal
function because normal movement and weight bearing are
painful due to sensitization of nociceptors.
Additional Resources:
PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9467100&dopt=Abstract
Results of a study on the effectiveness of Chiropractic
care past the alleviation of symptoms.
Long Beach Chiropractic
http://www.longbeachchiro.com/yortreat.htm
A fairly clear and simple explanation of the Chiropractic
approach to spinal rehabilitation.
Foster Chiropractic Rehabilitation
http://www.fosterchiro.com/chirotopics.htm
An informative group of articles on Acute Low-Back Pain,
Chronic Low Back Pain and Neck Pain
Chiropractic Research
http://www.vitalityweb.com/chiro/studys1.htm
A listing of the results of studies done on the effectiveness
of Chiropractic rehabilitation
