knee pain Archives - Life Symmetry Chiropractic-Blog

Looking For Knee Pain Relief?

Michael Schuneman, DC
May 22, 2015June 15, 2020

There are many causes of knee pain. To be up front, I will admit that I do not have the answer for all causes of knee pain, but I do have a safe and effective solution for some of the most common causes of knee pain.

There are over 700,000 total knee replacement surgeries performed each year in the US. The major reason for knee replacement surgery is due to osteoarthritis – or the ‘wear and tear’ arthritis. Osteoarthritis of the knee is basically caused when there is too much stress put on the joint and it begins to break down. This can be from just increased or repetitive stress to the joint or even normal stresses that are applied unevenly to the joint, putting stress in areas where it is not supposed to be.

As mentioned before there can be many causes of knee pain but a very common cause of knee pain is arthritis. Arthritis can lead to pain and disability and if it continues to progress will lead to a partial or total knee replacement.

Some of the most common medical treatments include pain medication or corticosteroid shots. But unfortunately both these treatments are used to decrease the pain without addressing the underlying cause of the arthritis – the stress on the knee joint!

How Chiropractic Can Help

As a chiropractor in Colorado Springs I see knee pain quite frequently. In those with knee pain, I often see imbalances in the muscles surrounding the knee as well as misalignments of the bones making up the knee joint. This is important because muscle imbalances and misalignments of the joint both lead to extra stress being put where it is not meant to be. This extra stress can increase the likelihood of developing osteoarthritis.

The chiropractic treatment for these muscle imbalances and misalignments is to adjust the knee and work on the muscles to restore proper balance. I have seen great success in helping patients alleviate knee pain. While current thought is that you cannot stop or slow the progress of osteoarthritis, this way of thinking does not make sense to me. There are many factors that effect arthritis for the reasons mentioned above, and I believe patients are less likely to either get osteoarthritis or have it progress because we address some of the underlying causes of imbalance and misalignment.

If you thought this was interesting or have a question, feel free to leave a comment below. If you know someone that could benefit from this information please share it. Thanks!

Reference

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/inpatient-surgery.htm accessed May 20, 2015

Are High Heels Bad?

Michael Schuneman, DC
July 23, 2013June 10, 2020

No, high heels are an inanimate object and, of themselves, cannot be good or bad. But enough of taking things literally. I think most people when they ask the question “Are high heels bad?” really want to know if there are negative health effects from wearing high heel shoes. The answer to this question is definitely yes! In this post we will talk about some of the effects that wearing high heel shoes can have on the body.

What Do High Heels Do to the Body?

To state the obvious, wearing high heels raises the heel. This puts more pressure on the front part of the foot, and causes the calf muscles to shorten because of the position of the foot. Weight is shifted forward in the lower body and the upper body compensates by shifting weight back. This shift in weight increases the curve in the low back. These changes in posture to compensate may lead to a number of problems. Let’s look at just a few.

Foot Pain

Foot pain associated with wearing high heels may be due to many things. First, the increased pressure on the front part of the foot may cause pain itself or contribute to other problems that may cause pain. When walking in high heels, shorter and more frequent steps are used, increasing the number of impacts the foot takes while at the same time compromising its ability to absorb the shock. Also shoes with a cramped toe space, like many high heels, may contribute to pain and problems such as bunions.

Knee Pain

Knee pain can be caused by an increase in repetitive impacts that are not absorbed very well in the foot increasing the stress on the knees. When walking in high heels, there is a tendency to walk with the knees more flexed and this increases the stress on the knee cap as well.

Low Back Pain

Again when the impacts of the feet are not absorbed by the structures there, then they need to be absorbed by structures further up the line including the low back. The increased curve in the low back changes the position of the joints and increases the pressure on the posterior joints of the spine. Also maintaining this posture uses muscles that are not normally used as extensively and can lead to muscle pain as well.

Walking Pattern

Some of the changes in walking pattern have already been mentioned such as shorter strides and more frequent steps. A small study comparing long-term high heel wearers and a control group (wore high heels less than 10h/wk) found that there were changes that lasted even when the high heel group was not wearing high heels. The main change was a different pattern of muscle activation during walking. The study also found that walking in heels increased the strain on muscle fibers and that more muscle activation was needed. The changes may lead to more muscle fatigue and muscle strains in high heel wearers.

Conclusion

So is wearing high heels worth the negative effects on the body? That is a question that you will have to answer for yourself. However, if you want to help your body move and function the best it can whether you decide to wear high heels or not, that is something I can help with. Come and see what chiropractic can do to help you.