MN chiropractors are trained to evaluate the mechanics of the spine and all joints of the body. By mechanics we mean how the joints move-do they move the way they are supposed to? Mechanical instability is when things are not moving the way they were meant to. Think of a ladder that is propped up on uneven ground. You climb up the ladder and start to feel it wobble. That's mechanical instability.
Ligaments are like duct tape in our body-they keep us together
In the body, it's the ligaments that hold bones together. In the knee for instance there are several ligaments that attach the femur to the tibia. These ligaments stabilize the knee when we stress it mechanically, for instance when we're running. The muscles around the knee also work to stabilize it and give it mechanical stability, but right now I'll just talk about the ligaments. When there is too much stress to a ligament, it tears. This is what we call a sprain.
If the stress to the ligament isn't too much, the injury heals and afterward the knee moves just like it should--the joint is still mechanically stable. But if the mechanical stress to the ligaments was too much, the ligament will over stretch so much that it remains overstretched after the injury heals.
Ligaments can be overstretched like the plastic that holds a six-pack of soda pop together
You can think of the plastic that holds a six pack of cans together. If you just pull the can out, the ring of plastic remains the same size. You could push the can back into the ring and it would hold the can. If you pull hard on the plastic ring you can stretch it out of shape. Then when you try to put the can back in, it won't hold. Ligaments are the same way.
The ligament damage caused by a whiplash injury is a good example of mechanical instability that causes chronic pain
A type of injury we all have heard of is "Whiplash". The jolt of an auto accident whips the head back and forth. Researchers who first studied these injuries used the analogy of cracking a whip. With the jolt of the crash our head snaps back and forth like the end of a whip. This whipping motion can overstretch and injure the ligaments that hold the bones in our neck together.
And in fact, in whiplash there is often a tearing of the deep ligaments of the neck that hold the bones together. In the example of the knee joint we just talked about we were speaking of just one joint. In the neck were talking about eight bones and sixteen joints. If the healing process is not optimal, then the same type of instability that we saw in the knee can develop in the neck.
The neck X-rays of people who have been in an automobile accident and suffered a "whiplash" injury show the mechanical instability that results. Often after such an injury, the normal curve in the neck flattens or reverses. This is because the overstretched (injured) ligaments can no longer hold the bones of the neck in their proper position.
X-Ray movies are a good way to actually see mechanical instability in joints
Motion X-rays reveal even more. These special X-rays are X-ray movies of the neck. They are taken while the person bends his head backward and forward, side to side and rotates left and right. It is astonishing to see how the bones in the neck wobble and slide over each other excessively after whiplash ligament injury in the neck.
As a result of the loose ligaments not holding the bones together as tightly as they should, there is excess friction in the joints of the neck. The excess friction causes inflammation which is constantly aggravated (because the friction keeps on). It can be as little as one millimeter of excess movement-the thickness of a dime-that causes enough extra friction, so that the person always has tenderness and soreness in the neck. This results in chronic inflammation in this area, and the chronic pain.
When the joints in the upper neck have excess friction and consequently inflammation, it often creates headaches as a result.
Mechanical instability can also cause pain in the low back and other joints of the body
Mechanical instability can be mild or severe. Chiropractors maintain all mechanical instability is a cause of health problems, and is often a source of pain. In my experience traditional medicine tends to dismiss this type of low level mechanical instability as insignificant.
In chiropractic we call them subluxations, and understand them to be the cause of a lot of problems also because they tend to disrupt nerve communications. In traditional medicine severe joint instability is usually treated surgically. Ligaments are tightened, bones are fused together or clamped together with steel rods and plates.
Repairing mild mechanical instability
Chiropractors specialize in correcting mechanical instabilities of the spine and all of the joints of the body. Chronic neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, back, hip, knee, ankle and foot pain often improves quickly when the mechanical instability of these joints is corrected.
It's an obvious solution. Imagine your car having the front left wheel not bolted tightly to the axel. When you drive, the wheel wobbles. The wobble further stresses the bolts which loosen even more, until the tire comes off. The analogy works this far-it highlights the importance of correcting a mechanically unstable moving part before things get worse. For the car wheel, you simply tighten the bolts and the problem is solved.
Chiropractors specialize in the correction of mechanical instabilities of the spine and other joints of the body. When these instabilities are identified early, problems such as joint pain, muscle tightness and spasm and arthritis can be reversed or prevented. When they are allowed to remain, the increased friction in the joints accelerates deterioration of the joint. This can result in degenerative arthritis of the joint.
By correcting mechanical instability of joints, MN chiropractors reduce joint friction. Lessening joint friction helps resolve inflammation of the joints. When inflammation ceases, pain also stops.
