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Can Upper Cervical Chiropractic Help with Hip Pain?
"I’ve tried everything for my hip pain but nothing’s worked.”
Are you frustrated, at your wit’s end what to do about your hip pain?
If you have been dealing with hip pain for a long time - and if you have seen an orthopaedist of hip pain specialist - I REALLY hope that you’ve had a few tests done.
Many years ago, I took care of a lady, who told me that her doctor recommended that she have surgery for her hip pain …. but without ever taking an x-ray, CT or MRI! I did a few tests including x-rays, and it turned out that her hip joints were immaculate! No arthritis, no osteoporosis, nothing! As it turned out, her hip pain had nothing to do with her hips. If she had had surgery, it would NOT have solved the problem!)
So what types of tests have you had to identify the cause of your hip pain?
And what types of treatment have you done? Medication? Stretches? Exercises? Acupuncture? Therapy?
… And are you getting worried that surgery might be your only option left for your hip pain?
If so, I’d like to propose to you another possibility that may be able to help your hip pain.
If you’re the type of person who recognizes that everything in your body is connected, then you’re the type of person who recognizes that your hip pain COULD be coming from somewhere else in your body!
- Do you think it is possible for your hip pain to becoming instead of your low back?
- Do you think it is possible for your pain to be coming from your feet, ankles, or knees?
- Do you think it is possible for your hip pain to be coming from your neck?
Because I want to share with you something very important that your hip pain specialist may not have shared with you:
When you have a problem in your neck, it can cause your center of gravity to shift sideways. And when THAT happens, it can be the underlying reason for your hip pain.
“What can cause hip pain? Isn’t all just the same?”
First, can I ask you a few questions to clarify the nature of your hip pain?
- Does your hip pain radiate from the front of your thigh and into your groin? This is the TRUE classic pain description when it is the actual hip joint causing your hip pain.
- Does your hip pain start in the back and go along your buttocks and to the outside of your hip? If so, your hip may not be the actual problem (This is the classic pain referral pattern for the sacroiliac joints).
- Have you had MRIs taken by a hip joint specialist that shows the reason for your hip pain is either tendonitis,bursitis, capsulitis, which are inflammation of the various soft tissues around your hip joint?
Even if you have had the proper tests that show damage such as arthritis or osteoporosis, there is still one VERY important question that you may have.
What is the CAUSE of your hip pain?
By this, I mean what is the CAUSE of the damage? What is the CAUSE of the inflammation? What is the CAUSE of hip pain?
Often times, hip pain specialists attribute arthritis and things like that to old age. Well, IF that was true, then wouldn’t ALL people have hip pain as they get older?
And IF that was true, wouldn’t you have the exact same type of pain on both sides? Yes, it is 100% possible for you to have hip pain on both sides. However, if you are like many people with hip pain, one side is worse than the other.
Does that mean that one of your hips is older than the other one? Of course not!
The point I’m making about hip pain is that it is NOT age that makes the difference. It is physical stress - physical wear and tear that affects one side more than the other - that is the more likely culprit.
“How can a neck problem be related to hip pain?”
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with your neck?
Consider that your skull is the weight of a bowling ball: approximately 3-5Kg. It is balances atop the first two bones in your neck - called the C! or atlas, and the C2 or axis vertebrae - which weigh only a few grams. It is not unlike a golf ball sitting on a tee.
In order to maintain this delicate balance, your brain uses the muscles and ligaments of your entire body to keep things upright. As a very simple illustration, if you place your hand on your shoulder, and then move your head only, you will feel your shoulder muscles contract.
There are many everyday principles that illustrate the principle and connection between your head position and body movement.
For golfers, cricket players: “Keep your eye on the ball.” Your head position changes your entire body mechanics when you swing the club. If your head is not centered or focused when it needs to be, your game suffers!
For motorcycle riders, surfers, skiers, and snowboarders: When you were learning, you may have heard the expression, “The way your head goes, your body goes.” That is because your head movement shifts your center of gravity, which is what changes the way your body moves. Simple physics!
Where your head goes, your body goes.
Where this shows up is with your POSTURE!
So at this point, I’d like to recommend that you go stand in front of a full-length mirror. Better still, if you have a pair of scales - and you need two of them - stand with one foot on each scale.
Normal posture and normal weight distribution are upright, and within 1-2Kg on either side (or approximately 5% of your body weight).
So what is happening with your posture?
- Does your head turn or lean to one side? Or is it sticking far forwards?
- Is one shoulder dropped lower than the other one?
- Does your body lean to one side where one hip feels lower than the other?
You see, bad posture doesn’t happen for a reason. If the weight of your head is off - due to a problem with the alignment of the top bones in your neck - then it can cause the entire rest of your body to compensate INCLUDING CAUSING YOUR WEIGHT TO SHIFT HEAVIER ON ONE HIP.
If this type of compensation happens for any length of time - weeks, months, or even years - what do you suppose can happen to the muscles and ligaments and bones around your hip?
Exactly!
So the tendonitis, bursitis, capsulitis, arthritis, and any number of the issues associated with hip pain may NOT be the actual cause of the problem.
All these things could be the compensation for the problem that is actually coming from a completely different place in your body: your neck.
Upper cervical care and hip pain
If the different hip pain specialists you have been working with have been prescribing exercises stretches, medication and therapies all directed you have been focusing on your hip pain - but you haven’t gotten any relief and no one has looked at your neck, it may be the missing piece of the puzzle that you have been looking for.
And if you’re looking for someone who understands the relationship between your neck, your body, and the health of your nerve system, the perfect place to start is with an upper cervical chiropractor.
An upper cervical doctor is a different type of chiropractor who does not use spinal manipulation, twisting or cracking, and whose focus is on the role that the alignment of the top bones in your neck has on your vital life center: your brainstem.
Your brainstem is the master control center of your body, directing all things including movement, feeling, and organ function. If a misalignment in the top of your neck affects the function of your brainstem, it can produce significant problems elsewhere in your body.
The body imbalance/posture problem we talked about earlier leading to hip pain is only one possibility!
So what an upper cervical chiropractic doctor does is perform a series of precise tests including muscle tension and posture analysis, neurological testing, and also a unique series of x-rays, which reveal the exact direction and degree of misalignment of the bones in your neck.
Then, using a procedure that is truly customized for you - one that does not involve any popping, twisting or cracking - and uses only the amount of pressure that you would use to feel your pulse, we make a series of precise corrections for the ultimate purpose of taking pressure off your brainstem so that your body is able to work as it is designed and to heal itself.
So yes, it is okay to have your upper neck adjusted even if you have osteoporosis. The procedure is that light.
Where can I find an upper cervical chiropractor in Brisbane?
If do you’ve never heard about an upper cervical chiropractic doctor before - or even the role that your neck can have on hip pain - I’m not surprised. There are only a very VERY few people in all Australia, who have done advanced training in upper cervical specific care; and even fewer using the Blair method.
Dr. Jeffrey Hannah is an Advanced Certified Blair upper cervical chiropractic doctor with over 12 years of experience in taking care of people with a variety of health conditions. He is an international lecturer, author, and recognized leader in the field of upper cervical care.
Our practice, Atlas Health, located in North Lakes, Queensland (north Brisbane) is the leader for Blair upper cervical chiropractic care in Australia. Our practice provides specific upper cervical chiropractic care not only for people in our local communities of North Lakes, Mango Hill Burpengary and Narangba, but also for people seeking precise upper cervical care from across Brisbane, Queensland, and all around Australia.
To schedule a consolation with Dr. Hannah about upper cervical chiropractic care, you can email us through the Contact Us link on this page, or you can call us direct at 07 3188 9329.
We are happy to provide a complimentary over-the-phone consultation where you can discuss your condition, ask any questions you may have, and then decide if upper cervical chiropractic care may be right for you.
Atlas Health Australia - “A passion for helping people enjoy a better quality of life.”
References
Brieg A. Adverse Mechanical Tension in the Central Nervous System. Almqvist and Wiksell. 1974
Chan CK, Lee HY, Choi WC, Cho JY, Lee SH. Cervical cord compression presenting with sciatica-like leg pain. Eur Spine J. 2011 Jul;20 Suppl 2:S217-21. doi: 10.1007/s00586-010-1585-5. Epub 2010 Oct 13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20938789
Charlton K. Commentary: does chronic axial non-disease musculoskeletal pain exist outside the neuraxis? Speculations of a privately practicing chiropractic clinician. Chiropr J Austr. 2011;41:1:18-22.
Herman CA. Resolution of Low Back Pain in an 8-year-old Following Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care: A Case Report. Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research; Jul 2016:24-30.
Low Back Pain Fact Sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Accessed 7 Jan 2020. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Low-Back-Pain-Fact-Sheet.
McGowan JR, Suiter L. Cost-Efficiency and Effectiveness of Including Doctors of Chiropractic to Offer Treatment Under Medicaid: A Critical Appraisal of Missouri Inclusion of Chiropractic Under Missouri Medicaid. J Chiropr Humanit. 2019 Dec 10;26:31-52. doi: 10.1016/j.echu.2019.08.004. eCollection 2019 Dec. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31871437
Robinson SS, Collins KF, Grostic JD. A retrospective study; patients with chronic low back pain managed with specific upper cervical adjustments. Chiropr Res J. 1993;2(4):10-6.
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