Monday, June 11, 2018

Arthrokinematics

     Combine "arthro" meaning "of a joint," and "kinematics," meaning "properties of motion of objects" and you get a cool new word, "arthrokinematics"---which is applicable in describing the motion of any joint in the body.
     For example, the "roll and slide" movement of the lower end of the thigh bone, the femur, moving against the top of the larger bone in the lower leg, the tibia, when bending the knee.
     Whether kicking a soccer ball (the femur is stable & the tibia is rolling & gliding)  or squatting (the tibia is stable & the femur will roll & glide), the arthrokinematics are crucial to maintaining stability of the knee throughout its range of motion.   
      

Monday, June 4, 2018

"The Straw That Broke the...

     .......Camel’s Back."  As the saying goes, when a seemingly insignificant action or event results in sudden, extreme pain. 
     What’s going on here?
     Patients often tell me, "All I did was bend over to pick up the newspaper," or "I just got up out of a chair." Simple actions that should not be expected to cause the pain that followed.
     In fact, 90% of the time, dysfunction has been building, often becoming more complex, but not yet symptomatic, or maybe the little twinges you felt were easy to ignore. 
     Then a simple movement, change of position, or event, suddenly pushes things over the edge into pain. What has been lurking becomes painfully impossible to ignore.
     When you feel those little twinges, or sense that maybe something in your underlying structure isn't right, come in and get your body balanced, and you're much less likely to get into that place of severe pain.