Here is another extract from an article on back pain treatment written for
this week's AOL (America On Line) Health News. The author states:"Because of
the many variables involved, this is correction should only be done by a
kinesiologist", once again claiming that an "applied kinesiologist" has unique
capabilities and knowledge. Neverthleless, what is written paints a different
picture. Read and see what your own analysis produces. My comments follow
the article.
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<< Kinesiology and the Lower Back
by <A HREF="aol://4344:1679.HOL_000.13636669.525466620">Chris Holderman</A>
Are you one of the many people who suffer from lower back pain? . . . . Some
have been told by medical professionals, "Nothing can be done. You'll just
have to live with it."
Imagine their surprise and delight when -- after allowing me to do the
appropriate work -- they suddenly have increased range of motion and freedom
of movement with little or no pain. The most common question is, "How did you
do that?"
Anyone who has suffered with low back pain for any length of time may find it
difficult to believe that the kinesiology techniques used to relieve the
problem are actually very simple and known by most -- if not all --
kinesiologists.
The technique most often used to relieve chronic low back pain is called
"reactive muscle technique." The operating theory behind reactive muscles is
as follows: Every muscle in the body, with the exception of the heart, is
designed to work in conjunction with other muscles. If one muscle contracts,
there is at least one other muscle, and most of the time more, that must
relax.
Consider the operation of the biceps and triceps muscles in the upper arm. In
order for the biceps to contract and raise the forearm toward the shoulder,
the triceps must relax. If the triceps muscle does not relax, it is considered
to be "locked" in place, a condition that kinesiologists call a reactor. It is
called this because the other muscles that are supposed to work in conjunction
with the triceps react to the locked, or "frozen," condition of the triceps,
and do not correctly do the job they are supposed to do.
If the triceps muscle does not relax as the bicep tries to do its job, there
will be considerable pain in the arm because of the conflict of the two
muscles. This same condition normally occurs in chronic low back pain, but it
usually involves many more muscles.
Muscles that are typically involved in low back pain are the quadratus
lumborum, psoas, piriformis, sacrospinalis, gluteus medius and gluteus
maximus.
Most often, the muscle that is the reactor muscle in low back pain is the
quadratus lumborum.. . . . .
My job as a kinesiologist is to find the reactor muscle and unlock it. I then
have to strengthen the other muscles involved, re-educating them so they
function normally in conjunction with the now unlocked muscle.
Depending on the number of muscles involved, this process can take as little
as 15 minutes, or as long as an hour. I also check to make sure there are no
emotions involved that are causing this muscle to lock up. The typical result
is that pain level drops immediately by almost half and then continues to
gradually dissipate until there is no more pain. This normally happens within
24 hours!
Because of the many variables involved, this is correction should only be done
by a kinesiologist. The good news is that you do not have to live with low
back pain! In most cases there is something that can be done to provide
relief.
What is even better is that most of the time, provided that everything is done
that needs to be done, this is a one-time correction! If the kinesiologist you
work with knows how to use this technique effectively, you probably will not
need to have it repeated. This might sound unbelievable to those who have
suffered with low back pain for weeks, months or years, but if you haven't
tried kinesiology to relieve your low back pain, you haven't tried everything.
. . . . . . .
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COMMENTARY
1. The statement that :"Every muscle in the body, with the exception of the
heart, is designed to work in conjunction with other muscles" may
superficially seem correct, but there are a good few other exceptions, such as
the muscles of the eyes and eyelids, as well as muscles of the hands and feet,
particularly when the resistance involved is low.
This, however, possibly is a fairly trivial issue, but his example of biceps
and triceps interaction is based on traditional notions of muscles rigidly
being classified as agonists and antagonists, instead of as 'synergists'.
The latter, more current classification concurs better with research and leads
to fewer contradictions. The declaration that "In order for the biceps to
contract and raise the forearm toward the shoulder, the triceps must relax"
simply is not correct. When a bodybuilder executes an upper arm pose, he/she
usually contracts both biceps and triceps concurrently, both to increase the
active size of the upper arm and to slow the movement down or hold it in a
given pose. Moreover, since both the biceps and the triceps also cross the
shoulder joint, any elbow flexion may also be accompanied by simultaneous
biceps and triceps activation.
This is by no means an isolated example of incorrectness - since the author
has specialised kinesiological knowledge, he must be aware of Lombard's
Paradox ('Antagonist muscles can act in the same contraction mode as their
agonists'), a process of concurrent 'opposing' muscle contraction such as
takes place between between the quadriceps and hamstrings during cyclical
activities (e.g. Andrews J The functional role of the hamstrings and
quadriceps during cycling: Lombard's paradox revisited J Biomech 1987 (20):
565-575).
However, our author states that if this perfectly common type of concurrent
activation of a so-called antagonist takes place, then that muscle "is
considered to be 'locked' in place, a condition that kinesiologists call a
reactor. " If this view of a 'reactor' indeed is what applied kinesiology
believes to be a central tenet of its methodology, then this discipline
appears to be in some serious need for review. If there are any other
'applied kinesiologists' on this user group, it would be interesting to read
their comments on Holderman's article above.
Of course, we are well aware that concurrent activation of 'opposing' muscles
in certain situations can be dangerous, especially during anything but the
terminal phases of rapid ballistic movement, but it is inappropriate to state
that what applies to ballistic joint action must necessarily apply to
cocontraction (e.g. as discussed at length by Basmajian J 'Muscles Alive'
1978).
Any other comments?
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
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