Muscle Problems vs Joint Problems: Is There a Difference?

"It’s just a muscle problem, I don’t need an adjustment, right?"

The short answer: WRONG!

I get this question a lot from both friends and patients and I know many of you are thinking the same thing. It’s an honest question and I welcome it as an opportunity to educate the inquirer. Most people pondering this question have pain directly in their muscle; therefore, to them it seems like their problem is in the muscle. That’s a logical thought process and there very well may be a strain, spasm, or trigger point in their muscle that is causing their pain. That being said, muscles and their fascia are so interconnected with the surrounding bony anatomy (see picture) that it is almost impossible to “have a muscle problem” and not have it affect the alignment of the surrounding bony structures, or the integrity, alignment and function of the joint that the particular muscle in question moves. The same holds true visa versa.

If a joint is out of alignment, then the muscles in and around that joint are usually affected as well, resulting in muscular imbalances that create pain in the muscle as well as dysfunction in the joint. Muscles, via tendons and fascia, attach to bones and pull with certain force vectors and angles; if there is a disturbance in the alignment of the attachment point for the muscle, i.e. the bone, then the whole motor unit (muscle, joint, bone) is affected and needs to be Imageassessed for improper function.

In the top picture to the right we see a cartoon of how anatomy of the 6 different layers of the back is taught in school. Everything looks real neat and clean and clearly distinguishable; like you could only affect one structure at a time, right?

Well, the picture below to the right is of a cadaver and what your true anatomy looks like in real life; this is what my fellow chiropractic colleagues and I Imagespent studying for an entire year before we were allowed to start moving vertebra around by performing adjustments. Take a careful look at how interconnected the muscles, fascia and bones are and then try to picture only moving a muscle with out it affecting a bone; it’s almost impossible, and that’s my point!

Research: Case in point that proper bony alignment improves muscle function is this study that shows that lower lumbar spinal adjustments increase the strength of the hamstring muscle.1

Here’s an article showing the Myofascial Pain Syndrome (muscle pain caused by trigger points) in the neck was successfully treated using only chiropractic adjustments of the cervical vertebra; no treatment was administered to the actual muscle even though the pain was in the muscle.2

Quite frequently in my practice I find tense muscles, particularly the back, guarding joints that have shifted out of alignment. This is an intelligent response by the body to prevent further misalignment, thus protecting the area. The cause is most commonly a misaligned vertebra that has shifted out of place causing dysfunction to the whole motor unit. If the injured muscle is the only structure treated then only half the problem is addressed and the back cannot properly heal. You can massage tight muscles all you want, but if they are tense from a vertebra being misaligned, then they will not want to relax. The misaligned vertebra must be adjusted back into proper position for true and COMPLETE HEALING to take place.

Sometimes the vertebra shift out of alignment due to muscular imbalances caused by poor posture, prolonged sitting, working at a computer with the shoulders rounded and head forward, etc… Sound familiar? Muscular injuries from sports, or other activities can also cause tension on their associated bony attachments that might cause the joint to come out of alignment as well. As you can see, this can get quite confusing; which is why you should have a musculoskeletal expert, i.e. a chiropractor asses your pain and dysfunction to properly diagnose the problem and then correct the cause.

Next time you have a “muscle problem” go see your chiropractor to make sure you don’t also have a vertebra out of alignment that can negatively affect your body’s ability to heal.

References:

1) The effect of chiropractic adjustive therapy on the contractile strength of the hamstring muscle group in professional soccer players. Dhlamini, Vusumuzi Godfrey. University of Johannesburg. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3717 . Date: 2009

2) Treatment of myofascial pain syndrome. Chang-Zern Hong MD . Current Pain and Headache Reports .2006, Volume 10, Issue 5, pp 345-349

Dr. Daniel Kempff is a wellness based chiropractor and an expert in nutrition and chronic disease prevention.  You can find out more information about him here: www.drkempff.com. His practice is located in Southern, CA in the city of Aliso Viejo at The Joint: http://www.thejointalisoviejo.com.