The following article is not based on an independent scientific study but rather presents a new theory that developed out of tens of thousands of Back Pain patient protocols treated in Germany with a new form of Manual Therapy called the Dorn Method
A Misaligned Sacrum as a result of a Leg-Length-Discrepancy following a Hip-Joint Subluxation* is possibly the main cause for most Back Pains.
(*subluxation as I use this term here is a small (sometimes even minimal) discrepancy in the joint congruence or bone position relatively to each other that may not be seen on diagnostic instruments like x-ray or MRI)
Although there are many secondary causes possible like a slipped disc, certain diseases, toxins, psychological stress, stones in organs, cancer and other pathology, that all may require specific medical approaches, a Misalignment in the Sacrum (ISJ) seems to be the start of it all.
For better understanding of this important fact read the information below:
Mechanics of a Hip Subluxation and the following result:
As described in the Book `The Dorn Method` by Thomas Zudrell and in the website http://www.dorn-method.com, certain potentially wrong movements in our modern world that frequently happen during sitting, stretching, sports, work etc., unbalanced use of hands (right-, left handed people), often together with existing Misalignments since birth possibly establish the ground for the development of Back Pain and maybe most other ailments.
The result of wrong movements etc. is a subluxation in the hip joint(s) and a Misalignment of the Sacrum that leads to a difference in leg length.
The Femoral head can bump against the roof / edge of the acetabulum and levers itself out of position and mostly stays then in that wrong position long enough to produce an unbalanced tensioning of the attached muscles.
That in turn leads to an inclined and/or twisted pelvis aggravated by the now uneven tension of the strong Hip muscles and a subluxation of the sacrum follows, the foundation of our spine gets out of balance!
Although the misalignment in the hip joint might be very small and maybe is not even seen on x-ray the resulting leg length difference can be quite large.
Misalignments in form of shifted vertebrae or curvatures like scoliosis are likely to develop. That in turn is followed by a increasing tensioning of the muscles along the spine and the nerves of these areas are also affected in an unfavorable way so the information exchange between the brain and the affected area is not as it should be which may lead to Pains and a weakening of the associated organs contributing to and even causing chronic inner conditions especially if co-factors like unhealthy lifestyle exists.
As long as the misalignments exist a real healing is quite unlikely because the main structural system of our body is not in a balance!
Many people suffer unexplained back pains, meaning that no severe physical problem can be detected (despite x-ray, MRI etc.) but the Pain is there.
On the other side many people do have clear detectable physical disturbances like slipped discs, bone-fractures and deformations but they do not suffer from too much pain. Why?
I never found a single patient without the above mentioned facts (which is of course only anecdotal evidence for some), so I believe that nobody suffers only because of detectable disturbances or because of a Psychosomatic condition, a Misaligned sacrum is always involved and possibly the main cause! (I challenge Science to prove this statement as wrong! or better help me to come up with recognizable evidence in clinical studies! As it can be demonstrated and proved on any actual patient!)
Beside the possible physical causes I believe the non-physical (Mental, Psychological and Spiritual or Higher Self) also play an important role in this complex system and Imbalances here may very well influence the development as well as the outcome and recovery process, that is why so often patients show a change in the non-physical side after a successful Dorn Therapy and that is why many people improve their physical condition simply by re-balancing their non-physical side.
If our sacrum gets out of balance then the whole foundation of our spinal column is no longer stable! It is then impossible for the Spine to stay straight and shifting of vertebrae can be seen as ‘natural’ adjustments in order to ‘equalize between the upper and lower part of the Spine. A simple but very ‘important’ mechanical principle!
I believe the sacrum is the most important bone in our structural system! - The Key Stone in the Structure!
In the x-ray picture below you can see a sample of a sacrum misalignment, `subluxation`:
The Hip-blades are not in Alignment with the Sacrum and the Femural Head.
This will cause some of the muscles of this area to be in an un-balanced state of tension and will therefore stabilize this twisted condition and produce a functional leg length discrepancy!
(The picture is from a patient with severe sciatica and who is diagnosed with a spondylolisthesis due to a fracture at vertebra L4 which he was told causes his problems. The strange thing about this is that he does have this condition since years but the Pain he experiences is not been there before and in this present intensity appeared years later????
Side view of the same patient:
You can see here that the Sacrum is subluxated also towards the front! The dotted line represents the normal position of the sacrum as it should be, and the other line is the present `subluxated` position!
By the way: I never found a patient who’s problems where only on the organ level or only on the mental level, so-called psychosomatic, all showed clear identifiable misalignments in the Sacrum, Hip-Joints and the Spine and other Joints. The fact that these structural disturbances are at least co-factors of basically all known health problems is clearly underestimated, ignored or even denied by most health pro´s. Take yourself, do you believe that a little discipline, awareness and caution and only a few minutes of exercises every day could really improve your health?
I want to use laymen’s explanations to make it more easy understandable for everyone, and a more ´scientific selection of words´ can then be used at a personal meeting.
We are a living organism and therefore in a constant state of adjustment, if we ignore that we have to suffer the consequences. Consider this: If you take the branch of a plant and fix a strong wire onto it that bends the branch to a specific direction then the two things will happen: 1. If you take away the wire soon then the branch will try to go back to its former position and all depends on how long the wire was attached. 2. If you leave the wire long enough (approx. two month) the branch will stay in the ´wired´ positon even after the wire is gone because the cellular structure now adjusted to that new position.
A return to the old position is now difficult but not impossible.
The same principals apply to our body. If you break a bone you may need a fixture (like the wire on the plant) onto that area to allow the bones to grow together and heal. At the same time the muscles less in use adjust also and get weaker. Without that fixture however every wrong movement would probably cause further damage. So in a sense that is what we want to achieve with the Dorn Method: The Avoidance of wrong movements together with the aligning Therapy and/or Self Help Exercises is the ´fixture´ that allows the fracture (misalignment in this case) to heal. After a sufficient long time (minimum two month) the adjustment took place and stabilized in many cases.
However: This needs to be done by ourselves mainly nobody can do the whole process for us although outside help is often necessary in this process.
But believe me you can do miracles! Just believe and trust in yourself.
Excerpt of http://www.dorn-method.com
Blessings
Thomas Zudrell