Ischemia: Literally means inadequate blood flow. And with a lack
of blood comes a lack of oxygen. Muscles need oxygen. Whenever muscle fibers become too tight or too taut they
will clamp down on the blood and lymph vessels that run through the muscle restricting the blood flow, decreasing oxygen and
nutrition coming into the muscle and inhibiting the lymphatic removal metabolic waste products which become trapped and irritate
the muscle. When a muscle gets irritated, it contracts, thus creating a viscious pain cycle. Ischemic tissue becomes very
tender to the touch. And ischemia alters the metabolism of a muscle, making it fatigue much quicker.
Throughout our lives we sustain lots of injury
to soft tissues - from a simple injection to major surgery or the trauma of torn fibers in strains and sprains. Whenever there
is insult or tearing of soft tissue, the body automatically restricts blood supply to that area.
Nerve Entrapment/Compression is the disturbance of a nerve by pressure
from a muscle or bone.
Postural Distortion: There is an approximate line up of the body
position that promotes efficient functioning of the joints and muscles. Whenever that posture is skewed, the length:tension
relationship of the muscles is unbalanced and the joint controlled by that muscle pair becomes compromised, leading to any
number of mechanisms that can cause pain.
Biomechanical Dysfunction is faulty movement patterns. When the
body moves, the joints are designed to articulate smoothly, gliding across each surface without strain or pressure. Each joint
has varying degrees of mobility and often more than one joint is involved in any particular movment. There are 3 reasons for
improper movement:
- True anatomical anomalies where the bones of the legs or arms are not
the same length or in the foot if the 2nd toe is longer than the first, this will throw the foot off balance during a portion
of the gait pattern and overloads the muscles of the leg.
-Environmental Factors: For example, runners
who run consistantly in the same direction on a curved track which is banked with one side slanted higher,
will often develop a hip tilt as a result. By always keeping the same side of their body on the higher side of the bank, a
muscle in the back called quadraus lumborum is persistantly overloaded and will cause a functional biomechanical compensation
which can result in pain.
- Functional Deviation is a soft tissue imbalance. Muscles work
in pairs and control joint movement. When one muscle is contracting, the partner muscle must stretch. When, for whatever
reason, one muscle becomes chronically short and contracted, it will put a strain on the antagonist and the joint they control
will become skewed and compressed and movement/function will become impaired. This can cause a wearing away of the cartilege
and ultimately pain.
Nutrition: simple things like too much caffeine or sugar will
predispose a person to pain. When we ingest those things they stimulate our nervous system. They give us that buzz; that's
why we like them! But when the nervous system is overstimulated it looks to discharge energy. And it does so by firing impulses
into the soft tissue (muscle). When a muscle receives those impulses, it contracts, thus causing tight muscles even when you
think you are not using them. Our bodies must have nutrition that supports life function on a cellular
level and in the right proportions. Inflammation can result from glutens, sugars, too much acidic intake. A lack of protein
will prohibit cells from responding to muscle repair. Dehydration is a major cause of joint pain. the subject of nutrition
is complex. Minerals such as magnesium and B vitamins have a strong influence. Suffice it to say we must feed our bodies the
fuels they need in the proper amounts for optimal functioning.
Life Stresses/Emotional Wellness: Each body operates with a different
threshold for pain. The normal tonus is measured in milliampules/sec/sec. Anything that stimulates the nervous system, be
it physical, chemical, emotional can excite our nervous system to the point that it exceeds our pain threshold and voila,
we will experience the manifestation of pain in a previously sub-acute condition.
