The Chiropractic profession is the third largest medical profession in the U.S.A. after medicine and dentistry, with over 3 million visits per year being recorded recently. Here in the U.A.E. we are about 30 chiropractors in total, serving mainly Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Chiropractic is best known for its treatment of back pain, although this may be 60-70% of a chiropractors patient base, many other problems, such as neck pain and headaches, shoulder pain and upper limb disorders form the base of the other patients in our practices. Chiropractors are primary portal of entry physicians specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of many kinds of neuromusculo-skeletal pain syndromes and disorders including back pain.
A research study at Palmer College of Chiropractic examined subjects who complained of chronic pelvic pain for a median duration of nine years and a range of 1-25 years. The subjects were enrolled in chiropractic care, which included adjustments using flexion-distraction technique and manual trigger-point therapy. Before the study began, two-thirds of the subjects reported frequent use of analgesics.
By the end of the study, half had stopped using them. Several reported having pain-free intercourse for the first time. Others said that they had a decrease in menstrual cramping as the study progressed. This study concluded that the use of flexion-distraction technique and manual trigger-point therapy had positive short-term effects on symptomatology, disability and pain associated with chronic pelvic pain.2
Along with the lumbar spine disorders we are able diagnose and treat the various pelvic dysfunctions, which range from sacro –iliac joint fixation to hypermobility of the pelvic joints and pubic symphysis dysfunction.
Many of these disorders occur both singly, but more often we see combinations of more than one problem occurring in a patient on presentation. Sometimes, one problem has been ignored and has eventually led to a complex and painful situation. Since the sacro-iliac joints function in harmony with the lower lumber vertebral motion units, it is likely that problems of movement, in one of these sets of joints, leads to overuse of the others. We cannot ignore the close relationship of the pelvis and the lumbar spine, or indeed the lower limb structures effect on the pelvic biomechanics.
Pelvic dysfunction is an often overlooked cause of back pain, which, with the correct spinal adjustments and lifestyle modifications can often be managed or eliminated, perhaps saving years of suffering and medical intervention in the patients future. When a strong biomechanical imbalance is present in the pelvic girdle, pain medications only temporarily mask the problem, which tends to recur again and again if not properly corrected by some form of spinal manipulative therapy.
