The Back Pain - Musculoskeletal Alignment Connection

People who have fallen often end up with lower back pain or sciatic nerve pain that radiates through the pelvis and even down the leg to the foot. If their pain does not resolve despite months of expensive conventional treatment, the cause could be a misaligned sacrum and pelvis.

Misaligned pelvic bones and associated muscle tension can cause:

·         Back pain

·         Sciatica

·         Piriformis Syndrome

·         Buttock, hip, leg, or knee pain

·         Bunions (if only one foot has a bunion, the cause is not your shoes!)

Treating Only the Painful Area is Not the Solution

Many therapies and treatment protocols merely target the location of the pain. For example, if the hip hurts, they treat the hip joint. However, if a femur isn’t seated in its hip socket properly because pelvic bones have been pulled out of symmetry by hypertonic (spasmed) muscles, treating only the hip area will NOT necessarily resolve the dysfunction. Untreated hypertonic muscles in the back, legs and/or pelvis hold those bones in asymmetry indefinitely. The result is pain that may become chronic.

Because Madeline’s approach treats the body’s musculoskeletal structure as a system, rather than simply addressing the painful area, many clients experience pain relief.

ADVANCED TRAINING IN ALIGNMENT

Many clients and people in contact via this website report that it is extremely difficult to find any type practitioner trained to assess and resolve skeletal misalignment such as:

·         Single or double pelvis rotations

·         Elevated iliac crest (and associated elevated shoulder)

·         Locked (non-moving) sacroiliac joints

·         Rotated lumbar vertebrae

·         Scoliosis

·         Functional leg length discrepancies

·         Pelvic upslip

·         Sacrum and coccyx lateral deviation

NEW Biomechanics of Back, Hip and Knee Pain On-line Workshop

Madeline now teaches manual therapists (massage therapists, osteopaths, physiotherapists and Bowen therapists) her approach to resolving all of the above. The workshop is available in person in Canada or internationally via Zoom. Details at Biomechanics Workshop.

To be alerted to upcoming workshops, subscribe to her e-newsletter Email madeline@mcbridepainclinic.com. Include your name, email, city/town, state/province, country and type of therapist.

CASES

Snowboarder Testimonial

I had been living with chronic hip pain for five to seven years; as a result last winter I contracted sciatica. I consulted physiotherapists, a chiropractor, osteopath, massage therapist and an acupuncturist, but nothing even came close to the results I received from Madeline. From the first visit, I finally felt the relief I had been searching for, all with the gentleness that her approach offers. I'm so grateful she has been able to help my hip and sciatica, and improve my overall quality of life. G.M., 2019

Case: Woman Slipped on Ice

A middle-aged client slipped and fell several times the previous winter. She walked stiffly, with “pain everywhere.” She’d pulled muscles in her back, legs, glutes, neck, and one shoulder. The result was a locked sacroiliac joint and a single (one-side) forward pelvic rotation that caused a functional leg length discrepancy. In one session her sacroiliac joint released, her pelvis realigned, and leg lengths became even. More sessions were needed to treat her upper back, shoulder, and neck muscles.

Case: Skating Accident

A fit, active woman in her 20s broke her right ankle skating and had surgery. Three years later she presented with lower back pain. The pelvis dysfunction was complex. A right-side pelvic rotation caused painful pressure on lumbar nerves and created a functional leg length discrepancy. Her right sartorius and glute medius muscles, and left leg’s hamstrings and gracilis muscles were all hypertonic. As well, there was significant residual muscle tension in the left (unbroken and untreated) ankle and lateral calf from the accident. Stretching would not resolve these issues. Thanks to the combo of Bowen Therapy and Madeline’s analytical approach, her pelvic rotation corrected which resolved her leg lengths and the pressure on lumbar nerves. She walked out of the clinic pain-free and aligned at the end of her first session. It’s never too late to heal from an accident!

About the Author/Instructor

Madeline McBride, M.A.Sc., P. Eng., studied civil engineering at Queen’s University and the University of Waterloo. Those mechanics and structural design courses inform her ability to assess in 3D, and problem-solve how muscle tension pulls a client’s skeletal structure out of alignment. Her engineering background, combined with several advanced manual training modalities, produced this North American expert in restoring pelvis, jaw, and spinal alignment. Madeline is able to resolve recent ilium rotations and related back, hip, knee and neck pain within one to four sessions. Long-standing, complex issues may take longer due to the body’s entrained compensation. Madeline teaches Biomechanics of Back, Hip, and Knee Pain as well as several other workshops. Register for a workshop or read her blog posts at www.McBridePainClinic.com