At my Madrid Chiropractic Clinic I see a lot of people with muscle problems that can be helped. Some Chiropractors don’t concern themselves with muscles but I think that’s a mistake and I’m going to explain why. Muscles are the tissues that move bones. If a muscle is in spasm and locking a bone in a position that irritates say the sciatic nerve, then dealing with the bone to help with the persons sciatica is not going to be effective when the muscle keeps putting pressure on the bone to be in an abnormal position. For me, this is when a Chiropractor should become the neuro-muscular specialist that they are.

One of the techniques for helping in this are to use Positional Release Techniques(PRT). They are a collection of techniques that are gentle (and therefore really appropriate with patients in lots of discomfort) and typically involve putting the problem area in a position that allows the problem to be sorted.

My very first Chiropractic adjustment had me lying by myself on a bench with wedges at different levels under my hips for 5 minutes. This was my first exposure to one of the Chiropractic techniques that use PRT. After lying on the bench I could feel that something had changed in my lower back but I couldn’t really explain it other than it felt different and somehow better.

The technique I received is called Sacral Occipital Technique(SOT), and it uses a lot of the ideas of positional release. Patients typically remember SOT from lying on large wedges. The wedges are typically placed one on either side of the pelvis at different levels. This uneven placement invites the pelvis to move. It is using a patients body weight alone to encourage the movement. Typically the patient lies on the wedges for a few minutes and over time their pelvis adopts a different orientation.

In my Madrid Chiropractic Clinic I use some of these techniques when I think its appropriate. I have found that with some patients with pelvises that are higher on one side than the other that performing a quick adjustment on the hip is less effective than having them lay on wedges for a few minutes that affect the change. People respond differently to different techniques and I believe one of the real skills of a body worker is to find the approach that best works for the person in front of you rather than treating everyone the same.

PRT techniques are not a uniquely Chiropractic thing however. Osteopathy has strain/counter-strain and fascilatated positional release. Physical Therapy has contributed Mulligans mobilization with movement and of course especially in the area of the spine, McKenzie’s work has had a huge influence on all who practice in this field.

I have seen some Sciatica sufferers having amazingly quick and profound improvements when they included McKenzie exercises within their treatment plan. There is quite good Medical research into the effectiveness of McKenzie exercises and the results are positive. People typically believe McKenzie exercises are just leaning back but they involve a lot more than that. There are a lot of videos on-line that demonstrate the exercises and if you are suffering with low back pain I would recommend you asking the healthcare professional you see if they would be appropriate for you.