Gentle Spine Manipulation Columbia, MD
What is Gentle Spine Manipulation?
Mobilization or manipulation of the spine is an extremely powerful tool to help the body recover from aches and pains, and it’s central to Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT). A strong, flexible spine is the foundation for a healthy musculoskeletal system, and the ability to address specific vertebral restrictions is often the difference between quicker recoveries and longer ones.
What is Gentle Spine Manipulation?
Mobilization or manipulation of the spine is an extremely powerful tool to help the body recover from aches and pains, and it’s central to Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT). A strong, flexible spine is the foundation for a healthy musculoskeletal system, and the ability to address specific vertebral restrictions is often the difference between quicker recoveries and longer ones.
The Anatomy: Links in a Chain
The spine is the central pillar of the musculoskeletal system. Every movement of the arms, legs, and head also involves some amount of spinal rotation or bending. Like links in a chain, what happens to one will affect the stresses on the other; if one link doesn’t move much, the others must compensate for it. When the spine isn’t contributing enough to the movement, extra demands will go to the other body parts and ultimately lead to problems.
The thoracic region of the spine (mid back) is a great example of this. While the vertebrae here don’t often generate pain, they do get restricted. The adjacent body regions then must bend and twist a little bit more to achieve life’s daily movements. What result over time are common pain conditions in the neighboring areas: the cervical spine (neck pain), the shoulders (tendinitis), and the lumbar spine (low back pain). Mobilization of the thoracic vertebrae often helps pains in these other areas because of this connection.
The Anatomy: Links in a Chain
The spine is the central pillar of the musculoskeletal system. Every movement of the arms, legs, and head also involves some amount of spinal rotation or bending. Like links in a chain, what happens to one will affect the stresses on the other; if one link doesn’t move much, the others must compensate for it. When the spine isn’t contributing enough to the movement, extra demands will go to the other body parts and ultimately lead to problems.
The thoracic region of the spine (mid back) is a great example of this. While the vertebrae here don’t often generate pain, they do get restricted. The adjacent body regions then must bend and twist a little bit more to achieve life’s daily movements. What result over time are common pain conditions in the neighboring areas: the cervical spine (neck pain), the shoulders (tendinitis), and the lumbar spine (low back pain). Mobilization of the thoracic vertebrae often helps pains in these other areas because of this connection.
Spinal Nerves and Referred Pain
The spine is more than just our primary structural pillar. These stacked vertebrae are also the main highway and container for the spinal cord and all its nerves that control pain, strength, and sensation.
Very often what seems like a pain or discomfort in the arm, hip, or foot is actually a problem coming from the spine. The pain we sense is a referred pain coming from irritated nerves between the vertebrae. It’s much like feeling the “funny bone” zing in the pinky after banging your elbow. The place that was irritated and the location of the symptoms are different because the nerve sending the message was affected.
There are often restrictions (areas of tightness or compression) between our spinal vertebrae, and when they are too significant for the physical demands we place on them, they can contribute to this spinal nerve irritation. If there are other, pre-existing structural stressors like herniated discs, stenosis, or arthritis, the likelihood of pain or dysfunction is even higher.
Referred spine pain can be difficult to diagnose initially. Sometimes it occurs without any spine discomfort. In its early phases can also lack the classic presentation of burning, jolts, and numbness/tingling, and instead will feel like an isolated musculoskeletal issue. There are many cases where an apparent “joint pain” will disappear after simply restoring mobility and balance to the vertebrae.
Even muscular pain and tightness (i.e. psoas or piriformis) can be due to a restriction in the spine. The irritated nerve is sending an abnormal signal to the muscle to be too toned and/or feel painful. Hours of effort can be lost to stretching and massaging the muscle when the root cause could be addressed with a few osteopathic spine techniques.
Spinal Nerves and Referred Pain
The spine is more than just our primary structural pillar. These stacked vertebrae are also the main highway and container for the spinal cord and all its nerves that control pain, strength, and sensation.
Very often what seems like a pain or discomfort in the arm, hip, or foot is actually a problem coming from the spine. The pain we sense is a referred pain coming from irritated nerves between the vertebrae. It’s much like feeling the “funny bone” zing in the pinky after banging your elbow. The place that was irritated and the location of the symptoms are different because the nerve sending the message was affected.
There are often restrictions (areas of tightness or compression) between our spinal vertebrae, and when they are too significant for the physical demands we place on them, they can contribute to this spinal nerve irritation. If there are other, pre-existing structural stressors like herniated discs, stenosis, or arthritis, the likelihood of pain or dysfunction is even higher.
Referred spine pain can be difficult to diagnose initially. Sometimes it occurs without any spine discomfort. In its early phases can also lack the classic presentation of burning, jolts, and numbness/tingling, and instead will feel like an isolated musculoskeletal issue. There are many cases where an apparent “joint pain” will disappear after simply restoring mobility and balance to the vertebrae.
Even muscular pain and tightness (i.e. psoas or piriformis) can be due to a restriction in the spine. The irritated nerve is sending an abnormal signal to the muscle to be too toned and/or feel painful. Hours of effort can be lost to stretching and massaging the muscle when the root cause could be addressed with a few osteopathic spine techniques.
Conditions Gentle Spine Manipulation Helps With
Gentle Spine Manipulation therefore, not only improves the spine’s pain-free movement, but also a host of other aches and pains in the body that may feel unrelated. It is an essential tool for many orthopedic conditions, especially
- Low back pain
- Sciatica
- Hip Pain
- Neck Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Arm Pain
In particular, pains that change day to day, or seem to move around are conditions that benefit from gentle spine mobilization. These can feel like a frustrating game of “whack-a-mole” because the way the pain presents changes depending on the small changes in how the nerve from the spine is being stressed.
There is a light, loose, happy feeling that comes with a mobilized spine. The body and mind can once again assume an upright, confident posture.
Conditions Gentle Spine Manipulation Helps With
Gentle Spine Manipulation therefore, not only improves the spine’s pain-free movement, but also a host of other aches and pains in the body that may feel unrelated. It is an essential tool for many orthopedic conditions, especially
- Low back pain
- Sciatica
- Hip Pain
- Neck Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Arm Pain
In particular, pains that change day to day, or seem to move around are conditions that benefit from gentle spine mobilization. These can feel like a frustrating game of “whack-a-mole” because the way the pain presents changes depending on the small changes in how the nerve from the spine is being stressed.
There is a light, loose, happy feeling that comes with a mobilized spine. The body and mind can once again assume an upright, confident posture.
What to Expect
There are different osteopathic manual techniques for the spine, and they vary from light stretching to releases so gentle that they are hardly perceived by the person on the table. Which ones are used will depend on the pain sensitivity of the person, the feel of their tissues, and what the therapist feels would have the best effect. Overall, these should all be small, slow movements that are comfortable for the person on the table.
The focus of a technique is very specific; on 1-2 vertebrae at a time, and not something general like a full-body twisting stretch. The therapist monitors the vertebral movement under his/her fingers while working.
These manipulation techniques could be done lying supine, on the side, or sitting upright, with or without a degree of assistance from the patient. For example, in muscle energy mobilization techniques, the patient provides small, directed muscle contraction efforts to help the therapist loosen things at a specific vertebral level. In an indirect technique, the patient can simply lie back and relax while the therapist works to facilitate a release.
Sometimes a spinal restriction is actually part of a larger dysfunction: perhaps one involving an organ, a rib, or the dura mater of the craniosacral system. This requires an integrative approach toward balancing and mobilizing them all into harmony with one another.
Mechanically and neurologically, the spine is involved in just about everything we do and feel. It’s often overlooked in cases of persistent pain and should be a central piece in every person’s care.
What to Expect
There are different osteopathic manual techniques for the spine, and they vary from light stretching to releases so gentle that they are hardly perceived by the person on the table. Which ones are used will depend on the pain sensitivity of the person, the feel of their tissues, and what the therapist feels would have the best effect. Overall, these should all be small, slow movements that are comfortable for the person on the table.
The focus of a technique is very specific; on 1-2 vertebrae at a time, and not something general like a full-body twisting stretch. The therapist monitors the vertebral movement under his/her fingers while working.
These manipulation techniques could be done lying supine, on the side, or sitting upright, with or without a degree of assistance from the patient. For example, in muscle energy mobilization techniques, the patient provides small, directed muscle contraction efforts to help the therapist loosen things at a specific vertebral level. In an indirect technique, the patient can simply lie back and relax while the therapist works to facilitate a release.
Sometimes a spinal restriction is actually part of a larger dysfunction: perhaps one involving an organ, a rib, or the dura mater of the craniosacral system. This requires an integrative approach toward balancing and mobilizing them all into harmony with one another.
Mechanically and neurologically, the spine is involved in just about everything we do and feel. It’s often overlooked in cases of persistent pain and should be a central piece in every person’s care.