Tony called the clinic with lower back pain. Any movement that involved bending forward was painful, such as sitting, standing or lying down, so we booked him in for an emergency appointment.
Tony – Lower back pain
Tests
- Stork test – to check Tony’s hip alignment and leg length
- Lumbar spine palpitation – to find out which vertebrae was restricted and diagnose the direction of restriction.
- Facet provocation test – to check for irritated vertebrae joints
- Quadrant test – to establish if the issue was disk or facet related
- Straight leg raise – to test the disks and nerves in Tony’s back.
Diagnosis
When we conduct these diagnostic tests we are looking for three tests to point to the same diagnosis. In Tony’s case, they took me straight to the problem. Tony was suffering from facet capsule irritation, where the bony outcrops of the vertebrae are pressing together because of a postural misalignment. The facet capsules around the vertebrae are supposed to be lubricated and free moving, but Tony’s were pressed together and irritating the nerves in his back.
Treatment
After a little soft tissue massage we began gentle articulations of the vertebral joints to encourage fluid exchange. Joint lubrication and improved blood supply to the area encourages the body’s own healing mechanisms.
We also applied a little traction to free up the joint before performing a high-velocity lumbar roll to encourage freedom of movement in that area of the spine.
Results
Once we’d finished his treatment Tony’s vertebral joints were far less constrained and able to move more freely on their own. Tony said he felt a huge improvement, and after another session a couple of days later he was right as rain.
