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Every day thousands of people visit different types of health practitioners in order to alleviate various aches and pains. There are many ways practitioners evaluate and assess these injuries. These include methods such as manual palpation, orthopedic testing, and biomechanical analysis. While palpation and orthopedic testing are very common and used by virtually every health practitioner in order to diagnose various types of injury, biomechanics is a less often used but no less essential method of assessment.
In order to discuss biomechanics and how they are used to assist in assessing an injury it is important to first understand what biomechanics are. Biomechanics are the mechanisms through which anatomical structures interact to create movement. In other words, biomechanics are the various movement patterns performed by the human body. Therefore, biomechanical analysis is the observation of how these anatomical structures interact to create movement patterns, i.e., running, walking, throwing, etc. Along with palpation, orthopedic and diagnostic testing, biomechanical analysis is one of the most accurate means to assess the cause of a chronic injury and not just address the symptoms this injury presents. The benefit of seeking a health practitioner who is able to perform biomechanical analysis as a means of supplementing their assessment is that by observing the mechanics of any given activity you are able to observe any mechanical flaws or altered movement patterns that may be the root cause of the injury. Unfortunately, in many instances, practitioners place too much emphasis on "where it's sore" as opposed to discovering "why it's sore." By focusing treatment only on the symptoms presented, practitioners will very often miss the reason these symptoms occur. An excellent example of this occurs in the running community. Overuse injury to the illiotibial band (IT band) is very common and may present several different symptoms. Treating only the presented symptoms will provide temporary relief, but in order to completely resolve the problem one must determine not what is sore but more so what is causing the soreness. Several different mechanical deficiencies could result in IT-band-related symptomatology. This includes tightness of the gluteus maximus or tensor fasciae latae, which fuse into the IT band and tense the IT band with contraction. Tightness through these muscles would cause abduction of the leg, placing undue stress on the IT band. It is also possible that weakness of the gluteus medius would cause the hip to jut out with each step, again placing undue stress on the IT band. These are only two of the more frequently seen factors affecting the IT band and causing IT-band-associated symptomatology. Through careful biomechanical assessment a practitioner is able to accurately assess exactly which of these or various other factors may be the cause of discomfort. Treating only the presented symptoms will provide temporary relief, but in order to completely resolve the problem one must determine not what is sore but more so what is causing the soreness. It is important that when performing biomechanical analysis the practitioner tries to observe the activity in its most true state, meaning observing the patient's mechanics in as close to natural setting as possible. For example, if observing a runner's stride, it is vital that the analysis be done without the use of a treadmill. When running on a treadmill the tread basically pulls the runner's legs through the running motion as opposed to the legs propelling the body forward, as it does when running on a stationary surface. This drastically changes the mechanics involved in the running stride and makes an accurate biomechanical assessment impossible. It is also in the patient's best interest that their biomechanical assessment be videotaped. In order to obtain an accurate biomechanical analysis, it is essential that the movement be viewed several times and often be slowed down to observe minute flaws that could have larger symptomatic implications. Biomechanical analysis is the most accurate means of assessing the cause of the injury and not simply addressing the symptoms this injury presents. By treating the true cause of the injury the practitioner will expedite the recovery of the patient and prevent reoccurrence of the same condition. If you've tried several types of therapy and have been unsuccessful in complete recovery or plagued by a recurring injury, perhaps a biomechanical assessment is the missing link to determining not just the symptoms of your injury but the mechanical flaws that may be producing these symptoms. To book your Biomechanical Analysis, call Shephard Health at (403) 543-7499. |
