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Stuck Joints and the Rusty Door Hinge Theory

Everybody has felt the pain of an injured joint. You may have experienced stiffness or dull pain when trying to move or bend. It can also be a sharp stabbing pain. Surrounding muscles often tighten and spasms to protect the injured area.

Why does your subconscious make you change positions and stretch? Have you ever felt the urge to straighten your legs on a long car ride? After a while the knees begin sending pain signals to the brain saying, 'I've been in one position too long and I need to move." The longer your legs are in a fixed position the greater the intensity of the pain signals.

The spine and dicks receive most of their blood flow and nutrients when the joint is moving. Movement and the pressure changes inside the joint bring blood into the area and then push it away. When the joint isn't moving, the blood flow is limited. This is why traction and decompression therapy are successful in treating certain types of low back and disc pain. Decompression creates movement and increases the blood flow to the disc and joints.

Read more about Spinal Decompression Treatment

Rusty Door Hinge

I often say joints are like a rusty door hinge. With the right kind of movement the door hinge can move freely again. We can either slowly rock the door until it moves or give it a quick kick. Stiff and stuck joints can move with the right kind of rocking, of course sometimes a good kick is in order.

Adjusting gets the stuck joints moving which stops the pain signals. Often the body has muscle spasms surrounding a stuck joint to protect it. Since the body is used to the locked position, it will often tighten up and lock the joints again. Each time the joints are adjusted they remain freely movable for longer periods of time before the body locks them up. This is why treatment is often more frequent at the beginning of care and less at the end.

We enhance the adjustment and prolonging joint movement by using heat, electric, traction and stretching to loosen the muscles. Stretching at home keeps the joints moving longer and keeps them from getting as stuck. Ice helps decrease the spasms, blocks pain, and decreases inflammation which all help to further speed the healing process.

Keeping the joints moving is a balance between good and bad. You have to do more good than bad to keep the joints moving. Bad things include poor posture, repetitive motions, physical stress, and previous injuries.

The wear and tear of daily life has to be balanced by the good thing you do for your joints. If you want to slouch over a computer for 50 hours a week, then you need to do a lot of good to get the joints healthy.

The moral of the story is keep those rusty door hinges moving, or I will kick them.

Have a great and posture friendly week.