The Hip Bone is connected to the….

Last month I experienced a first. My first earthquake. Actually it wasn’t my first, but the only one I’ve ever felt. Strange because I live through a few in California and Asia that knocked stuff off the wall, but I was sleeping or just didn’t notice. But the big (not that big according to West Coasters) East Coast Quake of 2011 I felt. It’s one of those forever remember what you were doing moments: sitting where I’m sitting now. My mind went through the list of possibilities: Another truck hit the light pole/bank on the other side of the parking lot (happened already), this close to APG I thought they did something or worse Peach Bottom; then one of the dozens of helicopters flying past went down. (My brother the Air Force pilot and Astronautical Engineer has always said planes are designed to fly, helicopters to crash).  No matter, when you live this close to DC, NYC, an army base and nuclear plant, your heart skips a beat anytime there’s a rumble.

Turns out it was an earthquake down in Virginia, 154 miles away from my front door, according to Google. That was the epicenter, but it was felt as far away as New York and Georgia. According to one of my very nerdy friends, the reason this earthquake has such a large spread was something to do with how the continental shelf is connected. Your back is the same way.

Let’s say your main diagnosis is a herniated L5 disc. Your disc is the epicenter of your problem, not the only problem. That disc doesn’t exist in a vacuum, It’s attached to stuff (and yes, stuff is the technical term). The damage from a bad disc spreads out all over your body. It leads to muscle spasm up and down the spine; muscle imbalance throughout the trunk, arms and legs; tendonopathy, neuropathy, and myopathy from head to toe and can mess with the innards too.

This is why we employee a whole body approach to treating what may seem like 1 sq inch of disease, but that’s attached to stuff.