The Pelvis and Emotions
TECHNIQUE
Low Back and Pelvic Pain: Is There a Connection to Emotional Stress?
William H. Koch
DC
As chiropractors, we are all aware of the neurological supremacy of the cervical spine. While we usually associate emotional imbalance with cervical subluxations, it is important that we don’t overlook the intimate link between pelvic and emotional balance. The connection is very real. Sometimes an unbalanced pelvis causes great emotional distress, and sometimes, perhaps even more often, emotional upset and stress cause acute low back and pelvic pain.
If you read my article “The Pelvic Imperative,” you know I place a high degree of importance on balancing the pelvis as a prerequisite to all other spinal correction. I have found that without a balanced pelvis or foundation, no other corrections will hold.
Every chiropractor has had patients who came in with acute, severe low back pain, and they were very upset, not knowing why or how it happened. “Doc, I don’t understand. All I did was bend over to brush my teeth and it felt like I was kicked by a mule. Now I can’t straighten up, can hardly move, and it hurts like heck. And on top of that, I feel like the world is caving in on me. I’m out of control and can’t do anything about anything! I can’t figure out why this thing has me so upset that I can hardly think straight. What’s going on with me?”
Not only do patients not understand why their back suddenly went out, but they also can’t figure out why they became so upset and lost their usual emotional control. In other words, they are suddenly and completely “out of balance.”
Of course, we all know that the little thing that “suddenly” happened to cause their crippling pain is often just the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.” Usually, they have had some structural instability or subluxation for a long time but had been compensating well enough to deny there was a problem until that “little thing”—final straw—landed on the weak foundation and triggered an acute episode of severe sacroiliac pain.
When that happens, it can be very emotionally upsetting to the patient. When one of my patients comes in upset because he or she is in so much pain and cannot figure out how or why
it happened, I know that the most important thing I can do is spend a few minutes to explain what has happened and why the patient is having such a surprising emotional reaction.
I explain that the low back and pelvis is the body’s foundation. Our physical strength and ability to walk, run, work, and defend ourselves are dependent upon the strength of that foundation, and if our foundation is knocked out of balance, it can destabilize our emotions too.
There is a correlation between pelvic imbalance resulting from sprain/strain injury and emotional distress. Specifically, when the sacroiliac joint is sprained and strained, it alters the weight-bearing ability of that joint and, consequently, the body’s overall balance and stability. The severity of this condition ranges from mildly to severely painful. In its early stage, it may only involve the sacroiliac joint, but with time and increased severity, it can extend to all seven pelvic joints and cause widespread low back, pelvic, hip, and leg pain.
Since the pelvis is the weight-bearing foundation of the whole body, any imbalance or failure of this complex joint system will result in an overall loss of strength and stability of the entire musculoskeletal system.
On a subconscious level, probably as one of our instinctive survival mechanisms, when our basic physical foundational support fails us, it can cause us to feel weak, helpless, and vulnerable. That translates into anxiety and even depression if it goes on for very long.
On a primal emotional level, this condition is perceived as weakness, vulnerability, and an inability to defend, protect, and provide for ourselves and those who depend on us. This causes insecurity and stress on a deep emotional level. Our ability to survive and thrive in either a primitive or modern environment is dependent on our strength and mobility.
These are common emotional reactions to injury and pain, especially of the lower back, pelvis, and sacroiliac.
On a neurophysiological level, the pain and weakness associated with sacroiliac/pelvic injuries can cause a shift from our normal autonomic “rest-and-digest,” or parasympathetic state, to the emergency “fight-or-flight,” or sympathetic state. This is very uncomfortable for even a short period, but when it is prolonged, it produces a severely stressful conflict between our need to protect ourselves and our ability to do so.
The physical pain associated with a sprain/strain injury to the pelvis can be excruciating, sometimes even greater than the pain of a herniated disc. The good news is that when the proper and precise chiropractic correction of the pelvis is
made, this condition can be resolved quickly and efficiently.
It is always gratifying to see how quickly a patient can feel better once he or she has a renewed sense of well-being after pelvic function has been restored. The speed with which this can happen cannot be explained by the reduction of pain alone, but also by a shift out of the “fight-or-flight” mode back to our normal, relaxed, “rest-and-digest” state, where we can look at our world more objectively.
What I have just described is known as a “somatopsychic reaction” in which our physical state affects our emotional state. The physical imbalance caused the emotional symptoms.
Conversely, our emotional state can also have a powerful physical effect known as a psychosomatic reaction. Psychosomatic reactions are often mistakenly thought to be a form of neurotic behavior—frequently dismissed as being “all in your head.” However, psychosomatic reactions are very real and should not have a negative connotation. Quite frequently, an acute emotional upset can knock out the low back/pelvis/ sacroiliac as quickly and severely as a major physical jolt.
I remember a personal incident that illustrates this well. One afternoon while I was doing paperwork in my back office, I was jolted by a tremendous crash that shook the building. I ran to the front of the building and found that a Pontiac had crashed through the front wall of my office, crushing my con-
sultation desk and destroying my Zenith Hylo table. If I had been sitting at my desk (or adjusting a patient) at the time, I (and the patient) probably would have been killed. The impact of this shock was immediate and dramatic. Within moments, without any physical exertion, I experienced severe sacroiliac pain that almost brought me to my knees.
Many types of traumatic stress can cause this type of reaction. Accidents, a cancer or other potentially fatal disease diagnosis, worry about family members who are somehow endangered, death of a loved one, divorce, extreme financial distress, a job loss or major change in life circumstances, and natural disasters are all potential triggers.
After spending almost 20 years in active hurricane areas of the tropical Atlantic and living through too many hurricanes to count,
I definitely have found a post-hurricane increase in sudden, crippling, extreme low back pain, usually involving sacroiliac slippage and separation.
At this time of extreme turmoil in the world, the country is under assault from all directions and severe stress is epidemic because of ongoing violent political protests the constant threat of terrorist attacks, the imminent threat of war with enemies in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere, frequent, unpredictable mass shootings or vehicles running down groups of pedestrians, and a historically high number of deadly and disastrous hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and fires. Because of this, chiropractors across the country may notice a huge increase in emotionally driven pain disorders, especially involving the very low back and sacroiliac.
As chiropractors, we are in a unique position to provide essential support for emotionally driven conditions. When emotional trauma is sudden and acute and we address problems right away, often we can obtain quick and lasting results by achieving pelvic balance and good cervical alignment. When traumatic stress is ongoing and life altering, then structural imbalance and pain may become chr onic and recurrent. In chr onic cases with ongoing stress, we must recommend the patient address emotional issues through counseling, meditation, yoga, tapping (EFT), hypnosis, or other means of stress management in addition to continuing chiropractic care.
With a little detective work, an understanding of the dramatic effect emotions can have on our bodies, and some good chiropractic care, we can help our patients with psychosomatic as well as somatopsychic disorders.
Dr. Bill Koch is a 1967 Cum Lande graduate of Palmer. After 30 years of practice in The Hamptons, NY, he retired and moved toAbaco, Bahamas, where he and his wife Kiana travel by boat to provide Chiropractic care to the residents of the remote out islands. Dr. Koch is author of the books "Chiropractic the Superior Alternative" and "Conversations with Chiropractic Technique Masters" available through Amazon.com. He also writes a blog: "ChiroPractice Made Perfect" https://drwilliamhkoch.com. Dr. Koch teaches seminars " in Integrated Advanced Chiropractic Techniques®, www.kochseminars.com. He may be contacted at outis/anddcaDr Will iamHKoch.com
