The Pattern
Victoria - British Columbia - Canada - Vertigo- dizziness - motion sickness - TMJ problems - jaw pain - hip pelvic pain - Headaches - Migraines - Headache Relief - Migraine Relief - Migraine Headaches - Migraine Symptoms - Tension Headaches - Chronic Headaches - Alternative Medicine - Neck Pain - Lower Back Pain - Migraine Headaches - Migraine Symptoms

We have found throughout, a specific common denominator. The typical patient will have the pelvis out of alignment with the left hip rotated slightly backward. We believe this pattern, and the problems it initiates, exacerbates and/or perpetuates to be responses to an internal influence, beginning in the womb.

This pattern has been present in every individual examined to date, including infants and toddlers. In infants, the pattern is most easily found in the alignment of the head. In toddlers, the pelvic pattern is evident.

We have not, to date, seen a patient with the right hip rotated backward. We suspect a backward rotated right hip might be present in an individual with situs inversus totalis, total reversal of organs (all of the chest and abdominal organs are reversed and appear in mirror image). Situs inversus totalis has been estimated to occur once in about 6-8,000 births.

We suspect this may be a factor with a small number of mirror image twins dependant on the degree of mirroring. Mirror twins are identical twins with opposite features. If you have this condition yourself or if you know of anyone with this we would appreciate hearing from you.

A prevalent medical opinion is that this pelvic asymmetry is due to a leg length difference. To be horizontal and balanced, the pelvis must be supported by legs of equal length. If there was a true leg length difference, one hip would be lower, and this would be apparent in the level of the iliac crests (the tops of the hips). Where this pattern is present, the iliac crests are level. The torquing of the pelvis with the backward rotation of the left hip bone create the illusion of a difference in leg length, with the left leg appearing shorter. The left leg, however, will be less developed muscularly and there will be points of adaptation on the inside of the left knee, left ankle and the left foot.

The imbalanced gluteal and lower back muscles hold the left hip bone in backwards rotation, pulling the torso to the left. This alarms and mobilizes the body’s system of positional and postural control, initiating a predictible, identifiable and treatable spiral of adaptive compensatory muscle tension, tenderness, and trigger point activity above and below the pelvis. This has the potential to initiate, exacerbate and/or perpetuate a wide range of acute and chronic conditions. The actual pelvic and compensatory patterns are, of course, not new. The Victoria Headache Clinic approach is.

These soft tissue changes will be most apparent in the following key areas. The areas of symptoms and pain usually follow this pattern of muscular imbalance, however opposite or both sides, may be affected.

Beginning with the pelvic girdle, the muscles of the left lower back and the left buttock must remain in constant tension because of the imbalanced pelvic girdle. They are trying to pull the torso to the left. These muscles are overworked, and over time they recruit the aid of neighbouring muscles in an outward spreading ripple effect. Left low back pain is common, often accompanied by triggerpoint referral pain down the left leg. This referred pain down the leg is often mistakenly identified as sciatic nerve symptoms.

These compensations are not simply pulls to the left or right. The spine actually spirals upward. A spine with Scoliosis has abnormal curves with a rotational deformity. The most common curves are a left curve in the lumbar area and a right thoracic (mid-upperback) curve. Interestingly, these correspond completely with the pattern of adaptive compensation stemming from the pelvic asymmetry.

Pain in the mid-back, “bra-strap” region commonly manifests as a tighter, more tender and larger band of musculature on the right side, countering the pull to the left in the lower back by pulling the torso to the right.

The muscles in the front of the neck on the left, and in the back on the right must continuously compensate, always tighter than the opposite sides under normal circumstances. Further, the tightened muscles in the front of the neck on the left (the sternocleidomastoid in particular), create an imbalanced tension on the left temporal bone, pulling it into posterior rotation, raising the left ear and eye and disrupting the delicate balance of the inner ear mechanism. This can send confused images to the brain, resulting in vertigo, dizziness, balance problems, motion sickness, nausea and vomiting. Muscles in the front of the neck can initiate myofascial triggerpoint referrals down the arm causing areas of numbness, tingling and/or pain and can occasionally mimic carpal tunnel symptoms.

This same imbalance causes the sockets in the temporal bones that the lower jaw fits into to be shifted out of alignment leading to potential jaw problems.

Dental occlusion is dependant on symmetry in the articular surfaces of the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ). With the jaw joints out of alignment, the teeth don’t meet properly, resulting in a variety of TMJ problems: an unstable bite, pain, limited jaw movement, jaw clicking or popping, teeth clenching and/or grinding in a possible attempt to restore occlusion.

The hypertoned muscles in the back of the neck on the right activate a specific pattern of triggerpoints, referring pain to the head in the typical migraine and headache pattern. The majority of migraine and headache sufferers describe pain beginning in the back of the neck on the right and moving up behind the ear to settle in behind the right eye, the typical referral pattern of upper trapezius trigger points. These same conditions in the back of the neck on the left and left side migraines and headaches are much less common and can usually be traced to some form of lateral whiplash-type trauma in the history.

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