The mechanism of a somatic dysfunction.

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Permalink Reply by Clement Rhein on May 30, 2008 at 1:45pm

HA HA! Ain't that the best question ever?!
Here's a few thoughts dude:
SD is where a tissue doesn't fulfill its function completely anymore, causing asymmetry/imbalance/disintergrity...

Causes:
Environmental - A demand on the body placed in a chronic fashion will lead the body to adapt to that (same as when a muscle becomes fibrotic - adaptation due to muscle being hypercontracted chronically/all the time in order to same energy). A good example is L5 flexion lesion, which I find times and times again. Throughout our life we sit - at school, uni, work, driving. It really doesn't take much for the pelvis too be orientated in a slight counter nutation when siting. This causes L5 to be in flexion, causing a chronic flexion lesion of L5 with ligamentous involvement (shortening).
Traumatic - where tissue are damaged and the body does not heal properly/fully. Sometimes it does sometimes it doesn't. Why? I think if there is already a SD there then the body's function will be impaired regarding the repair process. e.g twist ankle. There is already some tension in this leg due to a SD in that knee. The tension in the muscles, fascia, ligaments... is altered and the healing process takes place with respect to this altered tension. The fibers being healed respond to tension stimuli to guide the healing (good old fibroblast!). So in the end the repair fibers create a SD at this joint/area as their create an incorrect tension. Also, the healing process should take longer at the site of a SD as the tension will affect the fluids - arteries, veins, lymphatics (the rule of the artery is supreme!).
Emotional - we all know that when we are scared, stressed, we can feel our diaphragm skip a beat - the butterflies in the stomach. That simply shows that emotions are expressed through the body. If you can palpate which emotion that is, to which event its connected to, then you have a better picture of this SD and you can release it. That's one reason why SD may come back times and times again after treating them.
psychological/social - there's quite a lot of literature on this (only know french ones though). Some call it body mapping. relating the function of joints to our social life. Its a good complement to osteopathy I think.
Hereditary - that's one I've recently come across brought to me by a doctor, homeopath, acupuncturist. A problem in someone's life, will cause a tension/SD somewhere in their body. This SD will be somewhat recorded within his genes and may be passed on to his kid(s). That's interesting cause it means that SD you have may not "belong to you" or a result of your own being...

So the body deals with them the best way it can. And if it has enough energy to deal with it then you don't hear anything from the SD (yet anyway). However, if it doesn't have enough energy then things start to become symptomatic.

This is my view, and therefore, probably wrong! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Joel Haugeberg on May 30, 2008 at 2:08pm

Thanks Clement!

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Edis on May 30, 2008 at 2:09pm

Joel

I can point you in the direction of two interesting reviews on the subject, which have influenced me.

The first is a model of SD by an American DO, Richard Van Buskirk, in his book on "Still" Techniques. The second is an article by an Australian DO, Gary Fryer.

The refernces are:

Fryer, G (2003) “Intervertebral dysfunction: a discussion of the manipulable spinal lesion”, Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 6(2): 64-73

Van Buskirk, RL (2000) The Still Technique Manual, American Academy of Osteopathy

Hope that's of some use.

Jonathan Edis

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Permalink Reply by Joel Haugeberg on May 30, 2008 at 3:05pm

Thank you Jonathan!

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