I’ve been getting asked by runners to explain how Runners Knee pain can be caused by a Gut and Adrenal problem. Yesterday on our Podcast When Doctors Have No Answers I was actually talking to my doctor friend and colleague, Dr. Tom Giammatteo DC ND IMTC about this.
And he said “I can treat the knee for weeks and months without getting a result…or I can treat the Gut and see the knee heal in a few days”. I’m paraphrasing here but this is the idea.
So what’s going on?
One way I can explain this is some common things you already know.
When someone has severe arm and hand pain and numbness and mid back pain and heart burn and jaw pain…. A skilled physical therapist would not just start working to take away the muscle and joint spasms and pains….
You know why?…. Because those are classic signs of a heart attack. We’d send them to the medical doctor to make sure we were not dealing with a big heart problem…
I actually had a client like that a few months ago. Once the doctor cleared her and assured her it was not a heart problem we worked using the Integrative Manual Therapy techniques to help her heal…
And the thing was I did IMT techniques for her heart and aorta as well as the nerves from her chest and neck…. She didn’t have a clinical heart problem….
The doctor cleared her for that… but she did have restrictions and disruptions in the heart and blood vessels and her body in it’s wisdom was using her muscles and joints and nerves to spasm and tighten in order to protect her.
Treatment to the back muscles and joints or the shoulder or arm would not have helped.
So this brings us to Runners Knee Pain….
Many times… in fact most times, in my 39 years of clinical work, I find that the knee is just the “squeaky wheel” or the warning light on the car dashboard. It’s not the cause of the problem. It’s just the effect.
With knee pain alignment and structure are key. And one reason a knee can be out of alignment, think knock knees or pronated feet or weak rolled in hips can be the Gut.
The large intestine, sigmoid and cecum are big organs. And if they have what’s called Leaky Gut Syndrome, the body in it’s wisdom will lock down the pelvis and hips.
Smart body… but now the pelvis and hips are tight and compressed so when the foot hits the ground, the reaction forces hit hard and the knee takes the brunt of the force.
Then we see the patellar tendonitis, and Osgood Slaughters and MCL and meniscus issues. These findings will be present and an ortho doctor or a regular ortho PT will try and strengthen the knees and hips or put someone in orthotics but the problem is the Gut causing the pelvis to lock down.
Adrenals are another part of this problem. With adrenal stress the line that travels from the adrenals and kidneys, it’s an acupuncture meridian line, is affected causing the hip to internally rotate, the knee to roll in and the foot to pronate.
Now we could try to just fix the joints and muscles but the problem will keep coming back. Because the body is protecting the gut and adrenals.
So how to fix it?….
The key is to find why the Gut and Adrenals are having a hard time. Many times simply going 100% gluten free can be a big help. Sometimes getting off peanuts which greatly affect adrenals and kidneys can help.
Avoiding processed sugars and simple carbs and getting enough high quality fats and proteins and fermented foods can heal the gut, take down inflammation and restore the pelvis and leg alignment.
The key is to find out what it is your body is protecting you from. Solving that and testing and retesting the result. How you run and walk.
Reach out to me if you have a running injury or any health condition that doctors don’t have answers for yet.
I can do our mapping assessment and see what it is your body is protecting you from and how to help you heal and get your running and life back.
Here’s my email. ralph@RalphHavens.com and our website www.RalphHavens.com and phone 360.599.2217
You can heal… you can run again.
Let’s get out there and live… really live.
Ralph
Ralph Havens PT IMTC
www.RalphHavens.com
Beyond Limits Physical Therapy
1134 – 10th street (Fairhaven)
Bellingham, WA 98225
360.599.2117
Recent Comments