Is Inflammation the Primary Problem?

Inflammation is rarely the main cause of complaints. And before any symptoms are addressed with pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories or injections, a quality clinical exam must be performed. Typically a mechanical problem will be found - which is treated with targeted movement. While inflammation may indeed be present, it almost always resolves once the real mechanical cause is resolved. Inflammation is usually therefore a symptom (not a cause).

If a patient does not respond to mechanical care, chemical (anti-inflammatory) care may be indicated. I have suggested anti-inflammatory measures in just 4-5 patients in the past couple years. So if your knee keeps swelling, for example, the question is why. A joint disturbance (derangement) can easily cause consistent inflammation. So can any number of problems.

​I clearly remember one patient years ago who had years of knee pain with episodes of swelling that got so bad she had it drained many times. An avid runner, she was sidelined. The issue was coming from her low back and after 5 visits of different movements, her knee was good to go. Once her muscles had their electricity restored in the spine they could control to the knee so it didn’t reactively hurt and swell. -- Laura