Your hip, pelvis and lower back are integral to the way you stand, walk and run. Each joint in your spine must move correctly and have a stable tension/compression soft tissue matrix surrounding it in order to be biomechanically efficient. Small misalignments in the way your spine joins your pelvis or the way your pelvis joins your hips can lead to poor biomechanical movements in your back, hips, knees or feet. Often it is difficult to know who to see about your back pain but by assessing your biomechanics and walking or running posture (gait) our clinicians can determine the underlying cause of your back pain, treatment can be given or if necessary further referral advised to the right medical professional.

Some biomechanical issues that may result in hip or back pain include:

Leg Length Discrepancy (LLD)

When one of your legs is longer than the other (LLD) pain can develop in your back or hips as they are forced to twist in compensation for your body’s uneven movements. Over time the action of this twist places excessive strain on your soft tissue structures and increases the wear and tear at your joints.

A LLD is usually described in one of two ways:

1. Structural: This is where one of your legs is longer than the other and may be a result of the way you have developed, a break or fracture to one of the bones in your leg, surgery or a joint replacement.

2. Functional: This is where your bones are the same length in each leg but you stand, walk or run as if they are not. Causes may include one of your feet being flatter than the other, or one of your knees staying bent as you walk. If your spine is not joined smoothly to your pelvis this can also give you a functional LLD.

To successfully diagnose and treat a LLD it is important to identify if you have a functional or structural difference. But most important is to discover how your body is compensating for your biomechanics. An in depth biomechanics assessment will discover the underlying cause of your pain.

For more information about how you get injured and how to recover from injury see the science bit.

Poor core stability

This is when the muscles and ligaments around your hip, pelvis and lower back are not operating in balance with each other. This causes your pelvis and/or hip to move out of synchronisation with the rest of your body resulting in strain on your soft tissues and over use of other joints. Not only affecting your back and hips but often, affecting your knees and ankles as well.

For more information about how you get injured and how to recover from injury see the science bit.

High or low arched feet

Depending on which you have, increased impact shock or increased twisting is sent back up your leg causing stress and strain in your back, pelvis and hips.

The underlying cause of back pain must be established if long-term recovery is to be achieved. If you are suffering from back pain but are unsure if it linked to your standing, walking or running gait/posture some things to look for include:

• Calf and hamstring cramps
• Toe deformities including hammer toes or bunions
• Uneven or increased shoe wear

This is not an exhaustive list. If you are suffering with back pain, do you have other aches and pains in your feet or legs? This could be a sign that your pain is biomechanical in nature see the science bit for more information.

If back pain is getting you down, speak to one of out expert clinicians today.

For more information about how you get injured and how to recover from injury see the science bit.

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