Canadian RMT Magazine Spring 2016 Volume 1 | Page 18

Human Silly
Putty
Treating Sacroiliac Joint Upslips

A

lthough ‘creep’ is an engineering
term, it also applies to human
tissue…the lumbopelvis in particular. Spinal and sacroiliac
ligaments, joint capsules, facet cartilages
and especially intervertebral discs are
viscoelastic and are somewhat similar to
silly putty. Leave a ball of putty on a table
overnight and by the next morning it’s
deformed into a flattened pancake. So be
it with humans (Fig. 1). We’re taller in the
morning than at bedtime, primarily due
to disc and fascio-ligamentous deformation that occurs throughout the day. Of
course, silly putty is much creepier than
discs, fascia or ligaments but, in time,
gravity combined with injury or overuse,
will deform, and sometimes strain, the
body’s connective tissues. As ligamentous creep turns to strain and the tissue’s
anti-gravity function fails, ligamentous
laxity may affect bony alignment and, if
the brain perceives that as a problem, the
person may experience muscle guarding
or pain.
Contrary to what many docs tell their
patients, most low back and pelvic pain
does not result from a single traumatic

18

By Erik Dalton, Ph.D.
lifting, bending or sports injury, but
rather from cumulative viscoelastic creep
due to lack of rest between loading cycles.
According to Bogduk and Twomey, “After
prolonged strain, spinal ligaments, joint
capsules, and IV discs of the lumbar spine
may creep, and may be liable to injury if
sudden forces are unexpectedly applied
during the vulnerable recovery phase.