Runner's Knee and Upper Cervical Care

by DrWard

Runner’s knee and upper cervical chiropractic care? This original story appeared in the Fall 2013 NUCCA News, the quarterly newsletter of the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. It was part of one of three very different stories about healing through upper cervical care. This true-life story comes from Dr. Nathan Wheat in central Iowa, and was written by Dr. Zachary Ward.

Amanda Stevenson’s Knee Pain

Amanda Stevenson decided to get healthy and that running was going to be her way to do it. But when a common leg injury reared its head, she discovered getting her own head on straight with Dr. Nathan Wheat was key to getting her back on track.

"I ran in high school, and running was the only thing I knew," she told the NUCCA News. "I worked up from walking to running 30 minutes without stopping. Then I started entering races."

Six months into regular workouts and race training, Amanda ran into a common problem for distance athletes. "I developed a typical case of runner’s knee," she said. "It hurt so bad that it hurt even when I wasn’t running. I was told that I needed to rest, that I needed to take a break from running."

With just six weeks until an upcoming 20K race, Amanda did not think she was going to be able to run. But her stride and her pain would quickly change after a visit to NUCCA chiropractor, Dr. Nathan Wheat in Ames, Iowa.

"I went in [for care] and honestly I didn’t know if it was going to work," Amanda said. "But after my first few adjustments, I felt an immediate difference. I could tell that the biomechanics of my running had changed. That my knee had changed."

Not only was Amanda amazed that she could return to running so quickly, she was amazed to successfully complete her 20K race without any problems in her knee.

"I ran my race with no pain. I was certain even after I saw the improvements that the pain was going to show up again. I thought it was too simple. It has to be more complicated than that. But I ran my race and I finished a lot faster than I expected."

As Amanda continued her care under Dr. Wheat, she noticed she started achieving faster running times. For interval trainings her miles now come in at under 7:30, four minutes faster than when she first began running.

Amanda is now training for a marathon, and is convinced that her upper cervical care is an important part of her performance, not just in the healing of pain. "I know that having my body in alignment has made me faster."

(Editor's note: Remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for any condition, disease or symptom.)

Aberrant Upper Cervical Arthrokinematics can cause Foot Pain

Male, Age 29, Case of Achilles Tendonitis, Uneven Running Gait

This 29 year old runner had run during high school and college, but had to stop in recent years due to chronic achilles tendonitis. He had tried many forms of treatment but was unable to alleviate the pain unless he stopped running altogether. He also described himself an having an "uneven gait" when he ran. He claimed that he felt like he struck harder on one leg compared to the other side.

During his initial examination, a spinal injury was discovered, with the primary site located at his upper neck. The neck injury was causing his spine and pelvis to shift into a stressed, weakened posture, that was putting greater pressure on one leg compared to the other. After having his neck injury corrected, all Achilles pain healed and remained absent so that he was able to once again resume running 60 miles per week.

(Remember the old song, “…your foot bone’s connected to your shin bone and your shin bone’s connected to…” Eventually you start to see that the whole body is connected. An area as profound neurologically for balance mechanisms as the upper cervical spine makes it very clear how a problem here could be a factor in someone’s foot problems.)