A letter sent in response to an article in Talkback Magazine

For One and All

Alexander Barrie

M.RS.S. R.C.S.T.

I am prompted to write this letter for all and everybody because of the pathos I feel, engendered by reading the contents of readers' letters published in Talkback Magazine, (National Backpain Association). A large proportion (95%) of which are on the subject of their back-pain and consequent abject misery, and the resulting diagnoses and prognoses offered by us "Professionals" (so called) of all medical persuasions.

When will we "Professionals" understand the obvious (it's in the x-ray photographs to be read) and that is: as long as there has not been infection or contusion as such, to a given part of the human body adversely affecting the skeletal frame, then virtually all spinal deterioration giving rise to the rupturing of a cartilaginous disc, spondylitis, osteoarthritis, coccygodinia, sciatica, lumbago and more is due as a consequence of pelvic misalignment as driven by unstable sacral/lumbar components. Even the origin of knee and ankle pain/dysfunction (spontaneous), as well as the origin of tennis elbow and frozen shoulder have their roots in a pelvis which has moved out-of-kilter. Another interesting piece of information: hernia inguinal/femoral have their source in a "dropped" pelvis-the fascia being abnormally stretched thus over a period of years.

The pelvis is not usually a problem to re-align. The problem is whether it will stay re-aligned once it has been adjusted. This common pelvic instability (because of the infamous weak sacro-iliac joints) becomes the nightmare of most osteopaths, chiropractors and others who bother to look at the pelvis for the origin of the back problem, knowing that in most of the cases they will treat they will only be able to ease the condition/dysfunction. Curing it is something else, unless they can stabilise the pelvis, the basic problem remains.

It is essential to exercise, to take great care, as the articles in the magazines say, as your doctors, consultants and specialists say, and as your therapist suggests. Yet just imagine the more spectacular results accruing if all these suggestions are carried-out with a pelvis that is straight and not distorted, which in nine out of every ten cases it is.

Put another way :-

all palliative actions and recommendations to keep the body/mind active, quite rightly, are usually carried out with a misaligned pelvis and therefore no cure is possible, because the underlying cause of most back, and many other consequential medical problems, namely, a misaligned pelvic girdle has not been addressed.

The pelvis may pathologically descend on one side causing the leg on that side to be more extended than its partner leg, or the pelvis may ascend on one side with its sacral component swinging backwards on an horizontal plane causing its wing (ilium) to twist forwards in such a way as to lift/shorten the leg on that side. Whichever way will have deleterious consequences to the segments (vertebrae) of the spine, as they are now sitting-on an oblique base (pelvis) and not an horizontal one, essential for skeletal/spinal health.

In addition to receiving not unpleasurable treatment to straighten the spine such as with osteopathy, chiropractic, shiatsu, cranio-sacral therapy and in fact any hands-on treatment to encourage blood flow oxygen, fluid and 'chi' flow, the patient really has to be taught some very particular techniques to practise daily to help keep the pelvis straight, thereby allaying pain in the back and elsewhere. These special techniques are not difficult to perform and take only a few minutes to do. It means giving back 50% of the responsibility to the patient the other 50% to be shouldered by the specialist. Thus, large numbers of us will enjoy a cure in time.

The problem to surmount is that most therapists/doctors of all persuasions do not know the techniques required to empower the patient to help him/herself. The necessary work to be carried out by the patient between visits to the therapists/doctors.

The present ethos of western countries in particular, quite wrongly in my view, almost encourages the patient to leave all effort to get well to be the responsibility of the medical men/woman, usually in the form of pills, injections, and possible surgical procedures.

Only a few of us alas know which systems to teach. There is yet no unifying corpus of knowledge taught to those who matter in the musculo-skeletal pain business. However, it surely is only a matter of time before these special techniques become available to all who want them. Before they do, doctors and specialists and others should look to the pelvis as the origin of most back pathologies. It is really so simple hence the reason this has been missed by most professionals.

So many horrible medical procedures can be avoided if the pelvis is first returned to its integral position. For some it is too late - alas! However, look to the x-rays, front, back and sides and the lesions I have described will, become obvious.

Alexander Barrie is a registered Shiatsu Practitioner, a registered Cranio-Sacral Therapist, a teacher of Hatha Yoga and other oriental disciplines and is the founder of the Alexander Barrie System of Pelvic Correction.

Teacher of Hatha Yoga, Meditation and Specific Oriental Disciplines