Back pain and the tendency to favour one side when standing

Our work within our clinic have shown through observation that people who come in with what looks like a lumbar curvature will surely stand leaning towards one side. In some cases, the tendency to lean on the one leg disappears in just one session of treatment but in other cases the leaning persists even after a few sessions of correction. We found it significant if the difference in weight was 4 kg or more side to side when they stood on two weighing balances at the same time. Also, for those who continued to stand on one side after treatment, they were more likely to have an anatomical leg length difference, or a structural lumbar curve or scoliosis. For those whose centre of gravity was restored almost immediately, their lumbar curvature was compensatory or functional. Adjusting the pelvis was an effective way of restoring balance to the body to those with a functional lumbar curve. More gradual improvements over time were seen with those suffering from structural problems.

We gathered data from a recent Mind Body Spirit Festival held at Fort Canning, 24th - 25th October 2009, where 40 people were invited to take their weight on the weighing scales. 60% of the people volunteering were females. The mean age was 43.3 years. 21/40 people or 52.5% of those who came forward reported previous episodes of back pain. This figure is lower than that reported in the United States where 8/10 Americans claim to have suffered from at least one episode of back pain previously.

19/40 of the people surveyed or 47.5 % measured a difference of 4 kg or more side to side when they stood on the scales. This may or may not be representive of the population of Singapore at large as the people who volunteered probably suspected a back problem when they approached our booth at the festival. Of these, 73.7% admitted to having back pain before, a higher number as expected than for a random sample of people who may or may not be standing leaning to one side.

Many of these people we saw during that weekend will continue to stand and walk with their weight on one side resulting in possible tissue damage to the areas under stress, most likely the lumbosacral and hip joints.