Back Pain - Dorn Spinal Therapy

The Dorn Spinal Therapy is a gentle treatment for the spine and all joints. It starts with the checking of the leg length, as 80% of people have a difference in their leg length, often without knowing it. Any differences are balanced by easy exercises to bring the joints of the lower limbs back into their correct positions. Once the legs are balanced, the hip is the next area to check. It is examined for any twist or scoliotic appearance. Once the persons 'base' is balanced, the spine then gets examined.

"Displaced" vertebrae are brought back into place by the pressure of the thumb next to the spinal vertebrae. For this procedure to take place it is essential for the client to move their arm or leg in a swinging motion, depending on which area we work on. This movement relaxes the muscles so the vertebrae can move back into position.

With this therapy tendons and ligaments are not stretched or overstretched; they adapt after a very short time and support the muscles to keep the vertebrae in position.
The whole treatment is gentle and safe, no cracking or abrupt movements are used, just the thumb on a specific area. Many problems such as headaches, dizziness, ear or eye problems can be the result of nerve end pressure in the cervical area of the spine. By using this gentle massage technique these problems can be reduced. To work on the cervical area the head is gently turned whilst the therapist finds the displaced vertebrae and then massages it back into position.
In case of sore or uneven joints there are some easy exercises to reduce pain and move the joints into their correct positions.

The Breuss massage is a gentle and sensitive treatment for the spine which is combined with the Dorn Spinal Therapy. By gently stretching the spine the discs get decompressed which enables the St. John´s Wort oil, which is used in the massage, to penetrate into the system. Breuss uses the image of a sponge to explain the process. A sponge with a 50kg weight on becomes very thin. But by pouring water on the sponge when the weight is gone, which in our case would be when we rest, it grows back to its normal size. Similar happens to the discs. When they soak up the oil they expand and the distance between the vertebrae expands, allowing more flexibility for the spine.

The spine is not only the central "support organ" of the body but more important the protective coating for the bone marrow, the higher "command organ" for all functions of the organs, tissues, even each cell in the body. Pain, malfunction and tissue changes - not only in the back but also in every other body region - are often caused by an irritation of a spinal nerve. This means that e.g. a poor digestion can be related to a displaced vertebra in the corresponding area and therefor can be treated via the spine. Therefor it always is worth having doing a spinal check-up for any ailments that cannot be cured or before undergoing surgery. "sometimes it would be advisable to have the second thoracic vertebra checked before implanting a cardiac pacemaker" is one of Dieter Dorn´s humorous comments.

Dorn Spinal Therapists always check the leg length of their clients first and correct any difference with easy steps and simple home exercises to keep the corrections in place.
Work on the structural alignment of a body always happens in motion, which means that the client's cooperation is vital to the success of the treatment.

Why is the balancing of leg length differences so important?
When we walk on 2 different long legs the longer leg constantly impacts on the hip which ultimately results in a hip moving anterior, posterior or inferior. This change creates an unstable base for the spine and the foundation for a strong back is not given any more. As we all know the body has amazing abilities to compensate for imbalances but there will be that one day where it just can't cope anymore and the slightest wrong movement can have a massive impact, pain. And people wonder why, as they can't remember having done anything wrong.
Bringing the leg back in balance often can already resolve lower back pain and it certainly is a good start to help with the entire structure.

Why is the movement during the treatment so important?
The structure of our body is very clever and strongly designed to give us the possibility of doing what ever we do with our body. Yet the structure itself is at the same time quite flexible and that is where a Dorn Spinal Therapist works. We try to straighten out any imbalances by making use of this flexibility and by supporting the body's work with the movement. That means that by e.g. correcting an unbalanced hip we work with the rhythm of the movement that comes with swinging a leg like pendulum. With every back swing we move the hip and it doesn't take too many swings for the hip to realign.

Also when we look for any "deviated" vertebrae we use the movement of the client's body to massage the vertebrae back into the right position and it is easier for the vertebra to actually move back as the swinging creates little gaps in the spine which open the space for the vertebra. Yet at the same time, as the client always moves the opposite leg or arm from where the therapist is working, the muscles are working as well and create a natural barrier so the vertebra can never ever move too far.
And even the cervical alignment is easy to exercise as we there use the rotational movement of the head to create the loosening of the spine and realignment of vertebrae.
All in all Dorn Spinal Therapy is a very simple technique which fortunately shows great results and definitely gives hope to those who think they have tried everything and anyone opting for a more gentle way of treating back problems.
Barbara Simon is the owner of Back Care Solutions, a clinic specialised in Back Care, and an internationally aclaimed trainer for Dorn Spinal Therapy. She has been trained in Dorn Spinal Therapy back in Germany by the Master himself and introduced it to Australia in 2000 when she moved there. Now Barbara wants to spread the word around the world as the results she and her students achieve by applying Dorn Therapy are outstanding.