Mechanical dysfunction rarely originates where it hurts. When a patient walks in with debilitating lower back pain, the source of that pain is almost never isolated to the lumbar region alone — it is a downstream consequence of a chain that has been broken somewhere upstream.
This is the foundational insight behind the whole-body approach practiced at Beverly Hills Spine & Rehabilitation. And it is why two patients with identical MRI findings can respond completely differently to the same treatment protocol.
The Kinetic Chain: How Pain Travels
The human body is a closed kinetic chain. Every joint, muscle, fascia, and nerve communicates with every other. The foot influences the hip. The hip governs the pelvis. The pelvis dictates lumbar load. When one link is dysfunctional — whether from a previous injury, chronic tightness, or structural imbalance — adjacent structures compensate. That compensation, sustained over months or years, is what ultimately manifests as pain.
In clinical practice, this means a patient whose lower back pain is traced to inhibited glute medius muscles may actually have developed that inhibition from chronic ankle pronation sustained years earlier. The ankle was the first domino. The back is the last one to fall — and the loudest.
What ‘Whole Body’ Actually Means in Practice
A whole-body diagnostic approach does not simply mean examining more regions. It means understanding the interdependence of those regions — how they load and unload each other through movement — and identifying the primary driver of dysfunction rather than treating each painful structure in isolation.
At our practice, the initial evaluation includes:
- Full postural assessment in static and dynamic states
- Gait analysis
- Regional mobility testing
- Neurological screening
- Review of prior imaging
The Role of Neuromuscular Re-Education
Identifying the source is only half the work. The body also develops compensatory movement patterns that persist even after the original dysfunction is corrected. These patterns are neurologically encoded — the brain has learned to move around the problem. Without deliberate neuromuscular re-education, the pain tends to return.
This is why our treatment protocols are inherently multi-phase: structural correction, load management, and movement re-patterning. Each phase is individualized based on the patient’s specific compensation history, not a generic protocol.
Treating the whole body is solely dependent upon having an intimate understanding of each of its individual parts. Mechanical dysfunction of non-traumatic origin is practically certain to cause — or be caused by — dysfunction in another region.
— Dr. Amin JavidCase Example: The Hip-Back Connection
One of the most common patterns seen at our Beverly Hills clinic involves hip flexor dominance in patients who spend significant time seated. Chronically shortened iliopsoas muscles tilt the pelvis anteriorly, increasing lumbar lordosis and compressive load on the posterior disc margins. The result is predictable: facet irritation, nerve compression, and — eventually — the referral to our office after other treatments have provided only temporary relief.
Addressing the hip flexors — through a combination of manual therapy, targeted soft tissue work, and progressive corrective exercise — frequently provides relief that no amount of lumbar-focused treatment could achieve.
The Role of Neuromuscular Re-Education
Identifying the source is only half the work. The body also develops compensatory movement patterns that persist even after the original dysfunction is corrected. These patterns are neurologically encoded — the brain has learned to move around the problem. Without deliberate neuromuscular re-education, the pain tends to return.
This is why our treatment protocols are inherently multi-phase: structural correction, load management, and movement re-patterning. Each phase is individualized based on the patient’s specific compensation history, not a generic protocol.
Case Example: The Hip-Back Connection
One of the most common patterns seen at our Beverly Hills clinic involves hip flexor dominance in patients who spend significant time seated. Chronically shortened iliopsoas muscles tilt the pelvis anteriorly, increasing lumbar lordosis and compressive load on the posterior disc margins. The result is predictable: facet irritation, nerve compression, and — eventually — the referral to our office after other treatments have provided only temporary relief.
Addressing the hip flexors — through a combination of manual therapy, targeted soft tissue work, and progressive corrective exercise — frequently provides relief that no amount of lumbar-focused treatment could achieve.
