After years of marathon running, Dr. Wolf Schamberger decided to see an osteopath about an ache in his heel.
By then, he was already a well-known sports therapist, having been the medical officer for the Canadian women’s basketball team for the Olympic trials, in Cuba, as well as the medical officer for an Everest expedition and for the 1986 Canadian track and field team at the Commonwealth Games, in Edinburgh.
The heel pain persisted for seven years until his visit with the osteopath, who not only made adjustments to his body but diagnosed the throb to his back ligaments, which were strained by his pelvis being out of alignment.
The revelation sent Dr. Schamberger on a new research trajectory that resulted in two books for physicians: The Malalignment Syndrome: Diagnosing and treating a common cause of pelvic, limb and back pain (published in 2013); and Malalignment Syndrome in Runners (published in 2016).
While both received critical acclaim from his peers, neither was taken up seriously by the medical profession. “It’s been completely ignored,” he said of the specialization, claiming only 10% of doctors today know how to conduct a malalignment exam.
Now, Dr. Schamberger has a new workout geared for a general audience.
This fall, after five years of writing, the Port Moody resident released Read My Hips!, a 588-page publication that offers tips about how to sit, stand and move properly, and how to recognize pelvic misalignments that occur with 80% of the population.
He hopes the information in Read My Hips! can be shared by patients with their general practitioners.
For most people, the misalignment comes where there’s an imbalance of the muscle tension on one side — caused by sitting for long periods, injury or trauma, for example. “By the time they find out about it, they could be out of alignment for weeks or months.”
Dr. Schamberger said while chiropractors and osteopaths can provide temporary corrective measures, he suggests patients ensure they also make the most of their time in between appointments, exercise and avoid “abnormal forces” — e.g., keep your knees together when getting out of a car or bed, and lift properly. “Simple things like that can prevent reoccurrence.”
An avid hiker, Dr. Schamberger said his next project will be an autobiography.
• Read My Hips! is now part of the White Pines local author collection at the Port Moody Public Library (100 Newport Dr.). It is also available at Western Sky Books (2132-2850 Shaughnessy St., Port Coquitlam) or online through wolfschamberger.com.
