The connection between a past injury and present pain was graphically demonstrated by Martha, a student in one of Dr. Bonner’s classes, whose painful right hip had not responded to medical treatment or chiropractic care. When Dr. Bonner asked her if she’d ever injured her right foot or ankle, she mentioned a bad fall some years back in which she had twisted her ankle severely and was unable to walk for two weeks. Dr. Bonner proposed that the two were connected.

 

          When Martha did the 34 Movements, it was obvious at once that all these years she’d been holding her right hip high - originally in order to favor the injured ankle. The problem was that even after the ankle healed, she continued unconsciously to hold tension in the hip because the ankle had never been released properly after its trauma; that is, once it was healed, she’d never consciously worked to stretch the muscles that had been held immobile for so long. It was the hip that had begun to hurt in protest against the strain caused by improper alignment, so she had to work through the tightness in the ankle before she could address the hip problem.

          

           “You know,” Martha said, “I always thought there was a connection between my ankle and my hip. You’ve finally shown what I’ve always suspected but could never prove.”