Treating the Cause vs. the Compensation

By Dr. Andrew Kakishita | Kinetic Chiropractic – Lehi, UT

Pain can be tricky. Sometimes, where you hurt is not where the real problem is. That’s because the body is great at finding ways to keep moving, even when something isn’t working quite right. When that happens, you start to “compensate.”

A compensation is when one area of your body picks up the slack for another area that’s weak, tight, or not moving well. It might not sound bad at first, but over time, these small changes can lead to pain, stiffness, and even new injuries.

At Kinetic Chiropractic in Lehi, we often see patients come in with pain that’s really just the result of the body compensating for something deeper. The key is to treat the cause, not just the symptom.

A Simple Example

Let’s say your right hip is tight. To keep you walking normally, your lower back might start twisting a little more than it should. At first, you might just notice a mild ache. But over time, that extra motion and stress can cause your lower back to flare up.

If we only treat your back, you’ll probably feel better for a bit, but the problem will keep coming back until we address your hip too. That’s what it means to treat the cause, not just the compensation.

How Chiropractic Care Helps

As a chiropractor in Lehi, my job isn’t just to help you feel better fast. It’s to help your body move and function the way it’s supposed to. Adjustments can restore normal motion to joints that have become restricted, while soft tissue therapy can help loosen muscles that are overworked from compensating.

But we don’t stop there. Once we’ve calmed down the irritated area, we use targeted exercises to retrain your body so it doesn’t slip back into old patterns. This combination of chiropractic care and rehab creates lasting change instead of temporary relief.

Where Shockwave Therapy Fits In

Sometimes, the body needs an extra push to heal correctly, especially if a compensation has been going on for a while. That’s where shockwave therapy can help.

Shockwave therapy sends focused sound waves into the tissue to increase blood flow, break up tight or scarred areas, and help your body restart the healing process. It’s a powerful tool we use when regular stretching, massage, or exercises aren’t quite enough.

Many patients who search for “Shockwave Therapy near me” are dealing with long-standing issues like tendon pain or chronic muscle tightness that hasn’t improved with other care. When combined with chiropractic adjustments and rehab exercises, shockwave therapy helps your body finally address the true source of pain rather than just treating what’s sore.

How to Know Which One You Need

If you’ve had pain that keeps coming back or moves around from place to place, it’s often a sign that you’re treating a compensation, not the cause. That’s why it’s so important to get a full movement assessment.

At Kinetic Chiropractic, we take the time to figure out what your body is really doing and what it’s avoiding. Once we find the root cause, we can build a treatment plan that helps you feel better and move better for the long run.

The Takeaway

You can’t fix a problem by only chasing pain. To truly recover, you have to address what caused it in the first place. Whether that means adjustments, exercises, or shockwave therapy, the goal is the same: helping your body work the way it’s meant to.

If you’re looking for a chiropractor near me or Shockwave Therapy Lehi, visit Kinetic Chiropractic. Let’s stop chasing symptoms and start fixing the cause.