What is Chiropractic?
So what exactly is chiropractic? Chiropractic medicine is a form of integrative medicine that focuses on natural, non-invasive, evidence-informed practices of disease prevention and health promotion. Chiropractic services effectively treat a wide range of conditions and improve overall health through a broad scope of assessment and treatment modalities such as:
- Skeletal and spinal manipulation
- Functional medicine
- Physical rehabilitation therapy
- Diet/lifestyle management
Over the last few decades, chiropractic therapy has become more widely accepted by the conventional medical community.
If translated literally, it comes from the Greek term meaning “done by hand”. It involves assessments of most of the joints in the body, and where restrictions are found, a quick adjustment aimed at encouraging more range of motion in that joint.
During a treatment I am extremely diligent that you understand what I’m going to do before I do it, so that there are no surprises. Some people are quite apprehensive before their first treatment, but very quickly realise that it’s no where near as uncomfortable as they perhaps anticipated.
So throughout my treatments and assessments it’s a two way conversation and you are encouraged to ask questions at any time. I will assess you each visit and make sure that there are no reasons present that may make it unsafe to adjust you.
Below is a list of the most common complaints that cause patients to book an appointment with me:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Frozen shoulder
- Knee pain
- Injuries
- Sprains or strains
- Preventing injury
- Performance goals
- Stiff joints
- To help manage other chronic conditions
- Insomnia
- Infantile colic
- Wellbeing
- Growing/developmental issues
- Pregnancy
- Athletes
- Post surgery
- Rehabilitation
- Tendinitis
- Bursitis
- Trapped nerve
- Repetitive strain
Of course, any of these can be applied to both the human and animal patient. However, here are some of the reasons I may be called to treat a horse:
- Behavioural changes
- Bucking, rearing
- Rushing into fences
- Rushing away from fences
- Poor jumping technique
- Inbalances
- Stiffness
- One sided domination
- Lameness
- Pain
- Stopping/refusal
- Not tracking up
- Struggling on one rein
- Not quite firing on all cylinders
- Preventative
- Performance goals
- Wellbeing
- Saddle issues
- Injuries/accidents
- Post surgery
- Rehabilitation
I can keep going and going with all the different symptoms I’m presented with when treating a horse, dog or person. With our animals, it is particularly important to be sensitive to any changes which you may notice. This can be the earliest indication of something not being quite right. So be vigilant!
There are lots of different chiropractic techniques out there, but the great news is that, because of our extensive training and licensing regulations, we are fully equipped to adapt our techniques to each and every patient, whether you are an infant, an elderly patient or anyone in between. We are all unique, and all have different things that we have to cope with, health wise, on a day to day basis.
I have, currently, approximately 17 years of experience as a chiropractor, and whilst of course I am constantly learning and on a voyage of discovery, I have also built up a good base of knowledge and wisdom that only comes from being in practice. I know first hand, how important chiropractic care can be in someone’s life. Being an athlete myself, and getting regular treatments personally, it keeps me on the straight and narrow, significantly lowers my risk of injury and improves my performance considerably.
