Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a healing treatment that centres upon manual manipulation of the musculoskeletal system, mainly focussed on disturbances of the spine, but also dealing with joints and soft tissue. It does not involve drugs or surgery.

Chiropractic has both short- and long-term objectives. The short-term goal is to get the problem under control so that the patient is free from pain. The long-term goal is to correct the structural imbalances in the spine that originally led to the problem, and to prevent the imbalance recurring.

What do people use a chiropractor for

Chiropractor therapy can be used for treating many different specific disorders, including back pain, neck pain, muscle tension, neurological problems, sciatica, stress, migraine and asthma. It is more generally used to help the body maintain health and wellbeing. Bedwetting in children has also been successfully treated with chiropractic.

A Medical Research Council clinical trial and its follow-up, reported in the British Medical Journal in 1990 and 1995, found that chiropractic treatment of back pain was more effective than hospital outpatient treatment.

Regular chiropractic care will make the body better able to deal with the physical problems encountered in everyday life. In fact, it is not necessary to be ill to benefit from chiropractic care – many athletes use chiropractic to help improve their physical wellbeing, and ultimately, their performance.

What does chiropractic involve

The chiropractor’s main treatment mode is manipulation to adjust misalignments of the spine. Using the hands, the chiropractor will adjust specific segments of the spinal column with a quick, painless movement that mobilises the vertebrae. These adjustments may need to be repeated regularly over a period of time to achieve the desired correction. Relieving these spinal misalignments and nerve irritations helps the body to return to normal health. As well as carrying out spinal manipulation, the chiropractor will usually also address matters as posture, nutrition, exercise, work and recreational habits.

McTimoney Chiropractic is a technique developed by John McTimoney in the 1950's. After receiving chiropractic treatment himself, he trained rigorously for three years to learn chiropractic and develop adjustment techniques known as the toggle recoil effect. McTimoney chiropractic uses a light yet very fast movement by the chiropractor on the body, which allows the body to react by itself. There is no actual pressure, just gentle movement that encourages the bone to return to its correct positioning, without needing the usual force on the bone or joint, as in normal chiropractic.

What happens during an appointment

On your first visit to the chiropractor, after giving your case history, you will be receive a physical examination by hand of your spine, bones and joints, to check for even the slightest amount of imbalance. McTimoney chiropractors have a very finely tuned sense of touch, developed during their five years of training. This enables them to pick up misalignments in joints throughout the body, for instance between vertebrae in the spine. If appropriate, your examination may include studies of spinal motion and integrity, orthopaedic testing and a neurological examination.
For more information

To make an appointment or find out more about chiropractic treatment, please contact us on 0118 958 0508 or by e-mail.