Hands-on care
Chiropractic
Hands-on assessment and adjustment of the spine and joints: the core of what the clinic does, and the thing everything else supports.
Chiropractic is a hands-on approach to musculoskeletal care, focused particularly on the joints, movement and the spine. When a spinal joint loses its normal range of movement the muscle around it guards, the segment stiffens further, and the nerves passing through it get irritated. An adjustment is a quick, controlled, low-force movement applied to that specific joint to restore what it has lost.
The click people sometimes hear is gas releasing inside the joint capsule as the pressure changes. It is not bone, and nothing is breaking. Some techniques used here make no noise at all. The Activator instrument delivers a measured impulse rather than a manual thrust, which suits patients who are apprehensive, elderly, or being treated close to an old injury.
Treatment is chosen for the person rather than the diagnosis. Technique and force are adapted for children, for pregnancy, and for spines that have been operated on, which is why the consultation asks about surgical history before anything else happens.
Considering Chiropractic?
Speak to the clinic about suitability and your first appointment.
Enquire about treatment Call 01903 234490What we use it for
- Back and neck pain, including disc-related pain
- Headaches and referred pain from the neck
- Sciatica and nerve irritation
- Joint pain in the shoulder, hip, knee and jaw
- Sports injuries and repetitive-strain problems
- Postural strain from desk and driving work
What a session involves
The first appointment is consultation and examination rather than treatment: history, orthopaedic and neurological testing, and thermal imaging where it is useful. Findings are explained before any care begins. Later appointments are shorter and focused on the adjustment itself.
What the evidence says
Manual therapy for low back pain is among the better-evidenced areas of musculoskeletal care. The RCGP guidelines cite strong supporting evidence across 19 randomised controlled trials, the UK BEAM Trial (BMJ, 2004) found spinal manipulation gave the best value for money of the approaches it tested, and Meade et al. (BMJ, 1990) found greater improvement and fewer lost working days than hospital outpatient management.
Who it is not for
Non-invasive and drug-free, and serious adverse events are rare. Tell us about osteoporosis, blood-thinning medication, recent fractures, inflammatory joint disease or any spinal surgery at the consultation, as these change which techniques are appropriate. Anything found that is not ours to treat gets referred on rather than adjusted.
Also at the clinic
Cranial Facial Release
Chiropractic aimed above the neck, at the bones of the face and skull. It has its own page because what it involves, and who it is not for, needs saying in full before anybody books it.
Read about cranial facial releaseWhether this is the right treatment is decided at your examination.
