What is chiropractic?
A system of alternative health care that focuses on resolving disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous system and their effects on overall health. This is achieved by identifying the misaligned joints and improving their position and mechanical function. By realigning the vertebrae, pressure is removed from the nerve allowing brain-body communication to flow freely. The method of treatment therefore typically involves manually adjusting the spinal column and the pelvic area to release nerves and built up pressure, returning the joints to their normal position to restore balance.
What is a chiropractor?
A Chiropractor or Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), is someone who is licensed to safely perform chiropractic adjustments on patients to alleviate muscular-skeletal and neurological imbalances. It takes approximately 4-5 years to obtain the required master’s degree and in the UK, all chiropractors must be registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). Chiropractor is a protected term and can only be employed by someone who fulfils the above criteria and has an active license on the GCC register.
What does a chiropractor do?
Firstly Chiropractors carefully assess a person by performing mechanical and neurological tests to identify any misalignments in the spine and other key joints that may be causing issues such as loss of function, pain, loss of mobility, and other related issues. If clinically required the Chiropractor may take x-rays to get a deeper understanding of that person’s structural, functional and mechanical issues. Once the assessment has been completed a root cause diagnosis will be presented in order to discuss the treatment options.
Treatment itself consists of a series of carefully designed chiropractic adjustments, which the chiropractor delivers using his hands, to improve the positions of the joints and vertebrae to promote healing and recovery.
What exactly is a chiropractic adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is a special manoeuvre, usually performed by hand, which delivers a carefully timed and measured thrust using a low force, high energy motion to release the joint and built-up pressure to restore a misaligned joint back to a healthy range. Sometimes a popping noise may be heard which is caused by the release of nitrogen gas build up inside the synovial fluid. This process which is sometimes audible is typically experienced by the patient as a noticeable release of pressure.
Why should I choose Corrective Chiropractic?
Chiropractors at Corrective Chiropractic deliver measurable results using a very structured approach to identifying and treating muscular-skeletal and neurological imbalances. All our chiropractors are fully qualified and trained to deliver the highest level of care in accordance to our high standards. We have a proprietary chiropractic assessment process which may include the use of:
· Digital x-rays (if clinically required).
· Posture pictures
· 3d postural analysis
· Weight distribution check
· Use of a nervo-scope to identify points of inflammation in the spine
· Full chiropractic consultation (history, neurological, mechanical and functional assessment).
According to our latest client survey around 91% of our clients experience good to excellent results.
What makes Gonstead chiropractic different?
Precision, direction and a strong evidence based approach is what’s differentiated Gonstead from other techniques. Adhering to the definition of true chiropractic as defined by D. D. Palmer, the founder of Chiropractic in 1895, Dr. Gonstead found there was no substitute or better method for analyzing or correcting spinal misalignments than with a pair of skilled chiropractic hands. This remains true today.” Gonsteadseminars.com
Gonstead chiropractors are highly trained in sensing imbalances using their hands. It takes around an additional 1000 hours of training to become a Gonstead practitioner, which equates to at least a year for most. Practitioners of the method like to use a special instrument called the nervo-scope which helps identify points of inflammation for the correct detection and diagnosis of spinal misalignments, and include precise measuring techniques and use of x-ray machines.
They key to its effectiveness is attributed to identifying the exact imbalance or misalignment causing the issue so as to make the adjustment where it’s needed, whilst leaving the rest alone. This allows the body to recover quickly whilst maintaining stability.
How qualified are your chiropractors?
All our chiropractors are registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) in the UK. Our Aylesbury Chiropractors are fully qualified and hold a masters in Chiropractic, making them Doctors of Chiropractic (DC). Most of our Chiropractors are also trained in the Gonstead method which requires at least an additional year of study.
Been in a car accident is it worth seeing you?
Yes, most definitely. The reason is simple: car accidents apply a tremendous amount of force to the body very suddenly. Since the body is rarely prepared for such an event, and due to the sheer force applied, the structure of the body is typically misaligned in the process. One car accident can cause structural and postural havoc that would take another person many years to develop otherwise.
When the body suffers a traumatic event such as a car accident it can manifest in the nervous system, elevate stress levels and cause severe muscular-skeletal and neurological imbalances. The body, in an attempt to protect or compensate for the injuries and imbalances, tends to tighten up which causes loss of mobility, range of motion, inflammation and sometimes reduced connectivity through nerve impingement.
It’s therefore crucial to carefully assess and measure the extent of the damage sustained, check for whiplash and possible damage to the joints, in order to give you a root cause diagnosis. This allows our chiropractors to advise you on the best treatment options. Whilst the absence of pain is an important part of recovering it’s not a guarantee that everything is perfect.
Currently doing Physio shall I wait to finish, or can I still see you?
That’s a personal choice. But yes, if you want to see us whilst doing Physio you can. Using chiropractic alongside your physiotherapy creates a lot of synergies speeding up recovery. Physiotherapy is a wonderful form of physical therapy that restores blood flow and speeds up the healing of soft tissue, muscles and joints. Chiropractic optimises the nervous system and works on aligning the structure ensuring optimal brain-body communication and correct alignment of the joints. Chiropractic adjustments allow the muscles to return to a natural state as the compensatory tightness and possible spasms are not needed once the body is realigned.
What type of things do you measure during the initial assessment?
We check your posture in great detail so we can see any imbalances and biomechanical changes. Weight distribution is also measured as this can cause excessive pressure through certain parts of the body. 3D Posture pictures are taken to examine how far your posture is deviating from the ideal and to serve as an objective measure of where you are now, which can be compared against future progress. Digital x-rays may be taken (if clinically required) so we can assess the health of the joints and examine the integrity and position of the structure in more detail. Range of motion, mobility, mechanical strength, nerve function and points of inflammation are assessed to narrow the issues down to specifics. Key points of your medical history are also recorded alongside current symptoms to understand the wider context.
Can I do chiropractic whilst pregnant?
Yes, you can and it can be very beneficial for you to do so in order to have a more comfortable pregnancy. The only thing to note is that we won’t do x-rays in this case during the initial assessment for obvious reasons.
What is the minimum age for having chiropractic treatments?
The youngest patient we’ve treated so far in the clinic was 2 days old. Please note that the techniques are specially adapted for such cases and we have specific chiropractors who have undertaken additional training in paediatrics.
Am I too old to have chiropractic treatment?
This is a question we get a lot, in principle there are no age limitations to receive chiropractic treatment. If you would like treatment, then we are ready and delighted to work with you. Whether we begin to treat you is not certain until we have performed a full initial chiropractic assessment to ensure the treatment will be safe and establishes if the structure itself is in good enough health.
I’ve got arthritis will the treatment still work?
Whilst we cannot heal arthritis, chiropractic can still be immensely beneficial for you. As it promotes proper mobility of the spinal joints, postural alignment and nerve function this is always vitally important for health reasons. You may also experience an improvement in function, mobility and posture. As chiropractic adjustments promote a more relaxed nervous system, this in turn can boost your body’s capacity to express health. Chiropractic treatment therefore promotes additional resilience in the body that can make a difference. In some cases, patients experience a noticeable reduction in pain and inflammation.
Do you think my problem is from being overweight?
There are many factors that can contribute towards muscular-skeletal or neurological imbalances. Bad posture, slips, trips and falls, stresses, accidents and traumas, professional hazards, to name but a few. Having said that if there is nerve compression, being overweight can increase that pressure further. The same goes for unequal weight distribution, which is likely to be much higher if you’re overweight causing a risk for a joint to wear out quicker. So being overweight is likely to be amongst other contributing factors that have led you to where you are today.
I’m taking medication for osteoporosis can you help me?
Osteoporosis does not necessarily preclude you from chiropractic treatment. However, it is important to understand the stage you’re at and if possible see the latest bone density results. In a lot of cases we can still help, but to be absolutely certain we would have to conduct a full chiropractic assessment and evaluation first.
Can chiropractic help me improve my sport performance?
Absolutely! Chiropractors are regularly employed by athletes and peak performers to improve the brain-body communication, prevent injuries, improve functional strength, optimise muscle activation and pre-activation, optimise alignment for higher precision and range of motion. Some sportsmen and women who use chiropractic treatment regularly include: Cristiano Ronaldo, Evander Holifield, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Ronda Rousey to name a few.
What are some of the benefits of chiropractic?
· Recover from Sciatica
· Recover from Back pain
· Recover from Neck pain
· Recover from Whiplash
· Reduce or eliminate Headaches
· Reduce Migraines
· Improve mobility
· Improved range of motion
· Improve muscle activation and pre-activation
· Improve brain-body communication
· Improve weight distribution
· Improve athletic performance
· Natural pain reduction or elimination
· Avoid surgery in some cases
· Improved balance and coordination
· Promote a more relaxed state reducing stress
Note: this is not an exhaustive list but lists some of the most common benefits.
Are the effects lasting?
In the majority of cases yes. The treatment has two important outcomes: it aligns your structure to give you good posture and optimises your brain-body communication to help you recognise what an aligned position feels and looks like. The first ensures good posture is there to start with and that you can keep it that way without discomfort. The second provides a heightened awareness of your body in order to detect any postural deviation. The two together set you up for long-term postural success.
However with the benefits it is still up to you to look after it. If you’re not sure how to do this, speak to one of our experienced chiropractors who can help you map out the next best steps. Keep good posture in the body, look after it and it will look after you. Understand that the body continues to heal long after the chiropractic treatment has completed.
So, you may consider making some simple changes in your life to better look after yourself. Things like adjusting your desk properly, learning how to do certain daily activities more ergonomically, removing bad habits, changing that wobbly chair for a one that gives you proper support, keeping active, etc.
Are the results quantifiable?
Yes to a large extent. We deliver measured results. We can look at your posture pictures and clearly see the before and after. The weight distribution can be re-measured to show the difference. Some more subtle but still quantifiable changes are symptom reduction and elimination, a reduction of and absence of pain. Some clients can walk without relying on their walking stick after years of using one. Such a change is remarkable but hard to quantify, it’s more of a qualitative change.
Why is good posture important?
Good posture ensures that your body is able to work the way it was designed to. Every joint, bone, organ and structure has its correct place and position in the body. Muscles, joints, organs and systems, work better when posture is good. The other benefit is that good posture promotes a healthy weight distribution across the body, which helps protect the joints. On the other side you have the central nervous system running through the structure, powering up all the muscles, organs, systems and functions throughout the body. Good posture promotes great nerve function by allowing the information to flow freely back and forth between the brain and body, allowing the body to express health more readily.
How is the structural improvement achieved?
There are 2 components to the treatment. The first consists of the corrective chiropractic adjustments you receive from one of our experienced Aylesbury chiropractors. The second is the instructions you receive for aftercare and possible life-style changes, such as specific exercises, stretches and ergonomic advice. The split is roughly 80/20 across the board with individual differences as everyone is unique.
How long will the process take?
This will depend largely on three things:
1- How chronic the issues are, how long you’ve been suffering for.
2- What your overall posture and condition of the nervous system are like.
3- The health and integrity of your structure.
As a general guideline the average across the clinics is between 4-6 weeks.
Currently I’m not in pain, is there any benefit in doing this?
It’s a good idea to have a spinal health check every 2 years. Like checking other functions, such as enzyme, vitamins, minerals and cholesterol levels through blood analysis, dental check-ups and eye checks, your spine is equally if not more important than those, as it protects the central nervous system controlling nearly all functions in your body. As a way of analogy, to wait for pain as a sign of bad health is like waiting for a car-breakdown as confirmation it was due for a service. As chiropractors we work in the health spectrum, so we want to understand what’s in a healthy range and what isn’t. From there we want to get you back to an optimum or at least a healthy range.
My posture is bad, but I have no pain, should I bother?
Yes because posture is a window to the spine. So bad posture reflects badly on your spine as well as your muscular-skeletal system. Your spine protects your central nervous system, the single most important structure in your body alongside your brain, controlling every function in the body. This causes our pain thresholds to be different. For this reason, how much bad posture a person can tolerate before they cross over the pain threshold varies. Doing something about your posture before you get pain is a wise move as it’s best to deal with issues at the earliest opportunity. Our in-depth evidence-based assessment will be able to uncover any issues beyond the presence and absence of pain to see how your posture might be creating other imbalances in the body.
What is the average success rate?
According to the latest patient survey our success rate is about 91% across the two clinics with patients reporting good to excellent results.
Do you do same day check-ups for emergencies?
For emergency cases please ring us directly. We may do a quick telephone consultation first. We will do our best to try and accommodate you, however we cannot guarantee that we’ll see you as this depends on how busy we are that day and staff availability. In some cases we may ask you to come in and wait in reception so we can fit you in between appointments.
I’ve got whiplash, can you help me with this?
Whiplash is generally caused by damage (sprain) to the soft tissue as it sustains an injury such as a car-crash, sport accident and other type of high impact injury. Whilst the soft tissue will repair in time, the incident usually results in significant cervical misalignments. Misalignments, or displacement of the cervical joints away from their optimum position, will cause the muscles to tighten up or spasm as a compensatory measure to protect the joints and body. It is therefore important to realign those segments to allow the muscles and tendons to return to a relaxed healthy functioning state, in order for the body to heal. If you think you’re suffering from whiplash come and book an initial chiropractic assessment so we can evaluate the extend of the injury.
Is this something my private health insurance will cover?
We work with all major health insurance providers. When you come in for your initial assessment speak to the front desk team who will be able to better assist you. They can produce headed paper invoices and know how to process the required paperwork for each health insurance provider.
Do you use any mechanical tools to perform the adjustments?
Our adjustments are performed by the skilful hands or our highly trained chiropractors.
Note: We do use mechanical instruments for measuring but not for performing adjustments.
I’ve hurt my coccyx can you help me?
In most cases yes, but it can be a slightly more challenging area to treat. Spinal injuries and misalignments in the vertebrae very often start with an accident or issue at the base of the spine, involving the coccyx. It’s important that we firstly diagnose the issue before we give you an accurate answer. We may take a set of digital x-rays (if clinically required) to get a clear picture of the issue as part of our initial assessment.
In some parts of my spine I’ve had surgery can you still adjust me?
That will depend on the type of surgery you’ve had. If you’ve had a spinal fusion then we will avoid adjusting that area but may explore the possibility of working on other areas that can be safely adjusted. Our comprehensive initial chiropractic consultation will carefully measure and explore your entire spine, and in particular the affected area to ascertain the exact current position. We will then be in a position to advise you on your options going forwards.
Do you adjust any other body parts aside from the spine?
Yes to some extent although our primary focus is on the spine, pelvic and sacro-iliac structure. By doing an in-depth chiropractic evaluation we can identify imbalances and pin-point the root causes. Sometimes other body parts show signs of disfunction that originate elsewhere. This can be referred pain, neurological disruption, unequal weight distribution applying excessive pressure, or improper tracking caused by postural and biomechanical imbalances.
So if you injured your knee playing football you should probably go visit a physiotherapist. If on the other hand your knee pain developed slowly over time, it is very likely caused by some of the other factors mentioned above.
How quickly can I come in for an appointment?
Provided you are flexible on times we can fit you into the earliest available slot. If there is a gap for a same-day visit your best chances for getting it is to call first thing in the morning. In some cases we may only be able to fit you in within a few days. If speed is of the essence it’s important you call us at the earliest opportunity.