CHIROPRACTIC

What is Chiropractic?

World Health Organisation Definition of Chiropractic: A health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health.

Chiropractors treat problems with your joints, bones and muscles and the effects they have on your nervous system. Working on all the joints of your body, concentrating particularly on the spine, they use their hands to make gentle specific adjustments (the Chiropractic word for manipulation) to improve the efficiency of your nervous system. They also use muscle release techniques to compliment this including hands on techniques and trigger point dry needling as well as exercise prescription for self management and rehabilitation.

Chiropractic management always starts with taking a thorough history and a biomechanical and orthopaedic physical examination to obtain an accurate diagnosis of the source of pain and importantly identify the underlying reasons for why the injury or problem occurred. This allows us to help not only resolve symptoms as quickly and thoroughly as possible, but aim to achieve longer term management or resolution of issues to achieve better long term physical health.

What is the chiropractic ‘click’?

The chiropractic manipulative ‘adjustment’ is made to restore normal joint movement. It is often accompanied with the sound of an audible release of the joint. This is due to a vacuum being formed when the joint surfaces separate and then release. This is one of the ways that chiropractors help to relieve painful joints. The treatment improves overall joint function, reduces inflammation and muscle spasm thereby relieving any aches and pains.

Maintenance chiropractic care

Regular chiropractic check-up appointments will help to maintain the movement of the joints and how the muscles and ligaments of these joints work. This will help to avoid recurrent episodes of discomfort and stiffness.

What symptoms can chiropractic help with? 

Back, Neck and Shoulder Pains

80% of the population suffer back pain at some point in their lives and it is one of the leading causes of time off work, loss of productivity and forcing people to miss out on their favourite recreations as well as activities of daily living.

Many studies have concluded that manual therapies commonly used by chiropractors are generally effective for the treatment of lower back pain as well as for treatment of lumbar disc injury (bulge), for radiculopathy (sciatica) and neck pain, among other conditions.

Posture Problems

Research has suggested that remaining seated for too long is bad for your health, regardless of how much exercise you do. In addition to causing repetitive stress and strain on your ligaments, soft tissues, joints and discs, studies have linked excessive sitting with being overweight and obese, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, just to name a few.

Prolonged sitting is thought to slow the metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat. Many adults in the UK spend more than seven hours a day sitting or lying, and this typically increases with age to 10 hours or more.

Chiropractic treatment and advice on exercise and postural correction can help limit the effects of a sedentary profession!

Headaches

The causes and triggers of heachaches are wide and varied but one common cause is referred pain from the neck and upper back. A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Centre in the USA found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and achieved at least similar and in many cases better pain relief than use of medication.

Your chiropractor may in these cases liase with your GP to perform any appropriate tests to rule out other sources of headaches to assist diagnosis of headaches originating from the neck before proceeding with treatment.

Hip & Knee Injuries

Chiropractors don’t only treat backs! We are also trained and experiences in treating peripheral injuries in both the lower and upper limb and have a range of techniques to suit many conditions.

Sports Injuries

Whether you’re an elite athlete, a weekend warrior or someone is bit bit over competitive in Wednesday night football we love sports and we love helping people getting back to the sports and activities they love as quicky as possible AND make them perform at their best!

Pain Management

At Greenwich Chiropractic we place a high importance on educating patients on their condition and the underlying causes of it so people can best understand what is happening and how to best manage the problem. Following this, prescribing home exercises and self management advice in conjunction with manual therapy allows the patient to take control of their condition.

Whiplash Injury

NICE guidelines recommend manual therapy as mobilisation can provide short-term relief of pain and facilitate early mobility and recovery.

FAQs

Back Pain?
Posture Problems?
Sports Injuries?

Call 020 3005 4862 or