Chiropractic is a straightforward method of adjusting the bones of your body to maintain the correct alignment of your spine and to ensure that your body's nerve supply works efficiently. It seeks to eliminate the cause, not just treat symptoms, and through subtle adjustments, chiropractic care can relieve pain and discomfort, increase mobility and provide a route to better health.
Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae, the sacrum, and the coccyx. This column also houses the spinal cord through which nerve information is transmitted around the rest of your body.
How does it work?
Whilst the spinal column maintains correct alignment, nerve information is passed accurately. However, if any part of your spinal column becomes misaligned then a nerve may become impinged, compressed, or stretched, distorting the information that passes along it. This can lead to pain, discomfort, or restricted mobility.
Misalignment of the vertebrae or bones can occur for many reasons, such as incorrect lifting, car or sporting accidents, childbirth, falls, stress and poor posture, and these conditions will all worsen over time if not corrected.
McTimoney chiropractors use only their hands to make adjustments to the bones of your body. The key to the success of the adjustments is in the speed, dexterity and accuracy with which they are performed.
Can Chiropractic help you?
The gentle nature of the McTimoney Chiropractic technique makes it especially suitable for people of all ages including young babies, pregnant women and the elderly. Because of the way chiropractors positively affect the functioning of the nervous system, the following conditions often benefit from treatment:
Back, neck and shoulder pain
Pain, discomfort and stiffness in joints and bones
Migraine and tension headaches
Muscular aches and pains
Sciatica
Whiplash injury
Sports injuries
What to expect from your first treatment
Your chiropractor will take a full case history regarding your general health background as well as details of your symptoms. This will help in assessing and analysing your particular problem. They will then thoroughly examine all the joints in your body, literally from head to toe, and undertake any further clinical assessment that might be necessary to determine that it is safe to treat you. McTimoney Chiropractors have a very finely tuned sense of touch, developed in their four years of training, which enables them to identify misalignments of the vertebrae and other bones. Upon finding a problem, your chiropractor will use one of a number of light, swift and dexterous techniques, characteristic of McTimoney chiropractic, to adjust each individual bone that requires it.
If your chiropractor discovers or suspects a problem, which requires medical investigation or an x-ray, they will refer you to your GP. Wherever possible your McTimoney chiropractor will work in co-operation with your GP and a letter is normally sent to your doctor informing them of your treatment.
Will I get help and advice to ensure the problem does not recur?
Yes. You will receive postural advice after the treatment to help your body get the most benefit from the adjustments you have received, and to raise your awareness of simple things that you may doing every day which may be exacerbating your problem. You may also be given some basic exercises or stretches to do if your chiropractor feels that would be beneficial.
How many sessions will you need?
The number of sessions needed varies considerably depending on:
Your age: you generally heal more slowly as you get older.
The nature of the problem: a simple backache will often clear more quickly than a sciatic problem.
How long you have had the problem: generally, yesterday's injury will resolve faster than one of 20 years' standing.
Most patients need between two and six sessions, but your chiropractor will give you a better idea of the probable treatment plan after they have examined you at the first session.
A patient's view of McTimoney Chiropractic?
"I feel this is the most sympathetic treatment for the body. Manipulation is never violent and always within the limits that the body will allow. I have always found this treatment to be effective, gentle and very good at allowing the body to gradually but securely, recover its natural balance and posture. I will always recommend it to others"
31 year-old female
"My chiropractor is without doubt my "best friend", he is able to keep me on my feet and in work without time off. It is hard to describe the peace of mind this gives me"
40 year-old male
"I have been very satisfied and pleased by the care and attention I have received from my practitioner. She has been very helpful and honest in her assessment of my aches and pains and in what she can and can't do"
51 year-old female