What will the chiropractor do?

Chiropractic treatment offers a drug-free, surgery-free alternative to neuromusculoskeletal conditions and aims to treat the cause not the symptoms. Although chiropractors treat a wide range of conditions primarily relating to pain, the education programme ensures that sound diagnostic skills are taught. This enables the chiropractor to accurately recognise any conditions of a more serious nature and refer the patients to the appropriate medical specialist. Chiropractic complements medical therapy.

Diagnosis entails a basic case history and a physical examination including a full neurological assessment, which includes motor and sensory aspects, as well as an orthopaedic examination. Motion palpation involves the chiropractor assessing the range of motion in each joint to establish if joints are functioning properly or not. Palpation of muscles indicates tension and trigger points can be identified.

The management protocols employed in the correction of these dysfunctions are:

1. Adjustment/manipulation of spinal and/or extremity joints that are found to have lost normal range of motion in one or many of the six planes of motion. This adjustment restores the normal physiological motion to the joint through its active and passive ranges.
2. Soft tissue therapy in the form of dry needling of myofascial trigger points, electronic modalities (ultrasound and/or interferential current), ice, heat, massage, stretching and strapping.
3. Posture and ergonomic advice.
4. We also utilise an American-based technology, in which the feet are digitally scanned and assessed. This assessment provides information on the biomechanical balance and integrity of the feet (pronation, supination and collapsing of the three primary arches). Customised orthotics for the patient’s shoes might then be prescribed. These orthotics support the arches of the feet where the normal biomechanics are compromised, thereby aiding the maintenance of the functional alignment of the rest of the skeleton, on the premise of ‘when the foot hits the ground, everything changes’.

Therefore, any joint or muscle in the body can potentially be helped through chiropractic care.