Chiropractors assess the spine and other joints, looking for areas of misalignment, called subluxations. Often there is abnormal movement of joints affected (fixations, or hypermobility). Normally muscles, tendons and ligaments control joint position and movement. System failure occurs for two main reasons. The first is when a jolt, strain, or trauma occurs that is either too fast (e.g. small sudden twisting or stretching movement), or too forceful (e.g. heavy lifting or whiplash) for muscles to respond to control joint motion, and so subluxation occurs. The second reason is that muscles can gradually become imbalanced (e.g. poor posture, occupational factors, asymmetrical sports or even sedentary pastimes), exerting abnormal pull on bones to which they attach.
Subluxations can stretch or compact joints, leading to irritation of small nerve endings. Larger nerves can also be stretched or compressed, leading to ‘trapped nerve’ pain. A natural response to joint misalignment is for muscles to contract, or go into spasm to protect the weakened area, which can lead to stiffness and muscle pain, sometimes acute. Rapidly, stabilising muscles of the spine and joints then become weaker, and may leave us prone to subsequent injuries.

How is this treated?

A chiropractor corrects joint misalignments by using their hands to make an adjustment directly to the bones involved, in a very specific direction. This restores normal alignment and motion, relieving effects on joints, muscles and nerves. A treatment plan may also include soft tissue work, measures to manage pain, exercises for specific tight, or weak muscles or to restore general spinal stability, and also advice about posture and other activities.

What is McTimoney?

McTimoney is the name of a particular system of chiropractic that can only be learned at the McTimoney College of Chiropractic. There are many McTimoney adjusting techniques, which all rely on especially fast, yet tiny movements that do not generally create the ‘crack’ sound (called cavitation) that people often associate with chiropractic. Recent research has suggested that such cracking sounds often do not come from the joint being adjusted, but from other areas. This demonstrates that a crack is not needed for an adjustment – speed and specificity are the key. Another characteristic of the McTimoney approach is that the integrity of the structure of the whole body is assessed, not just the area where pain has eventually appeared. Although adjustments will usually be needed in this area, consideration is also given to the effect of any misalignments elsewhere. Just correcting one point in the spine may be like trying to straighten the centre of a twisted towel, without unwinding the ends! This approach means that patients frequently notice additional unexpected benefits in other regions, it really is a head-to-toe assessment.

Who is Chiropractic for?

Patients seek help for many different problems. The most common, that we see on a daily basis are back and leg pain, neck, shoulder and arm pain, headaches and migraines. We see a wide spectrum of patients including athletes, children, the elderly, pregnant women, people with postural problems, or following specific injuries…the list is long.

What chiropractic is not….

Not a quick fix – Chiropractic does not work in the same way as painkilling drugs. Although at times pain relief can be instantaneous, in many cases healing or strengthening of damaged or weak tissues is needed. Removing obstacles to healing and enabling the body’s natural healing process to take effect may take time, but aims to resolve the cause of the problem, not just to cover up symptoms.

Not unscientific – There is a wealth of research demonstrating good results with chiropractic care for the commonest musculoskeletal conditions, even though the phenomemenon of pain is notoriously difficult to measure, and good research takes a long time. The chiropractic profession is actively engaged in broadening the research base for a wide range of conditions.

Not dangerous - Chiropractors are primary care providers, trained to assess the medical status of their patients, and detect signs of any more serious underlying pathology. This enables them to see patients directly without the need for a medical referral. Patients are always treated as individuals, and the safest techniques that are most suitable for each person are used. It has been estimated that 120-140,000 people in the UK use, and benefit from chiropractic every week to look after their physical wellbeing

Your first visit

The great majority of new patients to the Evergreen Chiropractic Clinic are word of mouth referrals. Our chiropractors are always willing to spend time answering questions or queries that you may have before making your first booking. We also offer a free short initial consultation if required. Everyone is welcome.

Assessment and treatment

Your chiropractor takes a full health history. This enables them to begin to screen you for any contraindications or conditions requiring medical referral, and contributes to building up an appreciation of what your condition is.

A physical assessment is carried out according to your presenting symptoms. This includes some basic health checks and a range of specific orthopaedic and neurological tests that are needed to reach a working diagnosis for your condition.

The working diagnosis for your condition will be explained to you and an individual treatment plan will be recommended. Here you will have the opportunity to ask any further questions, discuss the recommendations, and decide what course of action is best for you.

Providing that a satisfactory diagnosis can be reached and that no contraindications to treatment are discovered, you will usually proceed to receive your first treatment at this visit

Further visits

Most follow-up visits usually last approximately 40 minutes. Your responses to treatment and progress are monitored at each visit, and you will receive the appropriate treatment.

At regular, agreed intervals you will be given a reassessment. This typically involves repeating some of the diagnostic tests that were carried out at your first visit, in order to measure your progress. Your treatment plan will also be reviewed, and may be modified if appropriate.

Problems we can help with

All kinds of problems and all kinds of patients can be helped with chiropractic care. Things that we commonly see are:

Aches & Pains
Backaches & pain
Shoulder problems-Frozen Shoulder
Migraines
Cramp
Arthritic Pain
Circulatory Problems
Digestive Problems
Fibromialgia
Lumbago
Muscle Spasms and Tension
Neuralgia
Sports Injuries
Pre and post pregnancy discomfort
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)
Joint & muscles stiffness, tension and stress
Sinus problems and facial pain
Rheumatism and Rheumatic Pain
Tension
TMJ Syndrome