A lot of people mistakenly believe that Chiropractors only treat the spine and that to get anything else fixed they need to see a Physiotherapist or Osteopath. If you saw a Chiropractor 100 years ago, this would probably have been true, however things have changed a lot since then. As I covered in my previous blog post on the difference between Chiropractors and Osteopaths, Chiropractors treat the whole body using a wide variety of techniques. During a Chiropractor’s 5 years of study, we learn in detail about the whole body and how to diagnose and treat a huge variety of musculo-skeletal conditions.
In truth, due to these preconceived ideas of what chiropractors treat, neck pain and lower back pain patients do make up the majority of my work at the clinic. The most common problems we see that lie outside of the spine are with the shoulders and hips.
We frequently see patients with rotator cuff tears and general shoulder dysfunction (pain from poor movement patterns, posture and increased muscle tension). With regard to the hips, a very common presentation is hip arthritis which can be helped with gentle traction, soft tissue massage and mobilisation. I did my dissertation at university on a very specific condition called CAM hip impingement, so this is where my particular passion lies.
Knee pain as a result of degeneration is a particularly common complaint that patients come to the clinic with. This can be very debilitating and stop people from being able to walk their dog or play sport. Our Chiropractors will conduct a full examination to uncover the issues that need to be worked on in order to lead to a reduction in pain and return to a normal lifestyle.
In general, osteo-arthritis, more commonly referred to now as degenerative joint disease (DJD), can underpin a lot of people’s joint pain and stiffness. Alongside exercise and home exercises, Chiropractic treatment is a great choice for patients looking to alleviate their pain and get back to their normal lives.
One of the most painful conditions we regularly see at the clinic is sciatica. This is often due to a disc herniation (sometimes called a slipped disc) in the lower back that presses on the nerve which can create searing leg pain and pins and needles. Accurate diagnosis is crucial when treating sciatica as there are other conditions that can create leg pain that need to be ruled out.
Headaches and migraines are conditions that many people suffer with on a daily basis and they have no idea that chiropractic may be the solution for them. Tension type headaches, where muscle tension in the neck and shoulders can refer up to the head, are extremely common and from my experience are generally one of the easiest conditions to treat. Improvement in the muscle tension and mobility in the neck as a result of manipulation and soft tissue techniques, often leads to a fairly rapid resolving of symptoms. Similar, but often more gentle treatment, helps many migraine sufferers with the prevention of their condition.
As we venture further away from the spine we come across conditions like tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis and ankle sprains. All of which can be treated by a chiropractor alongside us giving you a set of home exercises and lifestyle advice to attack the problem from a few different directions.
At Oliver’s Battery Chiropractic we have two sports massage therapists (Lisa and Pat) who help patients with things like sports injuries to general tension. They work alongside Clare and I to help our patients get a lasting recovery as quickly as possible. Once someone’s initial problem is better, many people choose to come back to see our Chiropractors or massage therapists every 6 weeks or so as they find this helps them prevent reoccurrences of their symptoms. This is very much up to the patient and we do not pressure people into signing up to anything long term, it’s your call!
Ultimately, when telling people what Chiropractors can treat, it is important that the claims are backed up by robust evidence. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has an extensive list on their website of all the things Chiropractors can claim to treat after they reviewed the literature behind each condition. This is the same for all medical health professionals and is an important way to stop practitioners from making wacky claims.
If you are suffering from anything mentioned in this blog or have any questions regarding your condition and our approach, please feel free to get in touch. We can let you know whether we’ll be able to help you, and if not, point you in the right direction to an appropriate consultant or therapist.
Dr Alexander White MChiro DC
