Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic has grown increasingly as a profession mainly because of its irrefutable effectiveness for back pain, however, more evidence is emerging for other musculoskeletal problems. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on treatments and care for people using the NHS. It is recognised as being a world leader in setting standards for high-quality healthcare and is the most prolific producer of clinical guidelines in the world. Nice guidelines make evidence-based recommendations on a wide range of topics, from preventing and managing specific conditions to planning broader services and interventions to improve the health of communities. These aim to promote integrated care where appropriate.

Nice guidelines recommend an integrated approach including the management of back pain with or without sciatica. They specifically mention manipulation to be offered as part of a care package. Manipulation is the basis of chiropractic care, however, chiropractors include lifestyle recommendations to improve the outcome further. For anyone skeptical of Chiropractic’s effectiveness for low back pain, just quote The Nice Guidelines.

In common with other healthcare professionals such as medical practitioners nurses and dentists, the chiropractic profession is regulated by law. The Chiropractors Act 1994 provides statutory regulation for the profession and the title ‘chiropractor’ is protected under this legislation. The statutory regulator is the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) and it is illegal to practise as a chiropractor without being registered with the GCC.

Meriel is a registered Chiropractor and practices closely with the code of ethics. Meriel is also a member of the British Chiropractic Association and is a fellow of the Royal College of Chiropractors.

Chiropractic training is typically a 4-5 years course (or 6 if you live in Switzerland) in order to become a competent primary health care practitioner. Training includes in-depth knowledge on anatomy, neurology and physiology and mechanics. All chiropractors are also trained in radiology and radiography, however, some go on to further their qualification in diagnostic ultrasound.

Meriel trained at the prestigious AECC university college which happens to be one of the best training institutes in the world and graduated in 2007 with her masters in Chiropractic.

An adjustment is a small specific impulse to a joint complex either in the spine or in the extremities. This helps to unlock stiff and dysfunctional joints in order to get the area moving better and decreasing muscle spasm and inflammation.

The natural side effect of this is pain reduction. Because joints have a very complex nerve supply, manipulation to the area can have some profound neurological effects and can produce results distant to the site of application.

Because Chiropractic can create such positive effects on spine and joint function, more and more professional sports people are utilising chiropractic for performance optimisation.

Sports chiropractors can see athletes either in their office or work as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside for example exercise physiologists and strength and conditioning coaches. It is used in premiership football and rugby as well as tennis to name but a few.