How we work

As Chiropractors we work to diagnose, treat and prevent mechanical disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system (nerves, muscles, bones and joints).

Our chiropractic sessions have an emphasis on manual adjustments, soft-tissue work, physical rehabilitation and education.

We work to lessen the affect that these mechanical disorders have on your body, your health and your well-being. Our aim is to help you build a strong physical and neurological framework. Upon which you can maintain your long term health and well-being.

OUR APPROACH TO CHIROPRACTIC

We take a holistic and integrated approach to your health care. We work hard to fulfill our aim in delivering the best in evidence based Chiropractic care. When injury does occur we know that the right diagnosis is essential, but execution of care and proper management is everything. We have injury management plans for challenging cases, but we also have systems in place for those who want to take a pro-active approach to optimising their health before injury occurs.

Our practice is structured so that we can see your case right through from start to finish. We strive to provide each client with a seamless experience and take the hassle out of health care. Our goal is for the children in our practice, to be able to thoroughly embrace and enjoy their growing years, and for the adults to lead healthy and active lives at maximum potential. So if your goal is a long term health and wellness, we are the chiropractors for you and your family.

Common conditions

• Low back pain including disc bulge/injury

• Sciatica & back related leg pain

• Mid back pain or thoracic pain including rib sprain

• Neck pain including acute whiplash & torticollis or ‘wry’ neck

• Headaches including cervicogenic, tension-type & migraine

• Temporomandibular (TMJ) dysfunction and painCervicogenic dizziness/balance disorder

• Poor posture including ‘hump’ back, rounded shoulders & forward head carriage

• Scoliosis or side bending of the spine

• Shoulder conditions including shoulder impingement syndrome, rotator cuff injury & adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)

• Elbow conditions including lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) & medial epicondylitis (golfers elbow)

• Wrist conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome

• Coccyx pain aka. Coccydynia

• Hip conditions including hip osteoarthritis

• Knee conditions including knee osteoarthritis & patello-femoral pain syndrome

• Ankle & foot conditions including ankle sprain & plantar fasciitis

DISCLAIMER

Chiropractic care is a manual therapy intervention which includes adjustments as well as other treatment modalities. Including but not limited to; mobilisations, soft tissue techniques, patient education and rehabilitative exercises. The above conditions have been shown,  in both research and clinical practice, to respond to chiropractic care as described above. Although, as with all interventions, each individual will respond differently to care. This is why we tailor and individualise all schedules of care as appropriate.

TREATMENTS EXPLAINED

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care at Better Health involves a comprehensive initial consultation and individualised schedules of care. Our chiropractic sessions have an emphasis on manual chiropractic adjustments yet they also include soft-tissue techniques, physical rehabilitation programs and specific patient education. We take a holistic approach to your care and include lifestyle guidance and injury prevention strategies where possible. The treatment protocols listed here are not an exhaustive list of what we utilise in practice, but a sample of the tools we use to help our patients get back to being pain free and working towards preventative health and well-being.

The Chiropractic adjustment is what separates Chiropractic care from a multitude of other manual therapy options available. It is often what is sought after most when a patient decides to investigate Chiropractic care. The Chiropractic adjustment is well known to decrease pain, increase range of motion and decrease muscle spasm locally. New research is now showing that the Chiropractic adjustment, via its role in normalising joint motion and alignment, has further reaching effects on the global function of the entire brain and nervous system.

Exercise Rehabilitation

Prescription exercises are an integral part of our structured plans of care. These are designed to improve areas of your strength, endurance, co-ordination, balance and posture. We developing indivicualised programs for rehabilitation depending on your concern of area of weakness. These may encompass neurological or brain based exercises through to dynamic neuromuscular stabilisation (DNS) and retraining of movement patterns or cardiovascular and strength training programs. We have found from years of experience, that the more you understand your condition, the better able you are to take control in self management. This will lead to a better long term prognosis and reduce your risk of re-injury.

EMG Biofeedback

Electromyography (EMG) uses surface electrodes to measure electrical muscle activity beneath the skin.This technology is useful both diagnostically and in injury rehabilitation. To protect your joints, your muscles need to be finely coordinated to switch on and off at exactly the right time with exactly the right amount of force. EMG allows us to measure imbalances between muscle groups by showing: timing differences in muscle activation, rate of muscle fatigue and individual and comparative muscle strength. EMG allows us to pin point which muscle, and at what particular part of the contraction, weakness and imbalance occur. By using EMG as a biofeedback tool you, as the patient, can have instantaneous feedback and correction in real time. This makes EMG an effective injury rehabilitation and re-training tool.

Sympathetic Dominance Protocol

Due to the stressful demands of the lifestyles we commonly lead, our body responds not just on a physical level but also chemically and hormonally. This is a natural response as part of our sympathetic nervous system and is often referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response. This system should only be switched on for short bursts of time to get us through a stressful event, before our body then switches back over to the parasympathetic nervous system or the ‘rest and digest’ system.

Sympathetic Dominance is the chronic over-activity of the ‘fight or flight’ response as the sympathetic nervous system has dominance over the parasympathetic. This can lead to musculoskeletal imbalances, suppression of immune, digestive and reproductive system functions and a decrease in the general reparative abilities of the body. So if you have food intolerance’s, regular headaches, migraines, sensitivity to light and noise &/or a range of seemingly unrelated but altogether frustrating health issues, then this may be the answer for you.

Respiratory Capnography 

Respiratory Capnography provides a scientific method for measuring breathing behaviour. It allows us to measure breathing rate, rhythm and carbon dioxide levels. This information is used as a feedback tool to help retrain faulty breathing habits. Breathing behaviour is particularly affected by emotional health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. Respiratory capnography has also been used with great success in the treatment of other conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure, migraine, chronic fatigue and sleep related disorders such as apnoea and snoring.