Back pain is one of the most common complaints seen in Chiropractic practice. 80% of the population will suffer from back pain at some point in their life.

Back pain can arise from many sources in the back including:

ligaments and joints: Passive structures that provide support to the back and enable movement.

Muscles: Active tissues that contract in order to move the joints of the spine and provide support to the passive structures of the back (joints and discs).

Discs: More rarely injured, these are shock absorbers in-between each bony vertebra that are filled with a jelly like substance that helps absorb force. Sometimes the outer part of the disc is torn which causes the jelly like substance to protrude, compress nerves and cause pain. This is sometimes called a “slipped disc”.

At Bodycare Chiropractic we are experts at assessing and determining the structure(s) responsible for your pain and applying the necessary treatment and advice.

Sciatica means pain traveling down the course of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve originates in our lower back and travels down each leg through our buttocks.

Compression of the sciatic nerve either at the back or along its course is what is responsible for “sciatica”. Generally this is caused by a disc herniating and pressing on the adjacent nerve in the spine. It feels like a sharp, burning, shooting or electric shock like pain descending the course of the leg. It is more common in those that sit for long periods/are inactive, those that lift heavy objects and in the older population.

Not all leg pain and buttock pain is down to sciatica however, in fact the muscles and joints of the lower back and buttocks can also refer pain down the leg in a similar pattern and are much easier to resolve.

At Bodycare Chiropractic we can perform an in depth neurological assessment in order to rule out nerve compression in the lower back and give you a treatment plan appropriate for your issue.

One of the most common and overlooked causes of a headache are headaches that originate from the neck. These are called “cervicogenic” headaches and are a type of referred pain originating from the muscles and joints of the neck.

Since lockdown we have seen a large increase in patients seeking treatment for neck pain, headaches and shoulder pain. This is often down to occupational changes as peoples place of work was relocated to their homes. Without the proper ergonomic setup, people have been adopting poor postural positions for prolonged periods and overstraining these areas.

Poor posture leads to a pattern of muscular imbalances around the joints of the neck causing increased strain through certain parts of the neck and resulting referred pain up to the head.

At Bodycare Chiropractic we will perform an in depth assessment to help identify the cause of your headache and treat/advise where we can.

We can treat cervicogenic headaches using a variety of specific manipulation techniques or soft tissue techniques combined with exercises and postural guidance.

The shoulder joint is an amazing compromise between stability and mobility. The shoulder achieves this using a large array of small intricate muscles to help stabilise the shoulder joint within its capsule. These intricate muscles are called our rotator cuff muscles and these soft tissues are a common source of injury within our shoulders through tears or from a condition known as “impingement” where parts of these muscles/tendons get trapped within some of the small openings in our shoulder.

Rotator cuff injuries like this are just one common cause of pain and dysfunction of the shoulder, shoulder pain can also be the result of instability, frozen shoulder, bursitis and damage to the joint lining (labrum). In some other cases pain can also be referred from our necks and mid backs as well as our organs (such as left sided shoulder and arm pain in a heart attack).

At Bodycare Chiropractic we will assess you in detail to rule out other more serious causes of shoulder pain so we can refer you elsewhere if needed.

Once diagnosed we treat shoulder pain based on the underlying cause with rotator cuff injuries needing more soft tissue work and rehab and referred pain from the mid back or neck requiring manipulation and postural exercises.

Neck pain is the second most common issue we see at Bodycare Chiropractic, this has been magnified by the sudden shift to working from home and people hunching over laptops and dining room tables.

Neck pain results from injuries of the joints, muscles or discs of the cervical spine (neck). Sometimes neck pain can be associated with arm pain and pins and needles which is often the result of a nerve being compressed within the neck or the muscles/joints around the neck referring said pain into the upper limb.

At Bodycare Chiropractic we can perform a neurological exam to help rule out nerve compression in the neck and diagnose the injured structures and formulate a treatment plan accordingly for your needs. Often treatment needs to be combined with lifestyle changes to help remove the offending factors which have contributed to the injury occurring.

Including:

Minor Sports injuries

Pregnancy related aches and pains

Joint pains (such as hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis)

Generalised Aches and Pains

Cramp and Muscle Spasms

Tension and an Inability to relax