Is Chiropractic & Remedial Massage Right For You?

In the case of spinal joints when they are injured, the joints function or movement is reduced/impaired. This shift causes some of the ligaments around the joint to stretch. As the ligaments stretch the nerves in the ligament are set off, sending a signal to the brain that there is a problem in the joint. A reflex signal is then sent back to the muscles around the joint to tighten in order to protect the joint.

This process is called the Dorsal Ramus Reflex (DRR). It is the body’s way of trying to keep itself balanced and functioning as well as it can. The DRR may cause pain from the stretching of the ligaments, the tightness and spasming of the muscles or it may result in no pain at all.

Often when people have hurt their neck or back they will take pain medication. Pain medication works by reducing the number of signals traveling between the nerves in the stretched ligaments and the brain resulting in you feeling less pain. However, the underlying problem (such as the stiff joint causing the ligaments to stretch) remains untreated. This can result in adaptations around the injured area creating potential postural and muscle imbalances.

Conversely chiropractic treatment utilizes manipulation (chiropractic adjustments) to improve joint motion (how the joint functions), reducing the tension on the ligament causing a reduction in the pain signals being sent up to the brain, while also reducing the reflex signal causing the muscle spasm around the injured joint. By treating the joint, muscles and ligaments in addition to techniques such as dry needling, micro-current, cold laser, soft tissue techniques, exercise therapy and rehabilitation exercises chiropractors are able to improve joint function, reduce muscle spasm and assist in correcting any muscle and postural imbalances to help you get back to normal life sooner.

Chiropractic manipulation adjusts a series of neuro-physiological pathways to alter the state of the muscles, pain fibers and blood flow around a joint. Manipulation is recommended as a front-line intervention for the treatment of acute, subacute and chronic lower back pain as well as the treatment of neck pain. ^1,2,3,4,5

On a more superficial level the adjustment of specific joints can break up intra-articular adhesions (tight areas inside the joint), thereby helping to alleviate pain, muscle tightness and inflammation, and allowing the tissues to heal.

There are 3 main pathways in the body that manipulation or adjustment alter:

• A region inside the brain which sends signals back down the spinal cord to modify the body’s transmission of pain.
• Special receptors in the body to inhibit (stop) the response of nerves in the spinal cord from responding to pain.
• Receptors in muscles and tendons which trigger a reduction in the activity of a special type of nerve, resulting in relaxation of the muscles in that area.

Sports chiropractors are chiropractors who hold higher postgraduate sports chiropractic and/or sports and exercise medicine qualifications. It is this higher level of knowledge and education that is required to be able to understand the often-complex area of sports-related injuries which may involve a variety of different causes and usually require a wider range of treatment interventions and rehabilitation. Some of those causes include:

• Repeatedly doing the same thing without having enough rest periods
• Doing too much too quickly
• A sudden event or trauma like a fall, bump or landing awkwardly
• A weakness or imbalance somewhere in the movement chain
• A combination of the above

As one the preeminent sports chiropractors in Australia, Dr. Shannon’s approach to treating sports-related injuries is to initially understand all the factors that contributed to the injury, establish where the break downs in the body have or are occurring and then targeting the treatment to address those problems to rehabilitate, strengthen and balance the body, as well as educating the patient on why the injury occurred and how to potentially reduce the risks of reinjury. It is the reason why we are used and trusted by a variety of elite athletes and teams.

The Shannon Clinic – Melbourne Chiropractic and Sports Care also has networks setup for specialist imaging, pain and PRP injections, as well as sports medicine and orthopedic surgical referrals for patients that need more comprehensive care.