There are many things that limit our enjoyment of life, not excluding back pain, neck pain and headaches. In fact, I think I’ve worked on pain at the tops of heads, all the way to fingers and toes, and basically everything in between.
Obviously pain is the main reason people might seek treatment, but I’ve also worked on numbness, tingling and weakness in many forms, as well as dizziness and vertigo. These symptoms can be signs of dysfunction elsewhere in the body, and affect peoples' ability to work, play and exercise the way they’d like.
What’s sometimes less obvious until someone says it, is that there’s one thing common to all of those issues, the nervous system. Helping the nervous system change and adapt and become healthier takes many forms, and manual therapy specifically, is my area of expertise.
If the nervous system is there —and really there aren’t many places in our body that it isn’t— then, I’m interested.
Consultation & Examination
It's important to get a really good understanding of your problems, and goals.
During an initial consultation, we will perform some assessment, which may include posture checks, range of motion, static and motion palpation, neurological and orthopaedic tests.
The spine is a pretty important, central structure. To be honest, there are things I’m much more interested in than spines, but they are a very good “in” for creating change, so long as there’s efforts made to trace other contributing factors.
Which is what matters, really, if you want lasting change. As powerful as spinal manipulation might be as an agent of change, working on the spine by itself doesn’t fix many things.
We will certainly get into some form of treatment in the first session, which will usually involve adjustments of the spine and sometimes limbs, unless you are not comfortable with that, or there is pathology or injury noted preventing this.
Educating patients and sharing understanding with you, is important. The better you understand your own condition the more you will benefit from the treatment and care you receive. This understanding will provide you with more control of your own healing.
Treatment recommendations and what is expected in the road ahead can change, and involve different approaches, or referral to other practitioners and specialists- options around this would be discussed fully.
Techniques
Many different techniques or methods may be used in your session, most of them include hands on work. Some are gentle, while others are firmer. There are almost always alternate approaches.
Some of the main techniques utilised include drop table adjustments, Myofascial Release/MFR, Dermoneuromodulation/DNM, Neuromuscular Therapy/NMT, PNF, MET and neurodynamic stretching, Awareness Through Movement, Voodoo Floss, Cranial and Visceral work, as well as TMJ techniques.
Generally I find as care progresses, and symptoms start to improve, there tends to be less and less focus on the spine, and more time spent with the peripheral nervous system, which are all the nerves that run out to the body, from the spine. The last four year in practice has certainly taught me how important looking after those peripheral nerves really is.
If you have any concerns or health issues you would like me to be aware of, please do discuss them, as to better understand your personal requirements, with the work tailored to have a better effect.
Rates
ACC
Initial 40mins $95
Follow up 20mins $70
Follow up 40mins $120
Private
Initial 40mins $120
Follow up 20mins $90
Follow up 40mins $160
Monday 10-6
Tuesday 7-3
Wednesday 11-7
Thursday 9-4
Your first session with Hugh
If you have not visited before, a longer slot is required for additional notes discussion and assessment. Depending on other bookings, there may be periods during the week where longer sessions are unavailable.
As chiropractic often involves movement of different body parts. It is ideal to wear comfortable/practical clothing that allows a reasonable amount of freedom. Sessions are usually fully clothed, unless specific work is required, in which case we will discuss the approach beforehand.
Please allow 40 minutes for your first visit. Follow up visits are generally around 20 minutes.
40 minute follow ups are also available, often it’s possible to get much more done in 40 minutes than in two 20 minute sessions.