When he was 12 years old, a basketball injury caused Macquarie Chiropractic founder Seow Kim Seng a lot of pain. His initial options were taking painkillers daily or undergoing surgery.

Not wanting to go down this route, he visited a chiropractor. The regular treatments helped to relieve the signs of disc herniation and scoliosis in the teenager.

Inspired by his own experience, he studied chiropractic and eventually set up Macquarie Chiropractic.

While his encounter with chiropractic care began with a sports-related injury, this is less likely to occur among his clients today. Many of them work in deskbound jobs with little to no exercise. This makes them more vulnerable to shoulder and back pains.

Dr Seow aims to offer them high-quality chiropractic care coupled with the latest in technological advancements, which include the use of the Hill decompression table, flexion distraction table and shockwave therapy.

Here, he addresses some common myths about chiropractors and chiropractic care.

Myth 1: Chiropractors do the same work as physiotherapists.

Both professions help you to deal with pain management and can be categorised under conservative care – the approach used in treating nerve, muscle and joint problems before surgical options have to be considered.

But here’s the key difference between chiropractors and physiotherapists. The former focus -on the spine and its related structures, offering spinal alignment and adjustment by hand or using an instrument. Chiropractors believe in improving areas of the spine that are not moving or functioning well in order to relieve pain or tension.

Physiotherapists improve your mobility and reduce pain levels with exercise rehabilitation programmes and assistive devices. They treat problems like back pain, headaches, ankle sprains and knee injuries, and believe that muscle-related weakness is the root cause of these problems.

Myth 2: Chiropractors only crack backs.

Although much of chiropractic science is based on spinal manipulation or adjustment, trained chiropractors also have an in-depth understanding of how the spine and its related structures like soft tissue are connected to the body’s overall functions.

Besides spinal manipulation, a chiropractor may also recommend strengthening and conditioning exercises, mobilisation (the gentle movement of joints to increase their range of motion), therapeutic stretching and massages, as well as advice on lifestyle modifications.

Myth 3: We only need to see a chiropractor when we are in pain or discomfort.

If you seek help when you already experience pain, your condition may already be too severe. Said Dr Seow: “You wouldn’t wait for your car to start making strange noises before sending it for servicing. Likewise, when was the last time you actually assessed your spinal alignment before you felt any symptoms?”

He cited the example of a 24-year-old patient who felt numbness in her legs after sneezing. An MRI scan determined that she had a slipped disc. Dr Seow later discovered that this was caused by her prolonged periods of sitting with bad posture – a result of her deskbound job.

Myth 4: Chiropractic adjustments are painful.

This is usually not the case unless you are already experiencing sharp pain in the first place.

Adjustments can help relieve pain. The clicking and popping sounds you hear after an adjustment are the sounds of pressure being released from the spinal facet joints and not the sound of breaking bones.

Myth 5: There is no proof of evidence for chiropractic care.

There is some proof that chiropractic treatment can help relieve certain conditions, as these references show.

A 2018 review published in The Spine Journal references numerous studies spanning 17 years which involved spinal manipulation and mobilisation. The review found “moderate-quality evidence” that chiropractic methods are “likely to reduce pain and improve function for patients with chronic low-back pain”.

A study published by the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), found that 93 per cent (26 out of 28) patients suffering from chronic whiplash syndrome improved following chiropractic treatment.

Another study published by the NCBI cites preliminary evidence which suggests chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy is beneficial for patients with back-related leg pain. However, the same study also noted that there is currently insufficient evidence to assess the effectiveness of this form of care.

In great news for those suffering from chronic headaches, a 2010 study published by NCBI concluded spinal manipulation is effective in treating both cervicogenic headaches (a secondary headache which caused by an underlying condition like a neck injury) and migraines.

To find out more, visit Macquarie Chiropractic.