At our clinic we advocate quality, safe and ethical evidence based practice. With a combination of the chiropractor's expertise and best availible clinical research evidence we can treat a number of problems. (Some are listed here). In the event that quality research is not availible then our clients needs and chiropractor's expertise will be taken in the highest regard. However all clinical procedures will be based on biologically sound theory and where possible supported by sound scientific evidence.

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As much or as little as you want to. We don't force you to sign or agree to anything. We'll recommend what we deem an appropriate time to book your next appointment is, sometimes we may even mention that its ok to call the day before and cancel if everything its feeling great. Our idea of being the best chiropractor's possible is to provide you with the information to best help you look after yourself.

In most cases, not at all. Some people report a little bit of discomfort during an adjustment and one in three notice some 'post treatment tenderness.' However if at any stage you would like the chiropractor to use less pressure, just ask. If you've have had a massage before, then a chiropractic adjustment will feel comparibly much less painful.

Although chiropractic is very safe, side effects can occur for almost any medical/allied health intervention (have a read of the side of a panadol packet). Chiropractic is not an exception; Headache, fatigue and soreness are some more common side effects which generally subside in 24hrs (about 1 in 10000 clients notice symptoms that last 7days before subsiding)[1]. A commonly asked question is about manipulations to the neck and associated neurological conditions such as stroke, which reports an incident of around 1 in 1500000 [2]. This number can be lowered if all the proper history and tests are performed prior to neck manipulation and if manipulations are restricted only to those trained to do so.
1*[Thiel HW, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: A prospective national survey. Spine. 2007;32:2375.]
2*[Hurwitz EL, Aker PD, Adams AH, Meeker WC, Shekelle PG. Manipulation and mobilization of the cervical spine. A systematic review of the literature. Spine. 1996;21:1746-1759.]

In the words of the New Zealand Government’s Inquiry, chiropractic care is “remarkably safe.” Chiropractic has an excellent safety record. It is the result of a conservative approach to health that avoids invasive procedures or addictive drugs.1 In relation to the treatment of neck and back pain, studies have shown that a course of chiropractic care was 250 times safer than a course of anti-inflammatory drugs.2
[1] Chiropractic in New Zealand: Report of the Commission of Inquiry. (1979). Hasselberg PD, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand
[2] Dabbs,V., & Lauretti,W.J. (1995). A Risk Assessment of Cervical Manipulation vs NSAIDs for the Treatment of Neck Pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 18(8), 530-536
taken from CAA website

No. But you can! GP's in Australia can refer a client with a chronic problem to see a chiropractor for up to 5 medicare funded visits. Leaving you out of pocket, nothing.

Modern chiropractic primarily involves the diagnosis and management of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system affecting all ages. While the treatment of adults remains the majority of our practice, we commonly attend to the care of infants and children. Just as in the treatment of adults, when chiropractors are called on to care for children the treatment goals must not be in conflict with the best available clinical evidence. In situations where the available evidence is incomplete or poor it is important that parents are fully advised of the evidence base for the proposed treatment and that conservative goals are set. Commonly, a trial of treatment may be undertaken in such circumstances before making a final decision on the best course of management. This is especially important in cases where the primary symptom may be non-musculoskeletal in nature. A collaborative approach in the delivery of care is recommended as part of a patient centred approach. Caring for children brings with it additional responsibilities for health professionals and in providing chiropractic paediatric care practitioners must ensure they practice within their limits of competence, training and experience.
Taken directly from Chiropractic Australia

Chiropractors are required to adhere to strict and extensive educational requirements and standards to become registered health professionals in Australia. Australian chiropractors are five year university trained, and are government registered and government regulated health professionals. To become a registered chiropractor in Australia you must have studied an accredited 5-year chiropractic program conducted at a University within Australia, or have completed an accredited program overseas that satisfies the requirements set by the Australian Chiropractic Regulating authority.

A chiropractic adjustment is the skill of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is fixated, “locked up”, or not moving properly. This adds motion to the joint, helping the joints to gradually regain more normal motion and function. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is to permit improved spinal function, improved nervous system function, and improved health. There are many ways to adjust the spine. Usually the chiropractor's hands or a specially designed instrument delivers a brief and highly-accurate thrust. Some adjusting methods are quick, whereas others require a slow, constant or indirect pressure. After years of university training and clinical experience, each chiropractor becomes highly skilled in the delivery of a variety of adjusting approaches.

Spinal problems, neglected since early childhood, may require ongoing supportive care for optimum spinal function. These long-standing problems are often associated with muscle weakness, soft tissue damage, and degenerative changes to the spine. Most patients find that periodic chiropractic checkups help keep them in tip-top shape. Those who are active, have stressful jobs, or want to be their very best, find that a schedule of preventative visits are helpful in the maintenance of good health. Some patients seek chiropractic care only when their ache or pain becomes unbearable. While this style of “crisis management” is usually more costly and time consuming, chiropractors stand ready to help all patients, regardless of their health goals. How long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you.

In understanding the difference between Chiropractic and Physiotherapy, we recommend referring to the definition of each practice. Chiropractic is a health care discipline based on the scientific premise that the body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. The practice of Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine, and pelvis) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Physiotherapy, as described by the Australian Physiotherapy Association, “uses a variety of techniques to help your muscles and joints work to their full potential. It can help repair damage by speeding up the healing process and reducing pain and stiffness." Each individual is different and must make their own choice about the most appropriate method of care for them. We believe Chiropractic, with its central focus on the spine, nervous system and their impact on entire body provides a health care option that can help manage pain as well as assist in achieving optimal well-being.

Your joints can make a variety of sounds: popping, cracking, grinding, and snapping. The joints that "crack" are the knuckles, knees, ankles, back, and neck. There are different reasons why these joints make noises.
Escaping gases: Scientists explain that synovial fluid present in your joints acts as a lubricant. The fluid contains the gases oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When you pop or crack a joint, you stretch the joint capsule. Gas is rapidly released, which forms bubbles. In order to crack the same knuckle again, you have to wait until the gases return to the synovial fluid.
Movement of joints, tendons and ligaments: When a joint moves, the tendon’s position changes and moves slightly out of place. You may hear a snapping sound as the tendon returns to its original position. In addition, your ligaments may tighten as you move your joints. This commonly occurs in your knee or ankle, and can make a cracking sound.
Rough surfaces: Arthritic joints make sounds caused by the loss of smooth cartilage and the roughness of the joint surface.

Because every chiropractor is a different person, with different values and varing ideas of what health is. What's important is you find someone who you think is great to help you. If you don't like one chiropractor then there's probably another one around the corner who will suit you better.

Chiropractic in short works by removing interference to your nervous system. Thats why an adjustment can relieve pain almost instantly for some people. Chiropractors do alot of things ranging from diet and exercise advice, to strapping ankles, massage, but one thing common is the adjustment. Recieving a spinal adjustment creates movement in your spine, which triggers sensors around your spine and those sensors send signals up through your nervous system that runs through your spine. Into your brain. Once the message gets to your brain, it then calibrates and compares that what it's intentions are match what is actually happening, then sends a signal back down to the adjusted part of your spine to confirm that there has been movement. An adjustment is like a re-calibration of your nervous system at a certain area.

In short yes, how good is feeling better!! But will you experience withdrawls? Absolutely not although we recommend a regular adjustment to slow the degeneration process of your spine, we wont find you shaking in the corner if you don't come in.

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Everyone varies depending on a number of factors. Including but not limited to; how much it hurts, your pain tolerance, how long you've had the problem, whether the pain is sharp or dull, what you're going to do after an adjustment. The easiest way is to have an open and frank discussion with your practitioner and monitor improvement after treatment.

Chiropractors are not trained in pharmacology or immunisation. It is outside of our scope to advise or comment on vaccination or immunisation.

Vertebral Subluxation is the name given to the malfunction of movement and neurological disruption at a particular spinal segment by the founders of chiropractic in 1895. The term was then borrowed from medical literature and most chiropractors would agree that a 'chiropractic subluxation' is different to a 'medical subluxation'. Some of the profession has held onto the term despite the possible confusion. Our take on vertebral subluxation is that "we know what it refers to, but we also think that there are other ways to describe the dysfunction that happens in the spine and affects the way our bodies work". We do agree that chiropractors can help change and prevent dysfunction in the spine through treatment, exercise, diet and education.

Wellness care is a term often used in chiropractic clinics to differentiate between other types of care such as Crisis care, maintainence care, corrective care (rehab) and primary care (relief).
Wellness care is all about keeping you at 100%; a pro athlete would most likely seek wellness care to be at the pinnicle of their game and squeezing the most out of every part of their mental and physical body.
Crisis care is a patch up to get you out of pain, someone undergoing crisis care might need to take sometime off work and feel an improvement after an adjustment. However the problem that some people face is continually being patched up never leaves them feeling a sense of vitality they may constantly function at 20% never 100% but it gets them through the day
maintainence care not to confused with wellness care which doesn't get you to the level of pro athlete but allows you to function consistently at a higher level. Your core might be a little weak still, and you might binge on junk food but all in all you feel quite good functioning around 80%. Most of our clients recieve maintainence care if they chose to continue care after feeling better initially, as it is a nice cost to benefit ratio
corrective care or as it's better understood 'rehab'. If you've ever been to a physio you'll know all about this. This occurs once you've gone through primary care (i talk about it next) and you begin to feel better but it's the step taken to improve the underlying factors that created the pain in the first place. For example making sure your pelvis is aligned to stop muscles cramping causing back pain
primary care or relief care. This is normally the first visit people make to a chiropractor and can be vary similar to crisis care. The difference is that primary care is the first time and crisis care is an ongoing pattern of recieving treatment for the same thing.

Alot of information hey? To summarise with a gardening analogy. If you have a tree in your backyard that doesn't flower and you ignore it, then it begins to wilt. Trees are expensive so you prop it up (crisis or primary care) consult a tree chiropractor (or google) and diagnose your tree with a defeciency in the phosphate in the soil. Fertlising the soil with phosphate rich fertiliser is corrective care. Slowly the tree comes back to looking healthy. Theres now three routes you can take as most chiropractic clients do.
1. Meticulously care for the tree once a week by testing the soil and applying what ever it needs to be the best tree forever. This is choosing wellness
2. Check on your tree periodically, maybe once a month, with all your new found knowledge from google you know what to look for if something isn't right. Top up the soil with fertiliser once in a while. This is maintainence care
3. It's winter again and your tree looks unhappy again. you know what to do from here. but it's not flowering again. Your tree will stay alive, but it's not looking vibrant and doesn't produce any fruit. This is crisis care

We believe in being open, honest and upfront.

Yes, we do treat children with chiropractic care