How we help
Lower back pain is the most common reason people walk through our door on the Northern Beaches, and it is the problem chiropractic care has the strongest evidence behind it for. It is also the problem most often treated at the spot that hurts rather than where it is coming from. We start by working out which one you have.
It can come from a joint that has stopped moving properly, a disc, muscles that have been compensating for months, an old injury that never fully settled, or a combination working together. The treatment that helps one of those does very little for another, which is why guessing turns out to be expensive.
Our 31 point assessment exists for this. Over 45 minutes Murray takes your history, watches how you bend, twist and load the spine, and examines each region by hand. He is looking for where movement has been lost and what the rest of your back has been doing to compensate.
Very often the sore spot is the compensation rather than the cause. A lower back that hurts every afternoon is frequently doing the work of a stiff hip or a mid-back that stopped rotating years ago. Treat only the sore spot and it comes back. That is the pattern most people describe when they arrive here after trying a few other things.
If imaging would genuinely change the recommendation we will tell you and arrange it. If it would not, we will not send you for it. Not every sore back needs an X-ray, and being told that clearly is part of an honest assessment.
Some back pain does not belong with a chiropractor at all. Pain with fever, unexplained weight loss, changes in bladder or bowel control, or numbness that is spreading needs medical attention rather than an adjustment. Screening for that is part of the first appointment, and if any of it shows up you are referred immediately.
For the large majority though, it is mechanical, it is explainable, and there is a clear plan. You leave the report visit knowing what is going on, roughly how long it should take, and what you need to do between appointments.
Stiff and sore for the first half hour of the day, better once you are moving, worse again by evening. Usually a movement problem rather than a damage problem.
It went during a lift, a surf, or picking up a toddler, and three weeks later it is still there. Often a joint or disc irritation not given a reason to settle.
Fine on the weekend, sore by Wednesday. Load without variation. This one usually needs a change at the desk as much as anything done in the clinic.
For most mechanical back pain, staying gently active beats bed rest. What that looks like for you depends on what is found, and you will get specifics rather than general advice.
Often yes, with technique modified accordingly. Disc findings on imaging are common and do not automatically explain your pain. Murray will go through what your scan does and does not mean.
It varies with how long it has been there and what is driving it. You get a realistic estimate at the report visit, and if you are not tracking the way we expected, the plan changes.
Yes. Advice on load, movement and your working setup is part of the plan, because what you do for the other 23 hours matters more than what happens in the room.
Most is not, but screening for the small number of cases needing medical attention is part of the first appointment. If anything concerning shows up you are referred straight away.
Chiropractic is covered by most extras policies. Check your level of cover with your fund and we can provide what you need to claim.
A 45-minute assessment and a straight answer. $59 for new patients.
Related: neck pain, sports chiropractic, scoliosis, how our chiropractic care works.
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