A guide to choosing the right clinic for you

The ‘best Chiropractor in Derby’ is whoever works best for you as an individual. In this guide we have tried our very best to be as impartial as possible in giving you some advice in helping you choose the right team or clinician for your problem.

Most people only realise that they need to make changes to their health and lifestyle when something has gone wrong, and that is completely normal – how can you appreciate the good if you’ve never had the bad? With this approach it is normal for people to be in some amount of pain or discomfort when they start looking for ways to fix it. This starting point is the first hurdle and it can be quite difficult knowing what to do or who to see for your problem, especially when you want a fast fix.

Derby Chiropractor – a common google search

So how do you know where to start? If you have neck pain for example, and you search for a ‘Chiropractor in Derby’ you will see a list of Chiropractors, Osteopaths and Physio’s – but you could also see your Doctor, try exercises, take pain medications… the list goes on. And with that list likely comes a story from family and friends of what happened to them and how they fixed it.

Here are some non-biased pointers for finding the right Chiropractor for you, with additional comments we hope are helpful.

You can see us first, but see your GP if in doubt

GP’s are trained to rule in and rule out medical conditions which can mask themselves as musculoskeletal pain – so it is always sensible to see them if you are unsure what is going on. With neck pain or headaches for example, they can make sure it is a ‘safe’ problem i.e. not a medical emergency, and then they can offer pain medications or put you on the waiting list for an onward referral.

‘Chiropractors are highly trained and as primary healthcare practitioners can accept patients without having to see their GP first. You can rest assured that when you come to see us at Chellaston Chiropractic Clinic if it turns out not to be a problem with which we can help, we will refer you straight to your GP. We are often able to start your treatment on the first visit too.’

Make sure the person has the correct qualifications

Someone once told me ‘personally I do not take gardening advice from my dentist, nor do I ask my accountant about my car’ which I feel is a very sound approach to adopt when it is you and your body! Check their credentials and make sure they are registered health professionals.

‘At Chellaston Chiropractic Clinic we are registered with the General Chiropractic Council and members of the British Chiropractic Association. Our team are experienced and carry out continued professional development (CPD) to keep updated with current knowledge. Meet the team here.’

Does what you have been told make sense?

‘Don’t be afraid to ask what is wrong and why it is there. We find that people who get the best results from care really understand the process and know why they are being treated, and what for. If it doesn’t make sense it is less likely you will stick with the programme and the advice given.’

Are you seeing results?

If not, ask if you should be. Each injury does have a healing time, but you want to know where you fit on that spectrum.

‘At Chellaston Chiropractic Clinic as a general rule for people presenting with a neck or back problems we like to see changes within 1-3 sessions. That doesn’t mean that people will be completely out of pain, but we measure lots of different factors so we can assess how you are changing, and can give you the best advice so you know where you are at in your recovery.’

Is your progress being assessed?

Are you ‘signing up’ for a long course of treatments before finding out if you will respond?

‘We continually assess your progress on a session by session basis and we figure out together how well you are recovering and when not we can either treat you quickly or provide additional exercises or advice.’

Is the person congruent?

Do they practice what they preach in their approach?

Are you being assessed as a whole person?

Often a knee problem isn’t just a knee problem nor is a shoulder just a shoulder problem. All the areas of your body work together and as such a back problem is going to be harder to fix if you are walking around with other areas of dysfunction lower down or higher up the kinematic chain.

‘At Chellaston Chiropractic Clinic we assess people as a whole checking the spine, extremity joints, muscles and nervous system. We have a systematic approach checking for your levels of strength, symmetry and stiffness in your body to find out what caused the problem.’

Your best Chiropractor in Derby?

Sometimes the worst thing to do is nothing at all, as the problem just gets worse. Yet sometimes you wish you had not done anything if you make the wrong choice and spend a lot of time without getting results. When you do choose to seek care just make sure you are armed with as much knowledge and get as much help in making the right decisions for you, from the right team. We offer a free advice service where you can come in and ask these sorts of questions before you actually commit to the treatment and find it often puts a lot of patients at ease knowing that who they are seeing knows what they are talking about.

Call us on 01332 840750 to make an appointment or book online now.

Andrew Harlow – Derby Chiropractor