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What is Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH). Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis or DISH, also known as Forestier’s disease, is a condition characterised by the gradual stiffening and hardening of ligaments and tendons in the spine and other areas of the body. The process of ligament hardening is called calcification and ossification, which is literally what it sounds like, the deposition of calcium in the spinal ligaments, leading to them turning to bone (ossification). Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) was first described by Forestier and Rotes-Querol in 1 ..read more

What Are Trigger Points? In my daily clinical practice, the vast majority of patients have tight and achy muscles that cause pain and restrict the movement of their joints. Muscles are complex structures within the human body that play a fundamental role in movement, stability, and support. They work through a coordinated process of contraction and relaxation, facilitated by the interaction of specialised proteins within muscle fibres. When muscles or joints become injured or during times of high stress, the muscles become tight and can go into an involuntary contracted state called a trigger ..read more

What is pain? On the surface, this seems like a strange question and one with a simple answer. Pain is the sensation experienced as a result of trauma. Whilst this is true for acute pain, or an acute (recent) trauma, we must also consider the more complex issue of chronic or ongoing pain. We have discussed inflammation and tissue damage in a previous post. In this blog post, we will be discussing what pain is and the up-to-date research in the area of pain science. “No one can live their entire life pain-free, but nearly everyone can live life free of pain” – Donald Murphy DC, 2016 Pain is an ..read more

What is a Chiropractor? The question “What is a chiropractor?” has come up several times recently in the clinic. I have been asked this question throughout my career by patients, friends, family and other healthcare professionals, and it is a good question to ask. I have addressed questions regarding how chiropractic works, what the crack is, and how chiropractic came to be in previous blog posts. But the more relevant question is “What is a Chiropractor?” So, I thought I would tackle this question in this blog post by giving you insight into my education, training and clinical practice. I am ..read more

Chiropractic and the hypermobile person, and by hypermobile person, I mean people with the amazing and beautifully complex Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD). As always, we are tackling a controversial topic, and for those of you who follow the blog, you will know that I love tackling the controversial. Discussion of these topics should be encouraged in my book, so here we go with chiropractic and the hypermobile person. Some people feel very strongly that chiropractic is contraindicated, inappropriate or even downright dangerous for patients with hypermobil ..read more

The History of Chiropractic Care Introduction Chiropractic, a discipline rooted in the belief that spinal health is fundamental to overall well-being, has a rich and fascinating history. Developed in the late 19th century, chiropractic practices have evolved, faced challenges, and gained widespread acceptance over the years. This blog aims to take you on a journey through the history of chiropractic, exploring its origins, key figures, controversies, and the modern landscape of this alternative healthcare approach. This is obviously an abbreviated description of the history of the profession f ..read more

How does chiropractic work is a great question I am often asked in the clinic. The question is complex with a lot to unpack. However, now that we have addressed a lot of questions in other blog posts, we can now tackle “How does Chiropractic work?” We will be linking a lot of our previous posts to help answer this question to help keep this blog as concise as possible. If you haven’t read these previous blog posts, they are quite good you know! We cannot explore the question How does Chiropractic work, without first explaining its history, for us to know where we are going, we must first under ..read more

Leg length inequality, scoliosis, and back pain… what a title, and where shall we begin? It is common for chiropractors and other manual therapists to tell their patients that they have one leg shorter than the other, but what is the impact of a shorter leg on the spine? How does one acquire a short leg? Can it be measured or quantified? And what can be done about it? There is a lot to unpack to answer these questions, so hold on to your socks as we explore the interesting and controversial topic of leg length inequality, scoliosis, and back pain in this blog post. For some people (manual ther ..read more

What’s the crack? Recently, I have seen a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about the “popping” or “cracking” sound that can be heard during spinal manipulation or when you crack your knuckles. The cause of the popping sound is also a question I get a lot from my students and patients. To help combat both the misinformation and to help educate the public on this topic, I thought an evidence-based blog and video for our YouTube channel was in order. What the crack is has got to be one of the most misunderstood phenomena in chiropractic/physical therapies. I have seen and heard several ..read more