Clinic Philosophy

The Clinic Philosophy stems from a belief that the body can achieve optimum health only when approached from a number of different avenues. No one avenue is totally exclusive, no specific approach provides all the answers and every individual will have specific needs. Regular exercise, a good diet, sensible habits all form essential parts of this approach. So does Chiropractic. As you will see in other information provided on the website, Chiropractic provides optimum spinal health and as such optimum functioning of your nervous system.

Many people first present to their Chiropractor as a result of pain perhaps the result of a recent injury but often with a history of the problem spanning many years. An interesting fact that many people are unaware of, is the effect a dysfunctional spine has on the nervous system and hence your health. At the Clinic we will first address the presenting problems. Throughout the course of treatment we will introduce people to these concepts of spinal and nervous system health. All people attending the Clinic will then be informed of the benefits of maintaining best spinal health by having a periodic check-up. The recommended schedule for a check-up will usually be at 6-8 week intervals. This prevents the spine lapsing into patterns of dysfunction many of which will develop at a sub-threshold level, at a level in the body where there is no awareness of this dysfunction. Very simply at a level where there will no experience of symptoms.

Many health problems develop in this way, that is in the absence of symptoms. For example, many people, approximately 40% in fact, have no indication that their heart is failing until they actually die from it. The body has an amazing level of tolerance. We can have a whole range of problems that exist beneath the surface and have no awareness of them whatsoever and yet the body continues functioning without giving us any feedback or producing any symptoms. Soon however, as the extent and complexity of these problems grow, the body will have a greater struggle maintaining its symptom-free state and it will start to inform us of our health, or more accurately, lack of it. That is to say we will start to experience symptoms. The problems will however often have been brewing for some time. So remember, a lack of symptoms is not an accurate guide to how well we are.

Would it not be better to adopt good habits, to exercise, to improve our diet, to keep a healthy balance between our working and leisure time, to keep our spine healthy and be the best we possibly can. Optimum health and wellness should be our aim. To draw on a common analogy, do you wait for your car to start blowing smoke or break down before taking it to the mechanic? You know that a regular service keeps it in the best possible working order and finds problems and addresses them before they develop into something far worse. You can always buy a new car but unfortunately it is not (yet) possible to buy a new body. We owe it to ourselves to look after our health in the best way possible to enjoy everything this life has to offer.

It is for these reasons that at Harrison Chiropractic we encourage everyone to consider keeping their spine healthy through periodic Chiropractic care. Take your body in for a regular 'grease and oil'. Only you can make that choice however and we will always respect your decision.

What to Expect

Each session with the Chiropractor is preceded by a 10-15 minute soft-tissue session with one of our trained massage staff. Each Chiropractic session (after the first visit) lasts approximately 15 minutes meaning that you should allow 30 minutes total (15 minutes soft-tissue preparation, 15 minutes Chiropractic treatment) for your appointment.