Chiropractor & Myotherapy Near Armadale

Chiropractic care is about assisting the body to function at its best. Chiropractic focuses on the spine, and the role it plays to protect the spinal cord and nerves. Chiropractors work under the understanding that when the body undergoes daily stressors—whether they be chemical, physical or emotional—muscles can become tight, and this can impact the spine. Spinal joints may become stuck or misaligned (known as vertebral subluxations). These issues can impact the healthy functioning of the nervous system and result in problems like back pain, headaches, neck pain, sciatica and other conditions. 

Chiropractors use a range of tools and practices to identify misalignments, and correct them. In some cases, they may make manual adjustments to the spine, however not in every case.

A key part of a chiropractor’s approach is to take the time to understand your lifestyle, previous health issues and treatments to gain a comprehensive understanding of your health concren before commencing treatment. Chiropractors also work with you to enable long-term healing with ongoing treatments and preventative practices.

Myotherapy is a therapy that focuses on the assessment, treatment, and management of musculoskeletal pain and associated conditions. 

Myotherapists use a range of manual therapy techniques to address muscle and soft tissue issues, including deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, dry needling, cupping, and stretching, to relieve pain, improve mobility, and enhance overall physical function.

By targeting the underlying muscular and soft tissue issues, myotherapists help restore normal function, reduce pain, and enhance the overall quality of life for their clients.

Myotherapy is useful for those suffering sports and overuse injuries, headaches, joint and back pain, pain from poor posture, and sprains. It’s also helpful for those suffering pain related to autoimmune conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, and it can contribute to the enhanced well being of those undergoing cancer treatment.

Chiropractic focuses more on your spinal health, and on making manual adjustments to improve the functioning of the spine. The result of this is improvements in spinal alignment, thus leading to improved functioning of the nervous system, and reduced pain.

Myotherapy focuses on your body’s soft tissues, and on working to alleviate tension, dysfunction and pain. Myotherapy can be used to alleviate pain in any part of the body.

If you believe your issue is related to your spine, you may wish to start with a chiropractic treatment in order to get a fuller picture of your spinal health and uncover the issues causing dysfunction. Once your spinal health is addressed, you may then benefit from myotherapy treatments.

Alternatively, you may wish to start with myotherapy to see if your issues are alleviated by myotherapy alone. If your symptoms aren’t completely resolved by myotherapy, you may wish to try chiropractic as an alternative or adjunct to myotherapy.

If you are unsure which form of treatment to choose for your health concern, contact us to discuss. Both treatments are highly valuable for a wide range of conditions and we recommend trying each.

No. Our individual therapists specialise in one treatment modality (either myotherapy or chiropractic), however in some cases, certain methods used within those modalities may be similar.

For the most part, however, the treatments are quite different. If you are suffering a condition like back pain, neck aches, headaches or sciatica, both methods may be helpful, though they will address your issue in different ways. For example, a chiropractor may arrange for you to have an X-ray or MRI to understand the overall picture of your spinal health, and make manual adjustments to address a dysfunction. A myotherapist, on the other hand, will work on the soft tissues, which can help to keep tissues supple. This will assist your body to allow for a wider range of movement, and reduce the likelihood of muscles and tissues being responsible for causing spinal dysfunction

Chiropractic care and myotherapy can work together to provide comprehensive benefits for patients. Chiropractors adjust structural issues, particularly within the spine and joints, to correct misalignments and improve structural integrity. Myotherapists, on the other hand, treat muscle and soft tissue conditions. 

When a structural issue is identified by a myotherapist, collaborating with a chiropractor ensures the necessary adjustments are made. At the same time, soft tissue work from myotherapy enhances the effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments. After an chiropractic adjustment, muscles may revert to their previous tension patterns, but myotherapy helps by rebalancing these muscles, extending the results of chiropractic care.

Myotherapy can also prepare the body for more effective chiropractic adjustments. Tight muscles and connective tissues can make spinal adjustments challenging and uncomfortable. By undergoing myotherapy before a chiropractic session, patients often experience more comfortable and effective adjustments.

Combining myotherapy with chiropractic care also includes corrective exercises for muscles, prescribed by myotherapists. These exercises strengthen weak muscles, correct imbalances, and provide long-term pain relief, promoting overall healing.

For spinal issues like nerve impingement, this combination is particularly beneficial.

Myotherapy alleviates pain and reduces muscle sensitivity through techniques such as massage, cupping, and muscle energy techniques, while chiropractic adjustments reposition vertebrae to alleviate nerve compression. Together, these therapies offer a comprehensive and effective treatment strategy for spinal and musculoskeletal health.

Chiropractic

New patients: If you are new to chiropractic, then an initial consultation will last approximately 45 minutes. During this time, a thorough history will be taken, and an examination will take place that includes a muscle thermal and tension scan. Balance and strength tests are also carried out.

Existing patients: If you’ve come for a chiropractic treatment with us before, then ongoing appointments may be a little shorter (approximately 30 minutes). These appointments may involve an adjustment to keep you operating at your best.

Myotherapy

New patients: For new patients, a myotherapy session will run for 45 minutes. During this time, your myotherapist will take a thorough history and commence treatment based on your particular issue.

Existing patients: Our standard myotherapy appointments also run for 45 minutes, although 30 minute appointments are available (because myotherapy treatment generally involves massage, 45 minutes is recommended).

For most chiropractic treatments, you won’t be required to remove any clothing. We do recommend that you wear loose-fitting clothing, however, such as a loose t-shirt or sweater, and pants with an elastic waistband. Loose clothing enables you to easily move during a treatment, without feeling restricted.

For myotherapy treatments, you may be asked to remove some clothing, depending on the area being treated. This is of course optional, and if you aren’t comfortable removing clothing, your myotherapist will do their best to work around it.

As myotherapists work with the soft tissues, they have best access if clothing is out of the way. They also use massage oils at times, and methods like dry-needling and cupping, where access to the bare skin is required. If you are asked to remove clothing, your myotherapist will provide you with a warm towel so you can cover up during the treatment, while they treat the required areas.