It is said that human beings were meant to walk on four legs, which is why standing upright brought a whole host of back problems.

Chiropractic means done by hand," Bale explains. "The relationship between the structure of the spine and the function of the nervous system is used to maintain or restore health." It is a method of diagnosing and correcting subtle misalignments of the spine with the purpose of restoring and correcting nerve communication. "The aim is to promote the body's own healing ability and so increase mobility."

Your backbone or the spinal column is made up of 24 moveable vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx. The spinal cord sits in this column and transmits signals to the rest of your body. When all is well nerve messages go to and fro with perfect accuracy. But if any part of your spinal column is misaligned because of, say, incorrect lifting, automobile or sporting accidents, childbirth, poor posture, falls, stress, whatever, the nerve may become impinged, compressed, stretched. Distorted communication leading to pain, discomfort, restricted mobility.

She works in tandem with the medical profession, those who believe that Chiropractic can be used to help resolve a condition before resulting to surgery, or who are at least willing to try it out.

Besides back pain chiropractic is reported to offer relief from migraine and tension headaches, neck and shoulder pains, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, stiffness in joints, whiplash injuries, sports injuries, all of which can hit you at any age or stage, combined with pregnancy and osteoporosis.

What goes in a Session?

For starters, Bale takes a detailed history to help assess and analyze your symptoms. During this time you're likely to

* Be asked about your general health

* Have your blood pressure and pulse taken

* Have your muscle power assessed

* Have a full examination of the affected area

* Have your spine observed for tension, abnormalities, or postural problems.

Of the 150 chiropractic techniques used, the most common is the low amplitude, high velocity thrust. This involves a tiny calculated movement in the joint. 'The key words are speed, dexterity, accuracy," says Bale. "There is absolutely no violent manipulation." Each adjustment takes only seconds to complete, and may be accompanied by a click or popping noise. This has nothing to do with bones cracking, but occurs when gases released from the joint fluid form a bubble and burst. Other techniques include variations on the high velocity thrust manipulation of joints, massage and stretching techniques for muscles and ligaments. Practitioners may also use cry therapy to reduce local pain and inflammation.

Says Bale: "In my four years of training I have fine tuned my sense of touch and can pick up a misalignment in seconds, remembering that pain can be referred. Quickness is of the essence; too slow and the body resists. I use light, swift dextrous strokes to adjust the recalcitrant bone." Could his misaligned spine have delayed his milestones? Bale found a ridge on the neck bone, way out of kilter. So were the bones of the neck and the face. Within 3 weeks she dramatically corrected the muscle tension and stimulated the nervous system, and Raynold is amazingly more alert. Yet Bale cautions: "Chiropractic is nor a cure for deafness - except in cases where the neck bones is faulty."

If she turns up a problem which requires medical investigation via a Colour Doppler, X-ray or MRI you are referred post haste to a relevant specialist. The number of weekly sessions depend on your age, the problem; the length of your problem. Later on your sessions will be spaced out to perhaps just an annual one. Says Bale: "Like a counselor I do not encourage dependency. I do not want clients to come to me for every stray twinge. I say "You are responsible for your body. Treat it with care. Exercise it. Make good posture a way of life'." Immediate side effects may be local stiffness, discomfort, or tiredness, which may take a day to resolve, so "I keep tabs on a client after a session." As with any other intervention Chiropractic is not entirely risk free. That said, it is actually safer than popping pain killers long term, says Bale, citing the case of a 42-year-old businessman she'd treated for back pain "He was swallowing pain killers like grams, prescribed by a slew of doctors. Unsuccessfully, Bale's opinion: a misaligned spine due to long hours bent over the desk. Three sessions later, he reported relief, and was counselled to sit properly, to take regular breaks while at a desk, to exercise his upper and lower back appropriately.

It was the same with Aniela C, a 58-year-old grandmother, who was referred to Bale for a shooting pain down the back of her left leg that was diagnosed as sciatica by her orthopadic son. It was so crippling that not only was her foot numb, but she couldn't sit or walk unaided. Yet she didn't want surgical intervention. After five sessions Aniela started feeling better and another four helped her to chuck out her cane. Bale counseled her to lose weight, to exercise, and, specifically to use back support while she sits and sleeps.

And then there was me myself -without any body boggling complaint. Lying face down on a slim table, Bale checked my neck and found the Atlas vertebra, tilted slightly to the right. "Aha" she murmured 'This means that you enjoy your work!" I do! Her nimble fingers traipsed along my bones - to the right, to I the left while she cautioned, "Don't I bite your tongue." She identified a mid back problem that had been I triggered by lifting objects and been vaguely uncomfortable for years. Her hands sauntered quietly I up and down, in and out and she I was through. There was a nice feeling of well being - no nasty side affects either.


In the best known UK trial 741 patients with low back pain were randomized to chiropractic or hospital outpatient care. In both groups practitioners were free to treat patients as they saw fit. The authors concluded that "chiropractic almost certainly confers worthwhile, long term benefit." However, a recent systematic review of this and similar trials highlights methodological weaknesses, such as the fact that commonly used outcome measures such as pain and disability scores were assessed by patients and therefore unblended.

In one trial that did involve blinded assessment of outcome, patients with back or neck pain were randomized to routine general practitioner care, placebo, physiotherapy, or spinal manipulation. Physiotherapy and manipulation were superior to placebo and general practitioner care after six weeks, and manipulation was superior to physiotherapy at one year follow up. In addition to effects on back and neck pain, randomized trials have also indicated that manipulative treatment is beneficial for headache, including migraine. However, the number of studies is small, so further work to confirm these results are needed, say experts.


Potential adverse effects of chiropractic include

* Spinal cord injury – damage to the nerve roots at the head if the spine where sensation is lost between the legs.

* Stroke as a result of blockage of blood supply to the brain from damage to the arteries supplying the brain – which, according to Bale, “can happen if you are washing your hair backwards or painting the ceiling." These effects, however, are extremely rare. More common ones are mild pain or discomfort at the site of manipulation, slight headache, and fatigue; 75% or more of such complaints resolve within 24hours. Even when some techniques, such as high velocity thrusts, are contraindicated, other manipulative treatments may be safe, research shows.

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