Many people suffer from problems with their backs but one local business aims to find solutions for them.

The word ‘chiropractor’ immediately conjures up visions of backs being ‘cracked’. Chiropracters call this hands on treatment ‘adjustments’ and it is still a core element of chiropractic but the term covers a far wider range of treatment and support.

Because, when it comes to your back, it’s far more than just your spine. It’s the nervous system that runs through it and affects your whole body, says Matt Middleton, a rehabilitation technician at Align4Life clinic in Douglas.

Align4Life is one of only five Chiropractic Biophysics Rehabilitation centres in Europe, chiropractic biophysics being a higher level of chiropractic care which also utilises exercises, postural adjustments and traction to treat patients.

Matt explains: ‘A lot of people think chiropractic is just about helping with neck pain or back pain, which is what we’re there to help with, but chiropractic is also about how well your nervous system is functioning.

‘The nervous system is how our brain communicates to the body, and the spine is the powerhouse of the nervous system so if there’s misalignment to the spine, if the spine isn’t moving the way it needs to, the nervous system isn’t able to work either.

‘With chiropractic you’re getting movement into the spine again – that’s what an adjustment does.

‘We see people with digestive issues, hormonal problems as well and there are also studies now about the effect your neck position has on your mental health. There’s loads of research going on into spinal care.’

And he goes on: ‘People don’t really care that much about their back until it hurts. We’re always trying to tell people to take those extra steps, to looks after their spine. Do the stretches that you should be doing.’

Later on the day that I met him, Matt, along with other members of the Align4Life rehab team, was out in Strand Street offering shoppers a free posture analysis.

But right now he wants to tell me about a new machine the clinic has recently acquired from America. It’s called an IDD machine and Align4Life is one of only a handful of chiropractic clinics in the UK to have one. Put simply, it’s a form of computerised traction and it can help patients with more severe back problems, such as a spinal disc injury.

Matt says: ‘The IDD is what you really need to get relief from a disc injury: what we need to do for those people is open that space up again. It also has an oscillation feature which makes it unique to any other decompression because it doesn’t just pull apart and hold, it starts oscillating ever so slightly which creates almost like a pumping action to the disc so that it uptakes fluid again and that’s, essentially, what heals the disc.

‘It’s a specialist, non-surgical therapy and, for some, it will be all they need. A session takes about 20 minutes and it doesn’t hurt: a lot of people find it relieving. One of our patients falls asleep on it, every time.’

Align4Life’s clinic director, doctor of chiropractic, Neil Thompson, says: ‘We have a passion for non-surgical spine care. IDD Therapy allows us to give solutions to patients with unresolved spinal issues, especially disc problems where something more than manual therapy is needed.

‘Our goal is to help patients get off pain medication, sleep better and move freely. Most importantly we wish to avoid invasive procedures such as injections and even surgery.’

Matt adds: ‘The body does want to be healthy and one way you can do that is by making sure your spine is in the right place so that the nervous system has enough space to work correctly and function well.’

‘Sitting is the new smoking’

This phrase was coined by Dr. James Levine, director of Mayo Clinic at Arizona State University. On average, Americans sit for 11 hours each day.

He was warning people about research which shows that prolonged sitting and leading a sedentary life are linked to increased chances of developing serious health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

For some of us, sitting is all part of the job but Align4Life has some advice which can help alleviate the ill effects:

l Stand up, walk around and change position every 20 minutes.

l If you are in the same position for a long time it fatigues your postural muscles and over a long period will make them weak.

Move at regular intervals to use different muscles, pump nutrients through the joints, and keep the nervous and circulatory systems alive.

l Movement of the spine decreases brain stress and improves nervous system function.

Align4Life can also reccommend a set of stretch exercises that are easy to perform and can be carried out every day. Contact them on 629444.