An Interview with John Gorman
(Reprinted from Yateley Town Crier around 2005)
John Gorman. We solve aches and pains round the
body including backache, headaches, knee and shoulder problems .
Editor. How do you do that?
John. We use various techniques depending on the
problem but the spine is a very important part of our treatment whatever the
problem.
Editor. Why?
John. Because the nerves of the body connect via
the spine and local problems in the spine will also affect these nerves.
Editor. So you solve joint problems -- give me
some examples -- some case histories.
John. Well, let's start with low back pain which is
the most common reason why people visit a chiropractor.
Low
back pain is my specialist area. My
first career before chiropractic was engineering and I spent 10 years
researching low back pain before I became a chiropractor.
If an episode of low back pain has started recently and is bad, it will be characterised by "paralysing" spasms when you move. In this case I start by restoring the lordosis or hollowness right at the base of the spine below waist level. This is almost invariably reduced or lost. The patient corrects this with an exercise and some help from me. Often this gives so much immediate improvement that I don't do anything more that day and the patient can repeat the exercise at home as needed.
If the low back pain has been there for a long time
then it has usually resulted in locking of the pelvis. This can persist for years but will usually
be released by a few chiropractic treatments.
Editor. What is the next most common problems that you see?
John. Headaches.
Editor. But that includes such
different things as tension headaches and migraines.
John. In common with many therapists, and some
medics, I believe that all forms of headache are caused by tightness in the
muscles at the top of the neck just under the skull. I have found gentle chiropractic treatment
very effective in solving headache problems of all types. It is interesting to note that the same
problem in the neck can cause headaches in one person, balance problems in
another and maybe just a neck ache in a third.
In some cases I use fairly firm massage to soften and loosen these
muscles.
Editor. What about shoulders?
John. For shoulder problems and most arm problems I
use stretching exercises, sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunction with
treatment. These stretching exercises
are one of my own important developments.
I include them in the stretching and posture classes, which I give in Eversley and in Crowthorne. Most of them are also on my web site
www.naturaljointmobility.info
Editor
I heard you say earlier that chiropractic can also solve digestive
problems. Is this really true?
John. Obviously it depends what the problem
is. It is however a natural conclusion
from what I said earlier. A local
problem in the spine affects the nerves coming out of the spine at that
point. These nerves don't only control
the muscles, they also control organs in the body. I have personal experience of this. A heavy fall skiing in 1975 left me with
severe internal muscle spasms. No amount
of barium or other drugs gave me either explanation or relief. It was only during my chiropractic training
fifteen years later that treatment, by other trainees, identified the problem
in the lower thoracic spine and solved it completely. Maybe because of this I seem to have had lot
of success with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and hiatus hernia. Chiropractors believe and find that many
internal problems, which are really functional rather than being true disease,
are helped by chiropractic treatment.
Editor. That's all very interesting. How do people contact you?