Increase Your Knowledge and Heal Better
Reviewed August 2026
Last week I had two wonderful examples of this in my practice. I see it every day, but these were classic.
The first lady has had me as a part of her health team for a long time. About a year ago she started having debilitating low back pain. We worked together on it for some months, but the pain was being quite persistent despite our conservative efforts. Despite my assurances all testing indicated otherwise, she was increasingly fearful that something disastrous was occurring in her spine and it might be this way forever. So we decided to organise a MRI to bring more clarity.
The imaging indicated minor old changes in her lumbar spine (lower back) – very common and things I would refer to as "the kisses of time". We discussed the findings in great detail and I was able to reassure her that we were doing all the right things and she would move through this painful episode, it was not forever.
She had a break in care over summer and I was anticipating her lower back to be grumbling given the prior severity of the upset when she returned. On the contrary, she strode with grace into my rooms and told me that once she understood what was going on in her body (lower back and brain) the pain fell away over a couple of weeks. She no longer felt any back pain or restricted movement. She'd even done a little jogging with no trouble...
The second lady had a more abrupt change. A fall at high speed wake boarding on the river shook her body up (specifically her neck) and then she jumped on a cruise to New Zealand with her family for three weeks. The cruise was supposed to be a blissful rest, but she experienced terrible motion sickness. Vomiting constantly every day, even when on land, with symptoms only managed with medication. She's the only person I know who lost weight while away on a cruise!
Once home, the GP gave her stronger medication to manage the vomiting and suggested it would settle eventually. She came to me to see if chiropractic care could help. I explained that the brain combines information from the joints (especially the upper neck), the inner ear and the eyes to maintain the sense of balance. As her neck was upset by the fall, the brain couldn't reconcile the different information it was getting from her neck and her eyes and ears, and this was creating the motion sickness symptoms. I delivered some gentle adjustments to promote more normal neck movement and sent her home to rest and recover.
At her second appointment she'd improved greatly. She was very grateful and made a point of saying that she really appreciated my explanation of exactly what was going wrong and causing her to feel so awful. That the explanation helped her understand why her body had been so out of control and eased her fears.
Knowledge and Movement.
This served to remind me just how important understanding is. Understanding exactly what is going on both stops your brain from catastrophizing the event (e.g. "I'll always have back trouble now", "It's going to get worse", "I'll never be able to play footy again") and makes you feel more confident in the road to recovery.
Just to be clear – I'm not talking about self-diagnosis via Dr Google. Yes, do your own research, but clarify with an expert. Speak to your GP or health specialist, ask questions, get your head around what's happening – you will improve faster if you do, and you'll be happier doing it. Remember, specialists are there to serve you. You are allowed to ask as many questions as you want (but it might be prudent to ask for a longer appointment if you have a long list – kinder to the people in the appointment book after you too). Some specialists are absolutely brilliant, but not great communicators. Find one who you relate to well – this also improves outcomes.
Knowledge and movement will see your pain on it's way. Understanding...clarity about what's really happening in your body, and movement to give the brain the best feedback so it has a true picture of the body's function. We are happy to share our knowledge at the Adelaide Chiropractic Centre and promoting movement is our thing! Call us on 08 8221 6262 and make an appointment today.