Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a 5 year university degree specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of the musculoskeletal disorders and injuries with particular emphasis on the spine. The adjustment is the hallmark of chiropractic and is what is commonly known as “cracking” which is a very specific technique to the facet joints of the spine to restore proper movement, function and reduce pain. Chiropractors are taught muscle and orthopedic testing procedures to help diagnose musculoskeletal conditions as well as extensive human anatomy and physiology.
Massage & Muscle Therapies
Kieran began studying remedial and sports massage in 2005 and has continually added and refined his skills, discontinued treatments he felt weren’t effective and has now developed his own unique style of massage & muscle therapy that combines several disciplines such as sports massage myotherapy (SLM), Stecco Method, trigger point therapy and myofascial release to name a few. These combinations of skills and techniques combined with chiropractic is not offered anywhere else in Australia, and makes it one of the most wholistic and complete muscle and spine treatments.
Myofascial Cupping
Cupping was first used in Chinese medicine and is now also used by western trained therapists as a complementary treatment to massage for the muscles and fascia. A cup is placed on certain area’s or points on the body, usually at the site of pain and corresponding area’s of tension and tightness, using a hand held pump a vacuum is created and the muscles and fascia are drawn into the cup creating a localised area of stretch and blood flow to help relieve muscle tension. Kieran will often put the cups on one area while simultaneously treating another area of the body so your in effect getting multiple area’s treated at the same time.
Dry Needling
Similar to cupping, Chinese medicine was using acupuncture long before dry needling started to be used by western therapies although the training, theory and philosophy is very different, however, the technique of inserting very fine needles is very similar. Dry needling is often used at trigger points or “knots” to help ease pain. Kieran uses dry needling sparingly as he has found the hands on muscle work and cupping is more effective for most people, and only uses it in very specific cases to improve outcomes.
Education
The importance of health care provider educating you on what’s causing your pain and what’s not causing your pain cannot be underestimated. If you have been told your in pain because of a bone that is out of place, your spine is out of alignment, your spine and core are weak and need to be braced etc.. These rarely cause back pain and will often lead to worse outcomes and restricted movements and daily activities (making pain worse) out of fear and cause a greater dependence on treatment.
Lifestyle Advise
Kieran also teaches his patients how to best negate the effects of sitting for long periods of time. Such as alternating between sitting/standing, taking micro breaks & using different techniques that go much further than just ‘sitting up straight’, sitting up straight all day is not too different than sitting slouched all day. Things like emotional stress, fear avoidance behaviors, lack of quality sleep, poor diets especially high in sugar/processed foods can also impact pain levels which rarely get addressed by most health professionals.
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I have for several years persevered with persistent pain in my lower back, neck and shoulders. Over the years I have tried everything to reduce the discomfort and at least make life a little more comfortable however everything I tried provided very little relief and the small amount I did achieve didn’t last long. Finding Kieran was actually a fluke it was a Saturday, I was experiencing real discomfort I had tried the general massage places that didn’t provide much relief. I literally stumbled onto Kieran’s practice and after the first session felt considerably better even after a week. I have continued seeing Kieran since as I am what is considered a work in progress. After trying everything and everybody for so many years, I feel extremely lucky to stumble on something that is actually helping.
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I’ve experienced back pain for a very long time, often experiencing sleepless nights and having to take days off work. I’ve been referred to Physios by my GP to address the pain, but I hadn’t found anything that worked for me. I found Kieran purely by chance. I drove past his clinic to/from work, and decided to drop in to see if a massage would help. Since starting my weekly sessions, my back pain has reduced considerably and I’m no longer troubled by sleepless nights. Kieran focused not only on the location of the pain, but put a lot of effort into other areas which has made all the difference.
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I had been enduring an ongoing running related hip injury as well as neck and shoulder pain for more than six months before seeing Kieran. I was experiencing daily discomfort and was unable to do sport, despite costly osteopath and physiotherapy treatments. Kieran’s unique approach, which treats the whole body, delivered immediate relief to my back and neck pain, and after only another month or so of treatment my chronic hip pain had improved and I was back running and enjoying sport again. I highly recommend Kieran to anyone with an injury or discomfort.
