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John McTimoney
was trained by a graduate of the original Palmer School of Chiropractic,
and as such believed in the vitalist approach to chiropractic i.e.
that the body has its own innate self-healing ability and that chiropractors
are the facilitators of this healing process. He was trained too
in the toggle recoil adjustment, an adjustment that relies on speed
and light force, to toggle the vertebrae into the correct position,
and this, together with other adjustments based on his own skills
as an engineer formed the basis of his chiropractic treatment. He
believed in what is now known as holism, and felt that the whole
body should be assessed at every treatment, as problems in one area
of the body may actually be caused in another area entirely. This
whole-body approach, and use of light force adjustments, has become
known as McTimoney chiropractic today.
The McTimoney
approach to chiropractic is based on a whole body assessment of
the individual, concentrating not only on structural misalignments
and subluxations, but also on their general wellbeing and quality
of life. As the body works as a whole, it seems clear that it should
be treated as a whole, and whilst it is certainly true that people
usually seek relief from pain, the aim of a McTimoney chiropractor
is to stimulate the body's own self-healing mechanism and facilitate
a return to optimum health.
The way this is
achieved is through a series of fast, low-force adjustments of not
only the spine, but also, unusually for most chiropractors, the sacrum,
pelvis and the cranium. The arms and legs are also routinely mobilised
at every treatment. This series of light re-balancing adjustments
are very comfortable for the patient to receive, and mean that the
approach is suitable for all age groups from the very young to the
old and frail. McTimoney chiropractors will always give postural advice
to help adjustments hold, and to ensure that people know how to change
the things they do, in order to minimise recurrences of problems in
the future. X-rays are not routinely used, and McTimoney chiropractors
rely on their finely tuned sense of touch to palpate subluxations
in the spine.
Results
of the Survey
Patient satisfaction
to McTimoney chiropractic care was measured in a recent survey commissioned
by the McTimoney Chiropractic Association (MCA). Some 89% of patients
rated their satisfaction with McTimoney treatment as either extremely
or very satisfied, and 85% felt that it had been very beneficial in
the management of their painful condition. Over 93% of patients had
recommended McTimoney treatment to their friends and family.
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