Chiropractic glossary

Chiropractor

Also known as: chiro, chiropractic practitioner.

A healthcare professional who assesses and treats problems with the spine, joints and muscles, mostly with their hands, alongside exercise advice.

Source: www.gcc-uk.org

General Chiropractic Council

Also known as: GCC.

The UK regulator for chiropractors. It keeps the public register, which you can search by surname or registration number, sets the standards chiropractors work to and hears complaints about them.

Source: www.gcc-uk.org

Registration number

The number a regulator gives each registered practitioner. Typing it into the register shows the person’s name, status, practice addresses and the date they first registered, which is the quickest way to check who you are booking.

Source: www.gcc-uk.org

Chiropractic adjustment

Also known as: spinal manipulation, manipulation, adjustment.

A quick, controlled push applied by hand to one joint, often in the spine, to move it a little beyond its usual range. NICE calls it spinal manipulation and lists it, with mobilisation and soft tissue work, among the manual therapies for low back pain, to be used together with exercise. You can read how an adjustment works, step by step.

Source: www.nice.org.uk

Mobilisation

Also known as: joint mobilisation.

Slower, repeated movement of a joint within its comfortable range, without the quick push of an adjustment. Practitioners often use it where a quick push is not suitable or not wanted, including for the neck.

Source: www.nice.org.uk

Soft tissue work

Also known as: soft tissue techniques, massage.

Hands-on pressure and stretching of muscles and the tissue around joints. NICE groups it with manipulation and mobilisation as manual therapy for low back pain, to be used as part of a plan that includes exercise.

Source: www.nice.org.uk

Activator Methods

Also known as: Activator, instrument adjusting.

A low-force way of adjusting in which a small hand-held instrument delivers a light, quick impulse to one point. Practitioners train in it separately, and the Activator directory lists those who hold its proficiency ratings.

Source: www.activator.com

Joint cavitation

Also known as: the cracking sound, joint popping, back cracking.

The pop or click you may hear when a joint is moved quickly. Imaging studies show it happens as a small gas-filled space forms in the fluid inside the joint. The sound is a by-product of the movement and is not a sign that anything has gone back into place.

Source: doi.org

Lumbar spine

Also known as: lower back, lumbar region.

The five vertebrae of the lower back, between the ribs and the pelvis. It carries much of your weight when you sit, so long hours at a desk often show up as lower back stiffness and ache.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Cervical spine

Also known as: neck, cervical region.

The seven vertebrae of the neck. Holding the head forward towards a screen for long periods loads the joints and muscles here, which is where neck pain from poor posture or awkward sitting positions usually comes from.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Mechanical neck pain

Neck pain that comes from the joints, discs and muscles of the neck and changes with posture and movement, such as the stiff neck that builds over a week of screen work.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Lumbago

Also known as: low back pain.

An old name for pain in the lower back. The NHS says back pain often improves on its own within a few weeks, and that staying active helps.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Sciatica

A burning, tingling or numb feeling running from the buttock or lower back into one leg, caused by irritation of or pressure on the sciatic nerve. NICE includes manual therapy alongside exercise among the options for low back pain with or without sciatica.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Cervicogenic headache

Also known as: headache arising from the neck.

A headache arising from the neck, where the pain is referred from the joints and muscles of the upper neck. It usually sits on one side and comes with a stiff neck.

Source: www.asa.org.uk

Red flags

Signs that back or neck pain may have a serious cause and needs a GP, 111 or 999 before any manual treatment, such as numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around the genitals or bottom, or changes in bladder or bowel control. A practitioner screens for them at the first visit.

Source: www.nhs.uk

NICE NG59

Also known as: low back pain and sciatica guideline.

The NICE guideline on low back pain and sciatica in over-16s. Its advice is that manual therapy should be considered only within a package of care that also includes exercise, and that imaging should not be offered routinely outside specialist care.

Source: www.nice.org.uk

Plan of care

Also known as: treatment plan, care plan.

The written plan your practitioner agrees with you after the first visit: what they suggest, how many visits that may take and when progress is reviewed. A plan of three months or more after just one or two visits would be unusual.

Source: www.gcc-uk.org

Osteopath

A healthcare professional who also uses hands-on techniques for back, neck and joint problems, often with more soft tissue work, stretching and slower joint movement than a chiropractor.

Source: www.osteopathy.org.uk

Sport rehabilitator

A practitioner trained to degree level in exercise-based rehabilitation of muscle and joint problems, often working with people who train or play sport.

Source: www.basrat.org

Minor sports injury

A strain or spasm picked up in training or a match that does not need a hospital, such as a muscle spasm or the short-term management of an ankle sprain. A serious injury or an accident needs a GP or A&E first.

Source: www.asa.org.uk