I tempted fate blogging about wrist problems

My last blog (a while ago) was about wrist problems – I must have tempted fate.  I had a major fall and broke my distal radius (near the wrist) in 3 places.

At the time I was studying Animal Chiropractic in the USA.  After emergency surgery, I 1-neil clinic 0913came back to Australia where I needed more surgery.

As you can see from the photo, I have external fixation rods and 3 plates to the radius.

Fortunately the team at Mona Vale Chiropractic Centre are on-hand (excuse the punn) to help the healing.

With major surgery like this you often get problems in other parts of your body.

Your movement is so restricted and affected by wearing things such as a sling and often you sleep badly, have extra tension and poor posture.

Chiropractic adjustments has helped stimulate my spinal nerves which has promoted healing. Having regular therapeutic massage has helped me to relax as well as improve movement in my wrist and shoulders.

I have also been treating myself with SCANAR which has dramaitcally improved the inflamation resulting from 2 major operations back to back.

You will be pleased to know that despite the accident I was able to complete my studies and am now a certified member of the International Veterinary Chiropractors Association. Hopefully I will be treating 2 legged and 4 legged patients very soon. Keep reading for updates on my treatment and healing.

One positive that has come from my accident is that the team at Mona Vale Chiropractic  have been forced to become experts in the treatment of chronic wrist problems.

Lots of Wrist Problems in April

It is funny how it is common to get a run of patients who have a similar problem needing treatment. This month I have seen a number of patients who have come to see me due to problems with their wrist. Both my son and my wife have sustanined a break to their scaphoid bone – this is a small bone in the wrist at the base of the thumb that has a limited blood supply and consequently is hard to heal. With a scaphoid break it is really important to get the hand immobilised quickly. Often surgery is required. My wife needed a pin and a bone graft and then a further operation to take the pin out as it did not heal. 5 years later I am helping to improve the range of movement she has but I don’t think she will ever do a handstand again! The lesson she learnt was the importance of lots of rest and total immobilisation for many months when the break first happened.

Patients I have seen recently all have an old wrist injury that continues to niggle and cause distress. SCANAR, Osteopathic soft tissue techniques, accupuncture and gentle adjusting have helped to improve the range of movement and reduce the pain. Don’t loose heart if you have an old wrist injury. We may not be able to make your wrist 100% perfect but we can definitely use techniques to reduce the pain and improve the range of movement.

Neil Gregory

The true story of a kidney stone that disappeared

For a number of years I have been treating patients using SCENAR, which was invented in Russia and initially used for medical treatment for those involved in the space program. This week I had an amazing result. I treated a patient for lower back and neck pain. The patient had been diagnosed with a kidney stone which he was told required surgery. The kidney stone was contributing to his back pain which prompted his visit to see me.

I treated him using Chiropractic manipulation and SCENAR. A week later he went back to his GP for a follow-up scan. He had been told this was required before finalisizing the surgery to remove the kidney stone. To everyone’s amazement the kidney stone had disappeared. When asked by the GP what he had done the previous week all he could think of was the SCENAR treatment.

This really reinforced to me how the body has an incredible ability to heal itself when we give it a bit of help.

Neil Gregory

“I recently became a CIA…”

“I recently became a CIA – not a secret agent but a Certified Instrument Adjusting Chiropractor. After doing a course in the USA, I completed the training in Sydney last month. This primarily makes use of an Impulse adjusting device. I have found great success using this technique, especially on foot problems such as heal pain and plantar fasciitis. Sufferers of foot pain know only too well how uncomfortable and debilitating this can be.

I realise that I must be getting old when last week I treated a 20 month old little boy for a hip issue. Not only have I been treating his mother since she was a young girl, but my father, Martin Gregory (who started Mona Vale Chiropractic Centre in 1977) treated her as a baby.

It is certainly a family affair, as the little boys grandparents are both regular patients at Mona Vale Chiropractic Centre. It only seemed liked yesterday that I was treating my own 20 month old son – he is now 25 years old! How time goes past ever so quickly”

Neil Gregory

Mona Vale Chiropractic Centre – A short history

Mona Vale Chiropractic Centre was founded in 1974 by Martin and Christine Gregory (Neil’s parents). It is now the longest running family operated Chiropractic Clinic in the Northern Beaches.

The clinic has been at it’s current location of 1801 Pittwater Road since 1986. Neil and his wife Lynette originally lived at the back of the Chiropractic clinic. As their family grew with three active sons it was time to expand the clinic and move the family.

The building was changed to Professional Suites in 1995 when extra treatment rooms were added. The clinic began providing massage therapy services and other Chiropractors joined Neil in the busy practice.

Clinical Psychologist Gunter Swoboda and Speech Pathologist Lauren Reid have been running their health-care businesses from 1801 Pittwater Road for many years.

How does SCENAR work?

Scenar device

SCENAR is a non-invasive regulation of body functions used by medical professionals world-side.  It uses a small computer device to stimulate the body’s in-build self-recovery system.

Under normal circumstances the body has the ability to heal itself. For example, if you cut your finger it gets better. With chronic problems, the body repeatedly tries to fix the problem in order to achieve a point of balance. When balance can’t be restored because of low energy it ignores the dysfunction and cuts off the lines of healing communication.

SCENAR stimulates the nervous system to re-open the lines of communication, prompting a reboot of the healing process. SCENAR releases neuropeptides that regulate life processes on a cellular level. Patients often report dramatic pain-relief because these neuropeptides act as natural pain relievers.

The SCENAR device transmits a signal through the skin and reads the response – listening to the body. The device then adjusts its own signal using a unique process of active reflex bio-feedback. When the device is brushed over the skin it will drag over problem areas and slide easily over areas not affected

With acute injuries, SCENAR speeds up healing by triggering the release of neuropeptides (some of which are profoundly involved in inflammation), as it assists the body to direct its focus on healing the injury.