An Interview with a Chiropractor and Nutritionist
In my activities of distributing
the Back App ergonomic chair I come across a lot of different people which is
part of the reason I enjoy doing it. Chris Pickard is a practising Doctor of
Chiropractic who has also studied aspects of nutrition and he agreed to answer
a few of my questions on health, back pain and life in general.
The objective of all three is to
make their patients better. Chiropractors and osteopaths see the spine as vital
to health and so both are very much concerned with your overall health, not
just the problem you came in with. Physiotherapists may concentrate more on
specific parts of the body that have been damaged by injury. I have a
physiotherapist working in my clinic so I don’t want to undermine their role by
saying that.
What is the most common complaint that your patients have?
I would estimate that 60% of my
patients come to me complaining of lower back pain. Of those 60% half of them
have the pain as the result of a specific injury and for the rest it is
probably the result of years of bad habits slowly building up into a problem
that they can then feel.
Have you noticed the type of problems your patients have changing over
the last few years?
There seems to be an increase in
chronic fatigue and general undiagnosed pain syndromes.
Talking to other therapists they often say that their patients are not
good at doing the exercises they are given to do between visits. Do you find
this?
I do but I try to concentrate on
getting patients to change habits which will include specific exercises as well
as a healthier lifestyle. They need to be given enough reasons to change
unless, of course, they are in a lot of pain as then they are more likely to
change out of necessity.
At a recent exhibition I found a lot of young people (under thirty)
were asking me about back trouble. Do you see a particular age demographic
worried about back pain?
People of all adult ages suffer
almost equally in my experience. What I see as on the increase in the younger
population are more general injuries, ’growing pains, immune system problems, and symptoms similar to chronic fatigue.
What sparked your interest and knowledge in nutrition?
Seeing the increase in symptoms
such as chronic fatigue that I have mentioned already was one factor. There are
others, such as finding that the population generally seems to abdicate
responsibility for its health to the NHS and as such does not always think
properly about diet and other health issues.
These concerns along with other serious issues
such as the number of toxins that surround us in everyday life led me to become
concerned about broader health issues including nutrition.
Does giving nutrition advice work well alongside chiropractic?
Patients come to me with pain for which the ultimate cause may be poor
diet so they work well together
Could a poor diet be partly responsible for a bad back?
Certainly it could be. For
example magnesium is required for strong bones and also is required for the
contraction and relaxing of muscles. If the large muscles in the back are not
working properly due to a lack of magnesium then back pain is quite possible.
You seem pretty healthy – do you take nutritional supplements and what
are they for?
I currently take fish oils,
vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes and glyconutrients, but also eat
well and exercise which is the most important thing. You will be much healthier
if you spend your money on vegetables first and then on supplements. I believe
that it is just as important to vary your nutritional supplements as it is to
have a varied diet so I change what I take.
I eat healthily – is it possible that supplements could help me?
I think many people are likely to
be deficient in some aspects of their diet so supplements will most likely help
you.
What qualifications do you hold in nutrition?
My degree covered nutrition in
some detail and as part of my professional membership I attend continuing
professional development events. In addition I study peer reviewed medical
journals as part of my professional interest.
Would you encourage young people to study for a career as a
chiropractor?
If someone would like a career
that can really help people they should consider chiropractic and osteopathy
and if people would like to talk about career choice do contact me.
Dr Chris Pickard has his clinic at:
Pain Relief Centres
9 Bradmore Green
Brookmans Park
Herts, L9 7QW
01707 662 704
He has a lot more to say on many topics and his website shown below
covers some of them.
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