The Short Answer
A chiropractor is a registered healthcare professional. In the UK the title is protected by law, and every chiropractor is registered with the General Chiropractic Council. Chiropractors assess and diagnose problems with the joints, muscles and spine, and often treat them with manual therapy, including spinal manipulation: a quick, firm movement of a joint.
Spinal Flow Technique is something else. It is a very light touch on specific access points along the spine, with you lying face down and fully clothed. There is no manipulation and no cracking, and I do not diagnose anything. The focus is the nervous system: supporting the body to move out of fight or flight and to release any physical, chemical and emotional blockages along the spine.
What Happens at a Chiropractor
A first chiropractic appointment usually starts with questions about your health and your pain, and a physical examination. Treatment often includes adjustments to the spine or other joints, which can make the popping sound people call cracking, along with soft tissue work, exercises and advice. For low back pain, NHS guidance says manual therapy can be considered as part of a wider package of care that includes exercise.
If you have hurt your back, have pain that nobody has checked, or want a diagnosis, a registered chiropractor, osteopath or physiotherapist, or your GP, may be the right place to start.
I am not putting anything back in place. The touch is light on purpose; it is an invitation, and the body does the work.
Liane
What Happens in a Spinal Flow Session
Your first visit is a seventy minute consultation and first session at The Brave Studio in Olney. We talk about what has brought you, I carry out postural and gateway assessments, which help me see where tension and stress are being held along the spine, and I take posture photographs for us to refer back to later. Then you lie face down on the couch for your first thirty minute Spinal Flow session. I make light contact on access points (found on the cranium, sacrum and coccyx) and the body responds in its own way: a deep breath, a wave of warmth, a twitch or a sigh. Many people feel deeply relaxed, and some drift off into a meditative state.
Subsequent sessions are thirty minutes, little and often, and at your twelfth appointment we take new posture photographs to compare. Nothing is forced, and nothing is cracked.
Why Some People Choose Spinal Flow
People come to Spinal Flow when they want something gentler: because the idea of manipulation puts them off, because they have tried a lot of things already, or because what they are carrying feels as much like stress as it does like stiffness. Because the touch is so light, people of all ages come, including babies, children, adults and older people.
What people tell me afterwards is that they feel lighter and more at ease. Nothing is promised, and it is not a medical treatment. It is a way of supporting the body to do what it already knows how to do: flow.
Why Lasting Change Takes Time
Your body did not arrive at its current patterns overnight. Years of stress, long days at a desk, old injuries and the rhythm of a busy life all shape how your nervous system responds and how your muscles and posture hold you. The nervous system adapts through repetition, which is why it tends to respond best to regular, consistent support rather than a single session.
Some people notice a shift after the first session. For many, the change builds gradually over weeks, and it can be hard to see from the inside, which is why we take photographs at the start and again at your twelfth session, so you can actually see any positive change.
I can offer you my time, consistency and honesty. Looking after your health is rarely about a quick fix. It is about giving your body regular, gentle chances to change, and I will always tell you if I think something else would serve you better.
When to See Your GP First
See your GP first, or call NHS 111 for advice, if you have back pain after a fall or an accident, numbness or weakness in your legs, or pain that keeps getting worse. Call 999 if you have back pain with numbness around your bottom or genitals, or you cannot control when you wee or poo.
You can have Spinal Flow alongside other care. Just tell each of us about the other so we can best help you to reach optimum health.
Spinal Flow and a Chiropractor, Side by Side
- Touch: Spinal Flow is a very light contact at points along the spine; chiropractic often uses firm manipulation.
- Aim: Spinal Flow works with the nervous system and does not diagnose; a chiropractor assesses and diagnoses problems with joints and muscles.
- Comfort: Spinal Flow is face down and fully clothed, for about thirty minutes after the first visit.
- Title: chiropractor is a protected title in the UK; I am a Spinal Flow Technique practitioner, not a chiropractor.
If Spinal Flow sounds like what you have been looking for, the first consultation and session is £70 and sessions after that are £45, at The Brave Studio in Olney, within easy reach of Milton Keynes and Bedford. You can book directly via the booking page (opens in a new tab) or contact me on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab).