05/24/07

137  Brighton  Road, Sutton, Surrey
SM2 5SW

020 8643 3177
020 8661 1613

Welcome to our new newsletter, bringing news of our Chiltern Health Centre clinics in Surrey and Sussex. We have decided to re-brand, with a new corporate name after 30 years of being individual clinics.  The facilities we are providing are expanding to include osteopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture and hypnotherapy. In addition we have resurrected our Beauty Room to provide “exterior, as well as interior,” glows, so it now seems a bit limiting to simply call ourselves a chiropractic clinic.  I have returned to work on a part-time basis after my world tour.  It has been very interesting observing patients being treated - from Havana in Cuba to Prague in the Czech Republic - and I have introduced some of the new methods I found into our clinics. 

Dr Brian Hammond

The newly launched Beauty Room at The Chiltern Centre, Sutton is the perfect place to go to be pampered and to unwind. Therapist Frederique Tierney offers an extensive range of treatments that will have you leaving looking and feeling your best.  Waxing treatments range from £9.50 for an underarm wax to £34 for a full leg and bikini wax and will have you looking sleek and smooth for your winter holiday.

For feet that look perfect in strappy sandals, a pedicure is a must and the Beauty Room offers a mini and full pedicure at £9.00 and £18.00.  And with your feet looking so good, your hands should too, so why not indulge them with a manicure?  Prices start at £7 for a mini manicure.

If you’re not going abroad this winter then a St Tropez tan treatment is the next best thing to keep that summer glow.  It will make you look as though you’ve had a holiday somewhere exotic and at only £40 for a full body, it’s certainly less expensive. 

The Beauty Room also offers thread vein removal, from £20 for five minutes, and electrolysis for a more permanent solution to hair removal.  Prices for this treatment start at £8.50 f0r five minutes.

The Sutton Chiropractic Clinic plays its full part in the community by backing a number of charities and health initiatives. Brian Hammond is a trustee and past director of research of BackCare, the independent charity working to reduce the impact that back pain has on our lives.

Individual sufferers can join the association for only £20.50 a year (£11.50 if they are solely dependant on state benefits). There is also a family membership at £25.50 (£14.50 for concessions) and overseas membership at £30.00.

Members are entitled to, among other things: access to their local branch of BackCare , access to the BackCare Helpline, access to the BackCare Clinical Negligence Helpline and discounted rates at many osteopaths, chiropractors and private physiotherapists nationwide.

Brian is also a member of BackCare’s Schools Emergency Packs working group. The clinic has been active in supporting Headway, the brain injury association. It was a major contributor at a recent charity auction, raising £475 for the association. Headway’s aim is to promote understanding of all aspects of brain injury; and to provide information, support and services to people with a brain injury, their family and their carers.

Mind your backs!

When seeking treatment, patients need to ensure that they are visiting the right Chiropractic practice. 

New styles of chiropractic clinics are being set up, close by established, “traditional” practices.  These clinics give themselves similar names to that of the established clinics and proceed to take patients with promises of discounted treatments for up-front payments.  Although the treatments may appear to be less expensive, patients are often treated in the same, open plan room at the same time. 

The traditional style of chiropractic treatment involves patients being seen individually.  Patients are asked to undress and ladies are offered an open backed gown and a dressing gown so that they feel more comfortable.  But the interloper clinics are treating patients fully clothed. Some practitioners are seeing between 24 and 30 patients in an hour with up to six patients being treated together.

The therapists at Sutton Chiropractic Clinic wish to assure their past, present and future patients that they will continue to be treated on a one-to-one basis, with privacy and in a dedicated treatment room. They will be treated with courtesy, respect and honesty, with every aspect of their treatment being fully explained to them. All new patients get an initial 45-minute one-to-one consultation.

Golfers- don’t putt your back out!

A game of golf is a great way to exercise, but some golfers are injuring themselves unnecessarily on the course. Poor technique involving too much twisting of the spine and inadequate stretching can lead to a lack of flexibility that can result in injury.  You may not even feel any pain at first but it can have a knock-on effect on other parts of the body that can affect your game.

A series of simple exercises will improve your swing and make you more supple, so that you don’t hurt yourself.  Just shrugging your shoulders, stretching your arms and legs and rolling your neck and ankles before you set foot on the course will warm up your muscles.

The Chiltern Health Centres highly recommend a series of warm ups that will ensure you don’t hurt your back.  For the detailed list of warm ups, call them on 020 8661 1613.

Those who already have injuries are invited to book an appointment with one of the Chiltern Centres therapists now (see back page).

Brian’s backing rehabilitation

Sutton Chiropractic Clinic doesn’t just treat immediate problems. It also offers preventative education and treatment at a dedicated rehabilitation centre in Carshalton for people who have experienced a back injury in the past. 

 The centre provides a number of treatments including sensory motor rehabilitation and specially devised exercise classes that help to build up patient’s strength again after suffering a back injury. The programmes also help patients to protect their backs from future attacks. 

 “Sensory motor rehabilitation involves making the muscles of the spine faster, so that they can respond efficiently to the sudden movements that our spines are subjected to on a daily basis,” said Brian Hammond.

 “Muscle speed and strength is obtained by a number of balancing exercises on unstable surfaces such as rocker and wobble boards, wobble cushions and gym balls. 

 “Much like a tightrope walker, our muscles need to respond before we damage our backs,” he explained.