Chiropractic can help your back pain

“I’ve got Sciatica!”

As experienced chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport, we are often presented with ‘I’ve got sciatica’ when seeing patients for the first time. But did you know that ‘sciatica’ isn’t really a true diagnosis?

‘Sciatica’ is just a term that describes any injury in the low back that causes pain down the legs or buttocks. It is derived from the name of the largest and longest nerve in that region: the sciatic nerve.

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Stop guessing and start healing.

“Sciatica” is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Whether it’s a pinched nerve or a simple muscle strain, our Stafford and Newport teams are here to find the root cause and get you back on your feet.


There are also different types of sciatica.

MRI broken

1. True Sciatica (The Nerve Issue) – Think of this as direct nerve irritation, usually caused by a “slipped” or bulging disc pressing on the spinal nerves.

  • The Rule: Your leg usually hurts significantly more than your back.
  • The Path: Sharp pain that travels deep into the leg, often shooting past the knee and into the foot.
  • The Feel: Often includes “electrical” sensations—pins and needles, numbness, or actual muscle weakness.

2. Referred Pain (The Muscle/Joint Issue) – This is much more common. It isn’t a pinched nerve; it’s your brain “misinterpreting” pain from injured muscles, joints, or ligaments in your back.

  • The Path: Dull or aching pain that radiates into the buttock or thigh but typically stops above the knee.
  • The Feel: No tingling or numbness. While it hurts to move, your muscles aren’t actually “weak” in a neurological sense.
  • The Rule: Your back usually hurts more than your leg.

It’s important to get it checked

In all cases it is essential to get a diagnosis with suitable treatment and advice as soon as possible. Nerve symptoms can become chronic or even permanent if serious and left too long.

We are experts in assessing and treating back pain with sciatica


Take the Next Step

If you’re dealing with muscle, joint, or nerve pain that’s impacting your quality of life, chiropractic care, massage or shockwave could be the answer — whether that means short-term relief or lasting improvements, our care could help. If you are unsure which may be best for you, please feel free to contact us.

BOOK IN NOW. to start feeling better, move more freely, and support your body’s natural healing. We’ll work with you to identify any underlying issues and give you the tools to maintain your health.

Stafford Massage Room

Clinics in Stafford & Newport

We can help you to achieve better health. Our team of experienced chiropractors and massage therapists are ready to help you. We look forward to seeing you.

Your team at Pure Health Chiropractic


Article by Ethan Mallett
Content and Media Manager

Back Pain – don’t let the fear stop you!

For anyone who has experienced true back pain, we salute you. It can be agonizing, excruciating, and debilitating. Often, the fear of that next sharp, shooting spasm is just as bad as the pain itself.

The good news? Almost all injuries will heal.

Your pain will subside, and you will get back to normal activity. The key to recovery isn’t just treatment—it’s understanding your problem and losing the fear of it.

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Beware of “Scaremongering” Language

We’ve lost count of the number of clients afraid to move because they’ve been told they have a “crumbling spine” or “crumbling discs.” This language is poor, misleading, and fear-inducing. It causes apprehension and a loss of control over your own health. If a clinician tells you your back is “crumbling,” it’s time to seek a second opinion. Most back injuries are manageable and capable of healing.


Case Study: From Surgery to Strength

Our chiropractor, Chris, is a perfect example of why you shouldn’t let a scan dictate your life. At age 23 (prior to being a chiropractor), he had a disc prolapse and surgery. By age 27 his MRI showed:

MRI broken
  • Multiple disc bulges.
  • Vertebral inflammation.
  • A narrow spinal canal.
  • Degenerative changes.

A doctor told him he had the “spine of a 65-year-old.” He was terrified. How would he cope? Would it ever stop?

The Results Today: Now nearly 50, Chris is stronger than ever. Thanks to his chiropractic training and neuro-mechanical nutrition, he can:

  • Ride mountain bikes down technical trails.
  • Squat his own body weight.
  • Deadlift twice his own body weight.

The degeneration on the scan hasn’t changed, but his function has. He still gets the occasional flare-up, but he knows exactly how to manage it – and he can help you do the same.


How to Take Back Control

There are no shortcuts to managing persistent back problems. It requires building stability, strength, and mobility. We recommend a multi-faceted approach:

  1. Appropriate Exercise: Tailored to your current level.
  2. Healthy Lifestyle: Focus on diet and nutrition.
  3. Movement Techniques: Incorporate Yoga, Pilates, or Massage.
  4. Professional Care: Chiropractic adjustments to maintain quality movement.

Don’t let fear control your life. Getting good advice and maintaining quality movement is essential to your recovery.

[ BOOK AN APPOINTMENT NOW ].


Take the Next Step

If you’re dealing with muscle, joint, or nerve pain that’s impacting your quality of life, chiropractic care, massage or shockwave could be the answer — whether that means short-term relief or lasting improvements, our care could help. If you are unsure which may be best for you, please feel free to contact us.

BOOK IN NOW. to start feeling better, move more freely, and support your body’s natural healing. We’ll work with you to identify any underlying issues and give you the tools to maintain your health.

Stafford Massage Room

Clinics in Stafford & Newport

We can help you to achieve better health. Our team of experienced chiropractors and massage therapists are ready to help you. We look forward to seeing you.

Your team at Pure Health Chiropractic


Article by Ethan Mallett
Content and Media Manager

Time to chill

It’s holiday time!

Just a quick update to let everyone know we will be away from this Thursday 25th July until Saturday 10th August for a well earned rest. The online shop will also be closed during this time. We’ll be back in clinic to help you with Chiropractic and Massage Therapy on Monday 12th August. Thank you!

To book an appointment please call 01785 530911 or have a look at our online diary.

Family holiday

We hope you have a great summer and see you when we are back!

Best wishes,

Chris & Liesa
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness

Chiropractic Awareness week

Chiropractic Awareness Week: More than just back pain :-)

Many people don’t realise that Chiropractors treat far more than just low back pain! We treat all kinds of muscle, joint, nerve and movement issues and our mission at Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness during Chiropractic Awareness Week is to give our community a viable treatment alternative for musculoskeletal treatment.

We all know that getting to see your GP and/or a physio at the moment is not easy. Chiropractic and Sports and Remedial Massage therapy are a viable treatment alternative if you need help.

We want to help ease the NHS burden

Recent data from a 2023 study by the BCA shows that over half (56%) of Brits across the country feel hesitant about seeking help from their GP about bone and joint related issues* – with data from NHS England showing that over 30 million working days are lost due to musculoskeletal conditions every year in the UK*. Our profession’s annual awareness week, Chiropractic Awareness Week, aims to raise awareness about the importance of back, bone and joint health.

Chiropractic Awareness


We’ve helped thousands of patients get out of pain

As you can see from some our happy customers, we’ve helped many people to get and stay out of pain for all sorts of MSK problems.

Chronic back pain

Liesa review


We want to help to give you a longer term solution…

Not only can be help you to get out of pain, but we will look to improve your overall health and function so that you are less likely to have a recurrence of injury. We want to empower you to gain a long term solution! Here are some starter tips to keep back, bone and joint pain at ease:

  • Sit up: If you’re watching TV or using a computer or mobile device for a prolonged period of time, make sure you are sitting comfortably with your back supported in the base of the chair. Sitting with your head forward adds strain on your neck and back, so also make sure that you are sitting with your head directly over your body.

  • Get moving: You back loves to stay active, so try and move around every 20-30 minutes, whether at home or at work (an easy trick is to stand up every time you’re on the phone). Being active is also a great way to keep back pain at bay, but don’t be tempted to go straight in, full throttle with high endurance-based activities, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while. You can gradually build up your exercise load with swimming, walking or yoga which can be less demanding on your body, while still keeping you physically active.

  • Take a break: When sitting for long periods of time, ensure you stand up and move around every 30 minutes. When at work, also make sure your desk is set up to support a comfortable position. This is different for everyone so if you don’t feel comfortable in your current set up, try altering the height of your chair or screen.

  • Sleep comfortably: The Sleep Council recommends buying a new mattress at least every 7 years. Mattresses lose their support over time, so if you can feel the springs through your mattress, or the mattress is no longer level, your mattress is no longer providing the support you need. Everyone has different support requirements, so when purchasing your mattress ensure it is supportive for you. If you share a bed and require different mattress types, consider two single mattresses which are designed to be joined together, to ensure you both get the support you need.

  • Check your workspace: If your job primarily involves sitting at a desk and staring at a computer for hours at a time, make sure your desk is set up to support a comfortable position. This is different for everyone so if you don’t feel comfortable in your current set up, try altering the height of your chair or screen.

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

* The research, conducted with OnePoll and the BCA, surveyed 5,000 people across the UK to understand the impact NHS waiting lists are having on MSK health.

*https://www.england.nhs.uk/elective-care-transformation/best-practice-solutions/musculoskeletal/

About the British Chiropractic Association: The BCA is the largest and longest-standing association for Chiropractors in the UK and has been named ‘Best Professional Body of the Year’ at the Memcom Excellence Awards 2022 for its Repositioning Project which has played a pivotal role in changing the healthcare landscape for the better. As well as promoting international standards of education and exemplary conduct, the BCA supports Chiropractors to progress and develop to fulfil their professional ambitions with honour and integrity, at every step. The BCA is raising awareness about the rigour, relevance and evidence driving the profession and the association’s ambition for chiropractic to be more closely embedded within mainstream healthcare.

Family Health

Chiropractic Awareness Week: Top Tip!

Let’s get moving this Chiropractic Awareness Week!

Here’s one of our top tips:

Why not try to add a daily 15-minute walk around the block or some simple stretches to your lunch break? Every step counts!

Chiropractic Awareness Week

 

Walking is one of the simplest, yet most effective ways to exercise and relieve the stiffness, aches and pains of sitting or standing for too long. It’s a very underestimated form of activity, but one that we are literally born to do! One of the best things you can do to prevent or help your back pain is to get moving! 15 minutes of walking 3 times a day can significantly reduce your stifness and your risk of having back pain episodes. Get away from that desk, TV or phone and get out there!

#CAW2024 #BCA #MSK

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Popular Chiropractor recommended pillow is now back in stock!

As a chiropractor in Newport and Stafford, I’m always being asked which pillow is best to help with neck or back pain. It’s not an easy answer since everyone is different BUT there is one Chiropractor recommended neck pillow in particular as I use it myself!

For the last 10 years we have been stocking a neck pillow that has proved hugely popular and helped some of my patients get the best night’s sleep they’ve had for years: The Complete Sleeprrr Original pillow.

Adjustable

Like many pillows, it is therapeutically designed in luxurious memory foam and has a gently contoured shape to encourage natural spinal alignment. However, the main difference between this pillow and many others is that it can be altered to suit your needs.

Chiropractor neck pillow

It has a huge range of adjustments (up to 12) to enable you to change the height, depth and firmness of the pillow by adding or removing selected pieces. To alter the height to suit your comfort and postural needs, there are two removable inserts.

Change the firmness

You can also alter the firmness of the pillow by taking out or adding the surface “foam noodles”. This unique customisation helps to take the risk out of your pillow being too high, too low, too hard or too soft. One size suits all!

Chiropractor neck pillow

Everyone who has tried one so far (including me) has loved it and in my opinion its one of the best on the market. It is also around half the cost of some of the leading brand orthopaedic memory foam pillows at only £75 from our website including postage to the UK (RRP £85). It could also make a great present if you know someone who struggles to get comfortable at night.

This offer isn’t available in shops, and you can only get them through UK clinics or on our website, so if you would like to know more then please contact us or visit the Complete Sleeprrr website at www.completesleeprrr.co.uk.

If you struggle with neck or back pain, then come and see our expert Chiropractor or Massage Therapists, so we can assess, treat and help you manage your problem.

PLEASE NOTE: Buying this product is done so at your own discretion and does not imply any sort of diagnosis or treatment of a condition you may have. Due to hygiene reasons, we also cannot accept returns. If you suffer with any health problems and think you may need help, please see a qualified health professional. To book an appointment with us, please visit our Contact page or visit our online booking..

All the best,
Chris Mallett, Principle Chiropractor and Clinic Director

Help your back pain with the “Dying Bug”

If you suffer with a back pain or injury, it can be a real burden getting back to normal movement. Even simple tasks like getting in and out of chairs, turning in bed, or putting your socks on can be a real challenge.

Pain Affects Coordination and Stability

Often when we have a nasty back injury, our ability to activate the muscles which support our back and hips become compromised, often due to something called “pain inhibition”. Our muscles haven’t gone anywhere, they are still there and trying to work. But often injury can disrupt the nerve signals that tell them to activate at the appropriate time. This can affect our coordination, and creates instability when we move, causing more pain, and even sometimes re-injuring the area.

We can help you get better

As well as working on spinal and pelvic function with hands-on treatment, another way to start on the road to recovery is to begin working on activating these muscles again in a controlled manner. The “Dying Bug” track is a progression of exercises designed to help you learn to engage the spinal and pelvic muscles again, and give you the confidence to return to normal activities. Here, our Stafford and Newport Chiropractor Chris runs through some of the steps of the progression and explains why it is so important.

If you suffer from back pain, muscle, joint or nerve problems, then let us help you to achieve better health. You can book an appointment with our chiropractor Chris or massage therapist Liesa, by calling 01785 530911 in Stafford, or 01952 825042 in Newport. Alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.
Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Chris - Chiropractor

Working from home – tips for your health

Welcome to 2021 and hopefully a new start to a better year! We hope you had a chance to at least get together with a few family members over the holidays to cheer you up, I know we all need it at the moment.

It used to be that working from home was seen as a great way to get up later, ease into those emails with a few cups of coffee, and sometimes not even get dressed for the whole day! It was a rare luxury, that could be construed as a bit of an excuse to skive off a bit.

How it’s all changed! With the advent of Covid-19 and the current lockdowns, many businesses have been encouraged (forced?) to allow staff to work at home, and have soon realised that they can be just as productive as they are in the office without the need for that tedious daily commute.

Chiropractic assessment

However, as good as this all is for the environment, time savings and productivity, I’ve seen quite a few cases of patients adversely affected by a lack of activity, interaction, and poor posture and workstation set-up. Here’s some helpful tips to hopefully keep you going:

The best posture is one that changes regularly.

Make sure you change your position or get up and move every 30-40 minutes. Standing desks can often help, but make sure you don’t stand all day either!

If you must sit for long periods minimise stresses on the body.

A good workstation setup and the right equipment is essential to preventing painful postural conditions.

Make sure that you get outside regularly.

Being stuck indoors for hours can also be a bit of a drag. Take a daily walk for 15-20 minutes. We need fresh air and daylight to elevate mood, and for vitamin D. If there’s no sunshine (particularly at this time of year), consider a daily supplement.

We can help you to achieve better health. Why not come and see what our chiropractors and massage therapists in Stafford and Newport can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Principal Chiropractor
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness (Stafford and Newport)

Squatting to help your low back and hips

The squat is one of the most fundamental movements to help keep our hips mobile and strong, and to help spare our low back from too much stress and potential injury. Being able to squat with a good movement pattern is a good indicator of general health and is something we should all be able to do.

Unfortunately, with a more sedentary lifestyle nowadays, particularly sitting, the ability to squat properly is being lost. Here, our chiropractor, Chris gives you some tips to help get that movement back!

To be able to squat properly takes good spinal stability, good gluteal/hip coordination and a good “hip hinge”! If you struggle with any of these areas, practice these too below:

For our “Hip Hinge” video: https://youtu.be/-KQnWH8iUTk

For the “The Dying Bug” stabilisation progression: https://youtu.be/zkzk86QL86I

For our “Gluteal activation” video: https://youtu.be/ko4eGs3bbFg

Subscribe for more content from Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness for more advice, exercises, and product reviews:

Youtube: Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness
Website: https://www.purehealthchiropractic.co.uk

Follow our chiropractor, Chris on his channel MTBChiro for general advice and mountain biking adventures:

YouTube: MTBChiro
Instagram: TheMTBChiro

Let us help you to achieve better health. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, we are closed at the moment, but once open again you can book an appointment with our chiropractor Chris or massage therapists Liesa or Matt, by calling 01785 530911 in Stafford, or 01952 825042 in Newport. Alternatively you can book using our online diary.

We look forward to seeing you.

Christmas

Christmas Opening Hours

Christmas and New Year hours are below 

Chris and Liesa are off from 24th December and back on 6th January.

Matt is still here over Christmas on 28th December and 2nd January (Stafford clinic only).

Wishing everyone a fantastic break over the holiday period 🙂

Featured Image: Esra [Copyrighted free use], via Wikimedia Commons