At Peek Practice, we offer expert chiropractic assessment and care for a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. Whether you’re dealing with back pain, neck stiffness, migraines, sciatica, or posture-related tension, our Ponsonby-based clinic provides evidence-based treatment that’s tailored to you. We welcome private and ACC patients.
Chiropractic Care & Manual Therapy
We assess and treat acute and chronic back pain using manual therapy, movement rehabilitation, and education strategies.
Chiropractic is a healthcare profession concerned primarily with relationship between structure and function of the spine. Hence, chiropractors have a bias towards treating and managing disorders of the spine (back pain and neck pain). However, this falls short of the range of conditions that are often associated with spinal dysfunction and are commonly treated and assessed by chiropractors including headache and migraine disorders, balance and postural issues, and nerve related conditions such as sciatica, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Spinal manipulation or spinal adjustments are used in this clinic where indicated, we also use a number of other techniques that may be less "invasive", particularly if you are apprehensive about joint cracking.
At Peek Practice we offer a contemporary approach to management of spine and spine related disorders – in addition to the more traditional chiropractic approach we also offer alternative treatment strategies that the best science supports. This includes the use of soft tissue treatments (including massage), joint mobilisations and lower force techniques that don’t involve “joint cracking”. The treatment approach will be determined by your preferences and the best advice based on current knowledge of your specific condition.
The word chiropractic in a literal sense means treatment by hand. Our practitioner is a registered chiropractor with a 6-year master’s degree in chiropractic. Whilst chiropractic is our primary professional label, this clinic applies a range of interventions beyond traditional chiropractic practises. At Peek Practice we utilise a range of current evidence-based approaches to treat your area of concern. These may include joint mobilisations and manipulations, soft tissue treatments (including massage), acupuncture and dry needling.
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We do not just "crack backs", chiropractic is a healthcare profession; it is not defined solely by the use of one technique.
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Spinal manipulation or spinal adjustments are used in this clinic where indicated, we also use a number of other techniques that may be less "invasive" and more appropriate, particularly if you are apprehensive about joint cracking.
A key focus at this clinic is to deliver patient-centred care, this involves a combination of your treatment preferences and goals, the practitioners experience, and a current evidence-based approach to the management of your condition. We also aim to encourage self-efficacy beyond treatment and provide you with the tools to develop a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Pain Care & Pain Management
Pain is a complex, personal experience that is fundamentally unique and individual. Hence the way in which we manage pain should be directed at the individual not just the symptom. Peek Practice offers an advanced knowledge base and skillset (beyond undergraduate level knowledge) that includes a greater understanding of the complexity of factors that make up an individual’s pain experience.
The science of pain directs emphasises the importance of treating pain as a multidimensional phenomenon with physical, psychological, and social underpinnings (i.e., the whole person).
At Peek Practice we assess and manage pain with this fundamentally important premise at forefront. Contemporary pain management strategies utilised at this clinic (including cognitive behavioural and educational strategies) target the relationship our clients have with their pain experience. These therapeutic strategies have been shown to be effective tools in reducing the disability associated with pain. When employed early in the course of an episode of back or neck pain this approach may prevent the development of chronic pain.
Management approaches utilised in this clinic include motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy (acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive functional therapy), mindfulness techniques and pain neuroscience education.
Contemporary pain management strategies utilised at this clinic target the relationship our clients have with their pain experience. These psychological therapeutic strategies have been shown to be effective tools in reducing the disability associated with pain. When employed early in the course management of back or neck pain have the potential to arrest the progression into persistent pain.
Management approaches utilised in this clinic include motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy (acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive functional therapy), mindfulness techniques, and pain neuroscience education.
Manual therapy can support cervicogenic, tension-type, and migraine-related headaches.
Our clinicians are trained in safe, graded approaches to neck pain and spinal mobility
Other Complementary Approaches
Sensorimotor Assessment and Rehabilitation
Strength is often placed as the primary fundamental component to back pain recovery. However, this alone is insufficient without consideration of the control of movement. Sensorimotor control refers to the processes by which the nervous system coordinates sensory information and motor actions to produce smooth, purposeful movements. The intricacies of spine movement are highly dependent on the integration of balance and motor control - and this should be at the centre of a rehabilitation protocol. Research has demonstrated the strong association between persistent back and neck pain and balance disturbance, At Peek Practice we understand these principles - along with the means to address them. We have extensive training and expertise in the diagnosis of spine-related balance disorders (such as cervicogenic dizziness) along with other common dizziness disturbances such as vestibular migraine and benign positional vertigo.
Acupuncture & Dry Needling
Acupuncture has become widely used in manual and physical therapy practices; the origins of traditional acupuncture methods originate in ancient China. In recent times the theories underpinning this age-old treatment have been tested through more western scientific reasoning.
The effects of acupuncture are likely a combination of the following mechanisms:
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Local effects - the activation of certain chemicals in the tissue to stimulate a micro-inflammatory effect on injured tissues; this accelerates the healing process leading to early recovery.
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Segmental effects - acupuncture stimulates certain nerve fibres; the activation of these fibres has a competitive effect on pain transmission, therefore suppressing the sensation of pain.
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Central effects - recent studies have focused on the effects of needling sensations on the brain; the resulting responses in the brain stimulate release of natural pain-relieving substances such as endorphins, enkephalins and pain modulatory chemicals such as serotonin and nor-adrenaline.
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Muscle, trigger point effects - acupuncture may help to desensitise and release taught bands in muscle