Chiropractic was first developed in America by D D Palmer, his techniques for manipulating the spinal column were named chiropractic by a patient of Palmer’s. the name Chiropractic is based on two Greek words, the first “chiro”, meaning hand, and the second “praktikos” meaning done by, so chiropractic translates as done by hand.

In the 1940’s an English gentleman name John McTimoney fell from a ladder causing serious pain and loss of movement, he sought out treatment and found a chiropractor, who had trained in America with Palmer’s son. John McTimoney was cured of his injury and decided he too wanted to become a chiropractor. With nowhere to train in England, he set off to America and returned to the UK with his new set of skills.

While the early chiropractic techniques of Palmer’s were quite robust in nature, the McTimoney technique evolved into a full body treatment, with practitioners learning highly specialised palpation techniques which could identify the most subtle of spinal misalignments and muscular tension.

Using very gentle, highly specific, safe techniques, relying on something called a “high velocity thrust of kinetic energy”, adjustments were developed to relieve muscle tension, increase circulation, improve nervous system function and reduce pain. John McTimoney believed the body had to be treated as a whole, to create optimised health and function. He set up the first College of Chiropractic in England, which is still training chiropractors of the future. The same college I qualified from in 2008.

It is documented that in 1954 the first animal was treated by John McTimoney,  a horse, a prized hunter. The technique for animals then developed and the benefit of  McTimoney chiropractic for animals is now recognised worldwide as the gold standard treatment for health and performance.

While I talk often about practising a multi-modal approach to physical therapy, first and foremost I am a Veterinary Chiropractor trained in the McTimoney technique, a statement I am very proud to make. My own experiences over the last 16 years using John McTimoney’s methods have proved successful in relieving pain and improving function while being gentle enough to be accepted by animals.

If you want to know more, please get in touch, I love talking about this technique and how it can support your dogs.