Services
Sports chiropractic
Reviewed by Dr Voula Roumel, Chiropractor , registered since 1987, AHPRA CHI0000942872
Last updated
Sports chiropractic is not a different technique so much as a different emphasis: on load, on how movement is organised, and on getting someone back to a specific activity rather than to a general absence of pain.
Dr Hamilton Mack leads this work here. He has worked with AFL footballers, Formula One champions, professional dancers, competitive triathletes and endurance athletes at every level, and is a committed Ironman triathlete and water polo player himself.
What that emphasis actually changes
The goal is a specific activity, not a general one. “Better” is not a useful target for someone with a race in nine weeks. What the assessment is working towards is a return to a defined load, a distance, a session type, a position on the field, and the plan is built backwards from that.
Load is the first conversation, not the last. Most presentations in active people are load problems: a jump in training volume, a change of surface, a new pair of shoes, or a return after a lay-off that resumed at pre-injury volume. Treating the tissue without addressing what loaded it means treating it again in six weeks.
Complete rest is rarely the prescription. It is usually the wrong answer physiologically and it is also the advice an active person will ignore, which makes it useless twice over. The conversation is about what to modify and what can continue.
Who comes in for this
- Runners, the largest group, and most often with load-related presentations through the calf, Achilles, knee, hip or lower back
- Team sport players, in season and pre-season
- Endurance athletes managing training blocks
- Gym and strength trainees, usually around technique and load progression
- People returning to a sport after time away, which is its own category of risk
- Anyone active who wants to keep being active for the next thirty years
What the assessment covers
- A full history, including what your actual training week looks like, what changed before symptoms started, and what you are training towards
- Movement assessment relevant to your sport, rather than a generic screen
- Joint and muscle testing through the region and the chain above and below it
- An orthopaedic and neurological screen
- An explanation of what was found, and what it means for your next few weeks of training specifically
What treatment involves
- Chiropractic adjustment where restriction is limiting movement
- Massage therapy for the muscular load that accumulates through a training block
- Dry needling, where trigger points are part of the picture
- Shockwave therapy for long-standing tendon presentations that have not responded to hands-on treatment alone
- Rehabilitation exercises, the loading programme, which for most sporting presentations is the part doing the real work
- A return-to-load plan: what to modify, by how much, and for how long
The presentations that come through
Mostly knee, hip, shoulder, lower back and Achilles and heel, and among runners, nearly always traceable to volume, surface or footwear.
Before an event
If you have something coming up, book early rather than in the final week. The last few days before an event are the wrong time to introduce anything new, the useful appointment is the one far enough out to change something and then test it in training.
When it needs something else first
Obvious deformity, an inability to bear weight, significant immediate swelling after impact, or a joint that felt like it moved and came back, those need assessment at an emergency department before a chiropractic appointment. The chiropractors screen for them and will tell you the same thing.
Where specialist care or imaging is the next step, you will get a detailed letter outlining the findings and recommendations, including the specialist we believe is best suited to your needs.
Frequently asked questions
What does a sports chiropractor actually do differently?
The technique is largely the same. What differs is the question being answered. The goal is a return to a defined load rather than a general absence of pain, and the plan is built backwards from that. Load is the first conversation rather than the last, because most presentations in active people are load problems.
Do I have to be a serious athlete?
No, and most people booking this are not. The same approach applies to a runner training for a first half marathon, someone who has taken up a sport at forty, or a parent whose back gives out playing with their kids. What sports chiropractic describes is an emphasis on load, movement and getting back to a specific activity, not a minimum standard you have to meet.
Should I book before an event or after an injury?
Both work, but they are different appointments. Before an event the conversation is about what to modify and what not to change in the last week, a new treatment approach days before a race is a risk rather than a preparation. After an injury it is assessment first, then a plan for returning to load.
Will I be told to stop training?
Rarely entirely. Complete rest is usually the wrong answer for an active person and it is also the advice most likely to be ignored, which makes it useless twice over. The more common conversation is about modifying volume, surface or intensity for a period, and what can continue safely while something settles.
Can I see Dr Mack specifically?
Yes. He has his own booking link on the booking page. He is a competitive Ironman triathlete and water polo player, and has worked with AFL footballers, Formula One champions, professional dancers and endurance athletes at every level.
What about an acute injury that happened today?
Call rather than waiting for an online slot, and if there is obvious deformity, you cannot bear weight, or there is significant swelling straight after impact, that needs assessment at an emergency department first. The chiropractors screen for those before they treat and will tell you the same thing.
Ready to book?
Appointments Monday to Saturday, with confirmation by SMS.