Becky’s Journey from Client to CA

For some of the Chiropractic Assistants (CAs) on our team, their first experience of chiropractic care happens after they get the role. But for Becky, it was the other way around; she actually began as a client!

Now, having worked in both clinics in Southampton and Locks Heath, Becky sat down to share how it felt to have your local chiropractors become your coworkers!

Okay Becky, talk me through what it was like becoming a client and your first impression of Life Effect!

So I first came across Life Effect at a screening; There was a stand for a free alignment check at my gym in Fareham Leisure Centre and I was with friends from my old job. If they weren't there, I’m not sure I would have signed up on that day…

How so?

So we had the free alignment check, and one of my friends went first. Their reading on the scale was almost normal, it was only out by a couple of kilos either side, but then I went on it and there was like a 9 kilo difference on one side and I thought Oh. Oh dear. That shouldn't be that way!

Next, my other friend did their alignment check, and it confirmed that maybe I shouldn't be so uneven. Oops!

I felt quite surprised as I had always been told by my doctors that the problems I had complained of were essentially 'normal' and there was nothing they could see or find that was wrong. In a way it was nice to see for myself that it was different and then when I was told how the consultation works, I was really eager to get things looked at from a different perspective. 

I think if I'd done screening and not had someone else to compare results with, I might not have bought the voucher then, but I’m so glad I did!

I booked in, had my initial consultation, and realised I was a bit damaged from horseback riding - it'd clearly made me a bit wonky. it was quite shocking because I was only 22 at the time!

Did you suspect you had those kind of health issues before?

I mean… I always complained of things hurting, like I had a horse riding accident where I thought I dislocated my pelvis, but the doctors hadn't found anything. They told me the X-ray was fine, but it turns out it was actually my lower back that was out of alignment, and my pelvis was a little bit twisted!

Before care I just carried on with life and accepted things with how they were. I struggled with random flares of back pain where I couldn’t walk, my hip quite often felt like it was going to pop out or like it got stuck, and I would fight to move a certain way for it to go back to normal.

I was brought up with family members who have chronic pain and other health issues, so in my family it was something that was just accepted and I thought I had to deal with it when the doctors said there was nothing wrong. 

You had X-rays with the GP and then you had X-rays as part of your consultation - what was the difference?

Well, the doctor I saw was like oh there's nothing wrong, try going to physiotherapy and I'd do that and nothing got better. Then I came here, and the chiropractors listened to me and said you’re 22, how is it like this?

It wasn't really a shock, because I knew something was going on, but it gave me clarity and an explanation that I’d never had before. All of these things are hurting and there is actually a reason, it's not just in my head - to hear from a professional that I was right and there's something wrong was really validating!

So what was your experience of being a client?

Fun!

The chiropractors were thorough in the exam room with explaining what was going on - especially in a way that it made sense to me at a time when I didn't know the medical terms. Pulling the X-rays up on the screen and walking me through them was really insightful as well.

Then with the first adjustment, they talk through everything so you're not caught off-guard by what they're about to do, you're not surprised by it, and they explain how it works. I just found it really interesting, throughout my whole time in care, how this helped me, because I also came for headaches as well.

Growing up, I used to suffer from migraines all the time, where I would have to stay in a dark room for days and have no noise whatsoever. my top vertebrae was basically touching the base of my skull in the X-rays. I remember that was a shock, but they were like it's a no-brainer that you had all these migraines and headaches growing up, it makes sense!

Do you still get them?

No. Well, very rarely I’ll have one when I’m stressed or if something big is happening, but then after an adjustment I’m fine again!

The migraines had had such an impact on my life and affected my work. When I was in care, they asked if I was still noticing any headaches and I was like oh you know what? I don't actually have any! And it's crazy because I used to take paracetamol and ibuprofen every day, if not every other day; and now I don't touch it. I literally will do anything else to not touch it unless it's the last resort… it's mad how much I used to use it and that used to be the norm for me!

So then later, you got a job here?

Then I got a job here!

Everyone on the front desk is always lovely and always chatty. You don't feel like you’re coming to an appointment when you’re here, you just feel like you're coming for a little catch up with friends that you haven't seen in a few days or a week. Everyone is just so nice and I felt like chiropractic is really interesting, and I didn't like my other job that much, so I used to just keep an eye out all the time, because it would just be so cool to work and experience it, everyone just seems so happy!

I mean, obviously most people put on a front at their jobs, but you could just tell there was a difference, that people actually wanted to work here - they weren't just here because it's a job.

You were actively waiting for an opening?

Yep! And then there was one and here I am!

It's everything I thought it was, it’s just as good! Everyone's still just as nice, and now I've learnt so much about chiropractic that I might even go to university for chiropractic and become a chiropractor!

Wow! I didn't know that, that's awesome! What's your favourite thing about working as a CA at Life Effect?

I love the fact that clients aren't just clients, you know?

We care deeply about everyone, especially when people open up to us and we have good conversations. Most people do end up feeling like your friend, so you get excited -  you'll look at the diary for the day and be like yay, this person's in! But then that happens with pretty much everyone who comes in, and it's just like a little family!

Everyone's so nice to work with, and it's just such a good environment. Clients know it's okay to have bad days and they know they can talk to us and we're here for everyone…

it's just nice to be there for people on a personal level as well as seeing how they improve in their care!

Having had that perspective as a Chiropractic Assistant now, what would you like people to know about being in care?

it's good to have questions about your care, it's not something that is easily accessible to people who haven’t heard about chiropractic before – what I mean is, it's not something that’s talked about all the time in your daily life, so it's okay to have questions! It's okay to be a bit unsure, but just try it, go to your local chiropractor, come in for your consultation and see what we have to say. You know, back pain, migraines, there’s just so much chiropractic can help with!

Since starting care I no longer get lower back pain on the daily or flare ups - not nearly as often as before. I feel like my posture has improved massively as well, and it’s not just me! My family and friends have noticed that I can move more freely and see that the frequency of my headaches have reduced as well as the painkiller intake.

Having care makes me feel happier and healthier. I feel like I’ve learnt so much about chiropractic that it has opened up a whole new perspective on my health as well as given myself some validation for how I felt before hand - I wasn’t crazy after all. 

There's such a different perspective of being in care and seeing how things change as time goes on, like you don't need painkillers, you don't have to have all of this medication thrown at you, first let’s see what the root cause is! Do what works for you, but don’t be afraid to see if there's another way, because there is something to explain why you’re in pain, and if you can resolve it without needing to take medication every day, why not give it a go?