With so many of us at computers all day, back and neck pain are common complaints. Those in the know swear by chiropractic. We meet a new practitioner Dr Thomas Nowak.
Thomas Nowak’s parents are both health professionals so his decision to follow in their footsteps was not unexpected, although his choice of chiropractic might have come as a surprise.
Polish immigrants to South Africa in 1982, Thomas’s father is a medical doctor in Midrand while his mother – a former international sportswoman – is a highly respected biokineticist in Johannesburg.
“I wanted to do something with my hands and when I discovered the profession of chiropractic, I knew that was for me,” says Thomas. (Chiropractic comes from the Greek word Chiropraktikos, meaning “effective treatment by hand”.)
Courses in this discipline are not a walk in the park. Thomas graduated last year from the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park with an MTech Degree in Chiropractic, which is a six-year programme. Like those entering the medical profession, chiropractic students are instructed in the basic sciences for the first two years.
While not considered ‘mainstream medicine’, chiropractic shares a complementary role with conventional medicine.
For the uninitiated, the UJ website describes chiropractic as “the science that is primarily concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and management of almost all conditions that are nerve, muscle or joint related. The prime area of interest lies in the adjustment or manipulation of spinal and extremity joints to maintain a healthy body.”
“As a chiropractor I can help the young and the elderly,” says Thomas. “In fact, anybody can benefit from chiropractic treatment whether you suffer from back and neck pain or not.”
Dr Nowak is based at Aurum Sanctuary in Linden. You can contact him on 011 888 6167 or 083 350 8310. For more information about chiropractic go to www.chiropractic.co.za