by Matthew Bennett When Stress Gets Under Your Skin and Into Your Muscles Most of us know that stress feels awful. The racing thoughts, the tight chest, the jaw you didn’t realise you’d been clenching for days. But what if that tension isn’t just a feeling? What if chronic psychological stress is physically rewiring the…
by Matthew Bennett Back Pain Is Not Just a Middle-Age Problem Most people assume back pain is something that ambushes you in your forties or fifties, a consequence of too many hours hunched over a laptop or spent weeding the garden. But a landmark 26-year study published in 2025 suggests the story begins far earlier,…
by Matthew Bennett Corticosteroid injections are one of the most commonly recommended treatments for joint pain and one of the most misunderstood. They can provide genuine, meaningful relief for conditions such as osteoarthritis, shoulder impingement and chronic knee or hip pain. But they are not a cure, and used in isolation, they rarely solve the…
by Matthew Bennett Back pain is not a single condition. It is a spectrum of experiences shaped by your movement habits, pain triggers, nervous system sensitivity and lifestyle. The “One Size Fits All” Problem With Back Pain If you have ever been handed a leaflet of generic exercises after a GP appointment and sent on…
How patients at Sundial Clinics in Brighton are finding lasting relief — one small step at a time By Matthew Bennett When ‘Just Pushing Through It’ Stops Working There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes not from the pain itself, but from pretending it is not there. You reschedule the walk along the…
Why Your Back Pain Deserves a Real Diagnosis by Matthew Bennett If you have been told your back pain is “non-specific”, you’re not alone. It is one of the most common labels given in primary care across the UK. Yet for many patients, this explanation feels incomplete. You are in pain, it affects your work,…
by Matthew Bennett New research shows that patients seeing a chiropractor for chronic low back pain could experience significantly better outcomes, including less pain, improved movement and better quality of life, when spinal manipulation is combined with laser therapy and exercise. Low back pain is one of the most common reasons people in the UK…
by Matthew Bennett Quick Answers What is neutral spine? Neutral spine is a comfortable range of positions that maintains your three natural spinal curves: cervical lordosis (neck curves forward), thoracic kyphosis (mid-back curves backward), and lumbar lordosis (lower back curves forward), without excessive strain in any direction. It’s a zone of positions, not a single…
by Matthew Bennett The Bend That Broke the Camel’s Back (Or Did It?) You reach down to pick up a dropped pen and suddenly your back seizes. You twist to grab your seatbelt, and there it is again, that sharp, familiar pain. If you’ve started avoiding everyday movements because they trigger back pain, you’re not…
by Matthew Bennett If you’ve ever wondered what’s really happening when a chiropractor adjusts your spine, you’re not alone. Despite what you might have heard, it’s far more sophisticated than simply “cracking your back” or “putting bones back in place”. The truth is rather more fascinating and understanding it might just change how you think…
