Back Pain: Why It Hurts, What's Happening in Your Body and What You Can Do About It

By Matt Cunningham & Matthew Bennett

If your back has been aching for a week, a month or considerably longer, you have probably found yourself asking the same question: what is actually going on? Why does it hurt so much and why won’t it just go away?

You are not alone. Back pain is one of the most common health complaints we hear at Sundial Clinics in Brighton, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. Patients come to us having been told conflicting things: rest more, move more, it’s wear and tear, it’s stress, try this exercise, don’t do that exercise. It can leave you feeling more confused and worried than when you started. This guide is our attempt to change that.

We are going to walk you through what pain actually is, what is happening in your nervous system when your back hurts, how treatments like spinal manipulation work (and what the evidence really says about them) and what else you can do (both physically and mentally) to start feeling like yourself again.

We will also be clear about when back pain is a sign that you need urgent medical attention and when a professional assessment with a chiropractor or physiotherapist is a sensible next step. No jargon. No scaremongering. Just honest, evidence-based information, the same things we explain in the clinic to patients every day.

What Is Pain?

Most of us grow up thinking of pain as a straightforward signal: damage in the body sends a distress message, the brain receives it and we feel pain. The more damage, the more pain. But this is only part of the story and it is an important part to understand if you want to make sense of back pain.

Pain is an output from the brain, not just a signal from your tissues

Modern pain neuroscience, and this is now well established in the research literature, tells us that pain is best understood as something the brain produces, not simply something the body transmits. Pain is a protective experience. It is your nervous system’s way of saying: “something may be wrong here: pay attention and take action.”

This does not mean pain is imaginary. Pain is real. Every person reading this who is in pain is genuinely in pain. But the experience of pain is created by the central nervous system, and it is influenced by far more than the condition of your tissues.

This is why two people with identical disc bulges on an MRI scan can have completely different levels of pain. It is why a rugby player might not notice a fractured rib until the adrenaline wears off. And it is why your back can feel worse on a stressful day than it did on a calm one, even though nothing structural has changed overnight.

Understanding this is empowering because it means there are more ways to address pain than simply targeting the tissue.

How pain signals travel through your nervous system

When your back is loaded, strained or irritated, specialised nerve endings called nociceptors detect potentially threatening stimuli like mechanical pressure, inflammation or heat and send signals along sensory nerves to the spinal cord. From there, signals travel upward through the brainstem to multiple brain regions: the thalamus (a kind of sensory relay), the limbic system (which processes emotion and memory), the prefrontal cortex (which handles context and decision-making) and other areas involved in attention and awareness.

All of this happens within fractions of a second. And crucially, the brain integrates all of this incoming information, including your emotional state, your past experiences with pain, your understanding (or misunderstanding) of what is happening and your expectations of recovery before deciding how much pain to produce and where.

This is not a flaw in the system. It is sophisticated, intelligent biology. A threat that your brain considers serious, unclear or ongoing will typically produce more pain than one it considers minor or resolved. The problem arises when the threat-assessment system gets stuck in a heightened state, which brings us to one of the most important concepts in understanding persistent back pain.

Why pain can persist even when tissues have healed

When pain signals continue for weeks or months or when the nervous system remains on high alert, a process called central sensitisation can develop. This means the nervous system becomes more sensitive over time: amplifying signals that would not normally cause pain, lowering the threshold for pain responses and sometimes spreading pain beyond its original area.

A 2021 systematic review published in The Journal of Pain found that central sensitisation is present in a significant proportion of people with chronic low back pain and that addressing it requires approaches that go beyond purely structural treatment, including pain education, graded movement and psychological support where appropriate (Knezevic et al., 2021).

This is not a judgment on anyone experiencing persistent pain. Central sensitisation is a biological process: not a character flaw, not “all in your head” and not a sign that you are exaggerating. It is a well-documented, measurable change in how the nervous system processes information and it is one reason why good back pain care addresses the whole picture, not just the spine.

How Pain Gets Modified, Inside Your Body and Out

Your body is not passive in the face of pain. It has sophisticated built-in systems for modulating (turning up or turning down) the pain experience. Understanding these systems matters, because many of the most effective approaches to managing back pain work precisely by activating them.

Your descending inhibitory pathways

Running from the brain and brainstem down through the spinal cord are descending nerve pathways whose job, in part, is to suppress incoming pain signals before they reach conscious awareness. These pathways release natural pain-dampening chemicals, including endorphins, serotonin and noradrenaline, in response to various stimuli.

Physical exercise is one of the most reliable activators of these pathways. Social connection and a sense of safety activate them too. So does a reassuring conversation with one of our chiropractors or physiotherapists here in Brighton who can explain clearly what is happening, not because reassurance is a trick, but because genuine understanding reduces threat perception, which genuinely reduces pain.

Conversely, fear, uncertainty, sleep deprivation and chronic stress tend to suppress these inhibitory pathways, amplifying pain. This is why the same physical problem can feel very different depending on what else is going on in someone’s life.

The gate control theory and why it still matters

First proposed by Melzack and Wall in 1965, the Gate Control Theory of pain described a mechanism in the spinal cord by which non-threatening sensory input (movement, touch, warmth) can effectively “close the gate” on pain signals travelling upward to the brain. While the science has become considerably more sophisticated since then, the core insight remains clinically relevant: stimulating mechanoreceptors (movement-sensitive nerve endings) in and around an area of pain can reduce the pain signal reaching the brain.

This is one of the mechanisms underlying why rubbing a bumped knee helps, why massage reduces pain and, as we will explain shortly, why spinal manipulation has measurable pain-modulating effects.

Emotion, stress and the pain experience

Here we want to be careful and precise, because this area is frequently misunderstood and mishandled by clinicians in ways that leave patients feeling dismissed.

The fact that emotions and mental state influence pain does not mean that pain is psychological in origin, that it is “all in your head” or that people are somehow responsible for their own suffering. It means that the brain’s threat-assessment system, which produces pain, takes emotion and context into account. This is normal neuroscience. It happens in everyone.

Anxiety, low mood, fear of movement and the expectation of pain are all known to increase pain sensitivity. A landmark systematic review by Pincus et al. found that psychological factors, particularly fear-avoidance beliefs and catastrophising, are among the strongest predictors of persistent disability in low back pain (Pincus et al., 2002, Spine). This work has been repeatedly replicated in the decades since.

What this means in practice is that addressing the emotional and cognitive component of back pain is not a soft option or a last resort: it is an evidence-based part of comprehensive care. And it works best alongside, not instead of, appropriate physical treatment.

We will come back to practical strategies for managing this side of back pain later in this article.

Spinal Manipulation: What It Is, How It Works and What the Evidence Says

Spinal manipulation is one of the techniques our chiropractors use at Sundial Clinics and it is one that patients often have questions about. Let us explain what it is, what happens in the body when it is performed and what the research actually tells us.

What is spinal manipulation?

Spinal manipulation, also called spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), is a usually hands-on technique in which a chiropractor applies a controlled, precisely directed force to a spinal joint, typically at the end of its range of movement. The force is brief and specific. It often produces a “clicking” or “popping” sound, which can be surprising if you have never experienced it before.

That sound is simply the release of dissolved gas from the fluid within the joint (the same thing that happens when you crack your knuckles). It is harmless, and the absence of sound does not mean the technique has not worked. At Sundial, our chiropractors may use a hand-held precision adjusting instrument, the Impulse iQ, which delivers a comfortable, controlled tapping sensation. This doesn’t produce any of those “pops”.

Spinal manipulation is not the same as “cracking your back” casually, and it is not something that should be attempted without proper training. When performed by a chiropractor or physiotherapist following a thorough assessment, it is a precise clinical intervention.

How does spinal manipulation modulate pain signals?

This is where the science becomes interesting. Research over the past two decades has shed light on the mechanisms by which SMT produces its effects and they are more wide-ranging than simply “loosening a joint.”

1. Neurophysiological effects at the spinal level
When a spinal joint is manipulated, mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors in the surrounding tissues are activated by the movement. This sends a burst of non-threatening sensory input into the spinal cord, which, consistent with Gate Control principles, can inhibit the transmission of pain signals. Studies using sensory testing have shown measurable reductions in local pain sensitivity following SMT, a phenomenon known as hypoalgesia.

2. Central nervous system effects
Perhaps more significantly, the effects of spinal manipulation are not limited to the local joint. Research has demonstrated changes in central pain processing following SMT, including altered activity in brain regions involved in pain modulation, changes in cortisol levels and systemic reductions in pain sensitivity that extend beyond the treated area. A 2020 systematic review by Millan et al., published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, examined the neurophysiological effects of spinal manipulation and concluded that SMT produces both peripheral and central hypoalgesic effects and that its mechanisms involve the modulation of pain processing at multiple levels of the nervous system. The authors noted that these effects are consistent across multiple methodologies and patient populations (Millan et al., 2020).

3. Reduction in muscle guarding and spasm
Restricted or painful spinal joints are often accompanied by reflexive muscle guarding, which is the body’s protective tensing of muscles around an area it perceives as vulnerable. This guarding, while initially protective, can itself become a significant source of pain and stiffness. Spinal manipulation can interrupt this cycle by restoring joint movement and reducing the reflex muscle activity associated with it.

4. Improved proprioception and body mapping
The joints, ligaments and muscles of the spine are richly supplied with proprioceptive nerve endings. These are receptors that provide the brain with continuous information about the body’s position and movement. When spinal joints are restricted or painful, this proprioceptive input is altered, which can contribute to the brain’s sense of threat and amplify pain. Restoring movement through manipulation improves this sensory feedback, helping the nervous system build a more accurate and less threatening map of the area.

What does the evidence say about spinal manipulation for back pain?

The research on spinal manipulation for low back pain is extensive and the overall picture is positive, though not without nuance.

A major 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA, which examined 26 randomised controlled trials involving more than 1,700 patients, found that spinal manipulative therapy was associated with statistically significant reductions in both pain intensity and functional disability in patients with acute low back pain compared to sham manipulation (Paige et al., 2017). The effect sizes were clinically meaningful, and adverse events were minor and transient.

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) includes manual therapy, which incorporates spinal manipulation, as a recommended component of care for low back pain with or without sciatica, as part of a treatment package that includes exercise and education. This recommendation reflects the breadth of the available evidence.

Spinal manipulation is not a cure for all back pain. It is most effective for mechanical back pain (pain arising from the joints, muscles and supporting structures of the spine) in appropriate patients. It is not appropriate for all causes of back pain and a good clinician will assess carefully before recommending it. We will come back to this.

Is spinal manipulation safe?

This is a question patients understandably ask.

For appropriate patients (those who have been properly screened for contraindications) spinal manipulation performed by a chiropractor carries a low risk of serious adverse events. Minor, temporary side effects such as local soreness or stiffness are common and typically resolve within 24-48 hours; this is comparable to the experience of starting a new physical exercise.

Serious adverse events following lumbar spinal manipulation are rare. Clinicians are trained to screen for contraindications, including osteoporosis, inflammatory arthropathies, fracture, instability and vascular factors, and to modify or avoid manipulation where these are present. If manipulation is not appropriate for you, we will tell you and explain the alternatives.

How Chiropractors at Sundial Clinics Use Spinal Manipulation

Chiropractic care is one of the core disciplines at Sundial Clinics. Our chiropractors are registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) the UK’s statutory regulator for the profession, and they use spinal manipulation as part of a broader, patient-centred approach to musculoskeletal care.

What to expect at your first appointment

If you come to see a chiropractor at Sundial Clinics, here is what will typically happen:

A thorough history. Your chiropractor will spend time asking about your back pain: when it started, what makes it better or worse, what your work and lifestyle look like, and whether you have any other health conditions. This is not box-ticking; it is the foundation of good clinical reasoning.

A physical assessment. This will usually include observing your posture and movement, assessing the range of motion in your spine, testing the strength and sensation in your legs where relevant, and palpating the spine and surrounding muscles to identify areas of restriction, tenderness, or dysfunction.

A clear explanation of findings. Before any treatment begins, your chiropractor will explain what they have found in plain language: what they think is contributing to your pain, what they recommend and why. If something in their assessment gives them cause for concern, they will tell you and advise on next steps, which may include referring you to your GP or for imaging.

A tailored treatment plan. Treatment may include spinal manipulation, joint mobilisation (a gentler technique involving rhythmic movement of a joint within its range), soft tissue work and specific exercise or movement guidance. No two patients receive identical care because no two patients are identical.

Realistic expectations, discussed upfront. For most people with uncomplicated mechanical back pain, meaningful improvement is seen within 6-8 sessions. Some people need fewer. Some, particularly those with longstanding or complex problems, may need more. Your chiropractor will give you a clear picture of what to expect and they will tell you if progress is not being made as expected, so that the plan can be adjusted.

What conditions respond well?

Chiropractic care is well-supported by evidence for:

Mechanical low back pain (pain arising from the joints, discs, muscles or ligaments of the lower back)
Lumbar disc-related pain, including some cases of leg pain (sciatica), in appropriate patients
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Neck pain
Rib pain
Some types of headache, including cervicogenic headache (headache arising from the neck)
Musculoskeletal pain related to sedentary work, posture or repetitive strain

It is not appropriate for all causes of back pain, which is why assessment always comes before treatment at Sundial Clinics.

Physiotherapy For Back Pain: A Complementary Approach

Physiotherapy and chiropractic care are both evidence-based, clinically recognised approaches to musculoskeletal back pain, and at Sundial Clinics they work in parallel. Our physiotherapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and bring particular expertise in rehabilitation, exercise prescription and movement analysis.

While there is significant overlap between what chiropractors and physiotherapists do and both may use manual therapy techniques, physiotherapy-led care tends to place particular emphasis on:

Exercise rehabilitation: building strength, flexibility, and endurance to support the spine long-term
Movement retraining: identifying and addressing movement patterns that are loading the spine inefficiently
Graded activity programmes: gradually increasing load and activity levels in a structured, evidence-based way, particularly for patients with persistent pain or significant fear-avoidance

If your initial assessment suggests that exercise rehabilitation is the most important component of your care, we will tell you. And because both disciplines are available at Sundial Clinics, your care does not have to be one or the other: it can be both, working together.

Other Ways to Modulate Pain and Support Your Recovery

Spinal manipulation and physiotherapy are not the only tools available for managing back pain. A growing body of evidence supports a range of approaches that work by different mechanisms, many of which you can start using today.

Movement and exercise: the most consistently supported intervention

It might seem counterintuitive when your back hurts, but staying as active as possible is one of the single most important things you can do. Rest has its place in the very acute phase but prolonged rest is associated with worse outcomes for back pain, not better ones.

Exercise works by activating the descending inhibitory pathways we described earlier, reducing central sensitisation over time, maintaining the health of spinal structures and, crucially, challenging the fear-avoidance pattern that can develop when pain leads to movement avoidance, which leads to more pain.

What type of exercise? The answer is: the best exercise is one you will actually do. Walking, swimming, yoga, Pilates, cycling and strength training all have evidence supporting their use in back pain. If you are in Brighton, a walk along the seafront or up onto the South Downs is not a bad place to start. The key is to move within a manageable range and gradually increase what you do, not to push through severe pain, but equally not to use pain as a reason to do nothing.

A physiotherapist or chiropractor can design a specific exercise programme tailored to your situation, which is generally more effective than a generic one.

Sleep: underrated and important

The relationship between sleep and pain is bidirectional. Poor sleep increases pain sensitivity, and pain disrupts sleep. If this cycle becomes established, it can make back pain significantly harder to manage.

Practical steps that may help:

Try side-lying with a pillow between your knees or lying on your back with a pillow under your knees: both reduce loading on the lumbar spine
Keep a consistent sleep schedule where possible
Reduce screen time and stimulation in the hour before bed
Address stress and anxiety, which are common drivers of poor sleep

If sleep is significantly disrupted by pain, mention this to your chiropractor or physio, as it is a relevant part of your clinical picture.

Massage therapy: more than relaxation

Massage therapy has a well-established role in the management of musculoskeletal pain. Clinically, it works by reducing muscle tension and trigger point activity, improving local circulation, lowering circulating stress hormones such as cortisol and, through the mechanism of safe, skilled physical contact, activating the body’s parasympathetic (rest and recovery) nervous system.

At Sundial Clinics, our massage therapists work as part of the wider team, and massage is often used alongside chiropractic or physiotherapy care as a complementary component of a treatment plan. For patients with significant muscle tension, guarding or stress-related pain amplification, it can make a meaningful difference.

Mindfulness, pain education and mind-body approaches

We mentioned earlier that pain education or simply understanding what pain is and how it works is itself therapeutic. This is not a loose claim. A systematic review by Louw et al., published in Physical Therapy (2016), examined the effects of pain neuroscience education (PNE) in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and found significant reductions in pain, disability, catastrophising and healthcare utilisation following education-based interventions (Louw et al., 2016). The act of understanding pain reduces the threat it represents and that reduction in perceived threat leads to measurable reductions in pain.

Mindfulness-based approaches, including mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) have a growing evidence base for chronic pain. They work not by eliminating pain, but by changing the relationship with it: reducing the catastrophising and avoidance patterns that amplify it. For patients whose back pain has a significant stress or anxiety component, these approaches are worth considering seriously. Try some mindfulness-based stress relief with our video here

Breathing and relaxation techniques like diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can help regulate the nervous system and reduce the sustained sympathetic activation (the “threat state”) that maintains central sensitisation.

Recommending these approaches does not mean we think your back pain is psychological in origin. It means that the most effective care for persistent pain addresses the whole person, body and nervous system alike.

What You Can Do Right Now: Practical Self-Help Steps

While a proper assessment and hands-on care make a significant difference for many people, here are some evidence-supported steps you can take before or alongside professional treatment:

Do:

Keep moving: gentle, comfortable movement throughout the day, even if you reduce your usual activity level
Apply warmth to the area (a heat pad or warm bath): heat increases local circulation, reduces muscle tension and activates inhibitory pain mechanisms
Try gentle stretching: cat-cow movements, knee-to-chest or gentle lumbar rotation can help in many cases
Pay attention to your workstation if you work from home: screen height, chair support and the habit of moving every 30-45 minutes all matter
Sleep in a supported position as described above
Continue with activities that matter to you, at whatever level you can manage

Avoid:

Prolonged complete rest as it tends to worsen outcomes
Repeated extension or flexion if it significantly worsens your pain (note what moves make it worse and tell your clinician)
Reassurance-seeking spirals online such as reading about worst-case scenarios. This tends to amplify pain, not resolve it
Ignoring the red flags listed below

Red Flags — When to Seek Urgent Medical Advice

The vast majority of back pain is not a sign of serious disease. But there are some symptoms that require prompt or urgent medical attention. Please do not ignore these.Seek emergency care (999 or A&E) if you experience:

Loss of bladder or bowel control in combination with back pain: this may indicate cauda equina syndrome, a rare but serious condition requiring urgent treatment
Numbness or tingling in the groin, inner thighs, or perineal area (the “saddle area”)
Rapidly progressive weakness in both legs

See your GP urgently if:

Your back pain started after a significant fall or trauma, particularly if you are older or have osteoporosis
You have unexplained weight loss alongside back pain
You have a history of cancer and have developed new back pain
Back pain is constant, severe, and completely unrelated to movement, particularly if it is worse at night and not relieved by lying down
You have a fever with your back pain
You are under 20 or over 55 and are experiencing back pain for the first time with no obvious cause

If your back pain does not involve any of the above, the odds are very strong that it is mechanical in origin and something that appropriate care can help with.

When Is a Professional Assessment the Right Next Step?

Not every episode of back pain needs a clinic visit. A short-lived twinge after lifting something heavy, or the familiar stiffness of a long drive, may resolve with the self-help steps above and time.

But some patterns benefit significantly from a proper assessment:

Pain that has not improved meaningfully after 4-6 weeks
Pain that is affecting your sleep, work, or things you value — walking, gardening, golf, travel
Pain that radiates into your buttock, hip, or down your leg
Pain that comes and goes but keeps returning
You are not sure what is causing it and want a clear, reliable explanation
You have tried self-management without success and want more targeted guidance

A proper assessment is not just about having someone “do something” to your back. It is about getting clarity, understanding what is happening, what is likely to help, what realistic recovery looks like and whether there is anything that needs medical attention. For many patients, that clarity is itself a significant part of getting better.

How Sundial Clinics Can Help

At Sundial Clinics in Brighton, we bring together chiropractic, physiotherapy, and massage therapy under one roof. This matters for back pain care, because the most effective approach is rarely a single technique applied in isolation; it is assessment, explanation, hands-on care, exercise guidance, and the kind of ongoing support that helps people rebuild confidence in their bodies.

When you come to us with back pain, here is what you can expect:

Time to tell your story and have it properly listened to
A thorough clinical assessment, not a rushed appointment
A plain-English explanation of what we find
A conversation about what is likely to help, how long it might take and whether we are the right people for the job or whether a different approach is needed
A discussion about a treatment plan that may draw on chiropractic manipulation, physiotherapy rehabilitation, massage therapy or a combination of these
Exercise and movement guidance to support your recovery beyond the clinic

If you have been managing back pain on your own and it is not shifting, we would love to help you work out what is going on.

Ready to take the next step? You can book an assessment online or give us a call. There is no obligation, and we will always tell you clearly what we think will help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is back pain normal as you get older?

Back pain becomes more common with age, but it is not simply an inevitable consequence of getting older. Many people in their 50s and 60s have very little back pain, while others experience it in their 30s. The cause, context, and contributing factors matter far more than age alone. A proper assessment can help clarify what is driving your pain and what can be done about it.

Does spinal manipulation hurt?

Most people find it comfortable, or feel at most a brief sense of pressure. The clicking sound can be surprising but is completely harmless: it is simply gas releasing from fluid in the joint. Some people experience mild, temporary soreness for a day or two after treatment, much like the feeling after starting a new exercise. Your chiropractor will check in with you throughout treatment and adjust their approach based on how you feel.

How is chiropractic care different from physiotherapy?

Both are evidence-based, clinically recognised approaches to musculoskeletal pain. Chiropractors tend to place particular emphasis on spinal joint assessment and manipulation; physiotherapists often focus more on exercise rehabilitation and movement retraining. There is significant overlap in what they do, and both can use manual therapy techniques. At Sundial Clinics, both disciplines are available and sometimes the best plan involves both, working together.

Can massage therapy help with back pain?

Yes, massage is effective at reducing muscle tension, lowering stress hormones and helping to break the cycle of tension and guarding that often develops with back pain. It works well alongside chiropractic or physiotherapy care and is particularly helpful for patients with significant muscle involvement or stress-related pain amplification.

Do I need a scan or X-ray before I can be treated?

In most cases, no. The majority of back pain can be assessed effectively through a clinical history and physical examination. Imaging is recommended in specific circumstances, such as suspected fracture, red flag symptoms or clinical findings that suggest something beyond mechanical pain. Your chiropractor or physio at Sundial will advise clearly if they feel imaging is needed.

How many sessions will I need?

This depends on the nature, severity, and duration of your pain. For many people with uncomplicated mechanical back pain, meaningful improvement is seen within 6-8 sessions. Your clinician will give you a realistic expectation at your first appointment and will update that picture as your care progresses.

Can stress really make back pain worse?

Yes and this is well-supported neuroscience, not a way of dismissing your pain. Stress activates the body’s threat-response system, which is the same system that produces and amplifies pain. Prolonged stress is associated with higher pain sensitivity, disrupted sleep and reduced activity levels, all of which can worsen back pain. Addressing this is a legitimate part of comprehensive pain management.

What are the red flags I should never ignore?

The most important ones are: loss of bladder or bowel control with back pain (seek emergency care immediately), numbness in the groin or inner thighs, rapidly worsening leg weakness, back pain after significant trauma, and back pain associated with unexplained weight loss. If any of these apply to you, seek medical attention without delay.

When should I see a chiropractor versus seeing my GP?

If you have any of the red flag symptoms listed above, please see your GP or seek emergency care first. For mechanical back pain, which is the most common type, a chiropractor or physiotherapist can assess and treat without a GP referral. If your clinician has any concerns during their assessment, they will advise you to see your GP or will write to them directly.

Biographical Notes

About Matt Cunningham
Matt qualified from AECC University College with a specialist interest in sport and exercise. He is a Licentiate Member of the Royal College of Chiropractors and an Associate Member of its Pain Faculty. Drawing on a background as a sports coach, Matt has cultivated a strong rapport with athletes, supporting them through their physical development and performance goals. In clinical practice, he delivers patient-centred care grounded in evidence-informed methods, with a commitment to understanding and meeting each patient’s individual expectations. Matt adopts a biopsychosocial approach to health and patient management, recognising the interconnected roles of physical, psychological, and social factors in wellbeing. Informed by his extensive experience in sport, he regards exercise as both a valuable treatment modality and a cornerstone of healthy lifestyle promotion and long-term self-care.

About Matthew Bennett
Matthew Bennett is the founder and principal chiropractor at Sundial Clinics Brighton, established in 1991. With over 35 years of clinical experience, Matthew qualified from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in 1987 and served as President of the British Chiropractic Association for four years. As a Fellow of the Royal College of Chiropractors and former team chiropractor for Brighton and Hove Albion FC and the British Alpine Ski Team, Matthew combines evidence-based chiropractic treatment with sports performance expertise. His authority in musculoskeletal health has been recognised through national media appearances, expert witness roles and contributions to professional publications. Matthew’s commitment to clinical excellence ensures patients receive the most effective chiropractic care in Brighton.

References

Knezevic, N.N., Candido, K.D., Vlaeyen, J.W.S., Van Zundert, J., & Cohen, S.P. (2021). Low back pain. The Lancet, 398(10294), 78–92.
Millan, M., Leboeuf-Yde, C., Budgell, B., & Amorim, M.A. (2020). The effect of spinal manipulative therapy on experimentally induced pain: a systematic literature review. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 20, 26.
Louw, A., Diener, I., Butler, D.S., & Puentedura, E.J. (2016). The effect of neuroscience education on pain, disability, anxiety, and stress in chronic musculoskeletal pain. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 97(12), 2105–2113.
Paige, N.M., Miake-Lye, I.M., Booth, M.S., Beroes, J.M., Mardian, A.S., Dougherty, P., Branson, R., Tang, B., Morton, S.C., & Shekelle, P.G. (2017). Association of spinal manipulative therapy with clinical benefit and harm for acute low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA, 317(14), 1451–1460.
Pincus, T., Burton, A.K., Vogel, S., & Field, A.P. (2002). A systematic review of psychological factors as predictors of chronicity/disability in prospective cohorts of low back pain. Spine, 27(5), E109–E120.

This article is written for general information purposes and does not constitute medical advice. If you are concerned about your symptoms, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. Sundial Clinics chiropractors are registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). Sundial Clinics physiotherapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).