Chiropractic Care in Brampton

Chiropractic care at Platinum Physiotherapy is delivered by Dr. Thessa Prashad, DC, a Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College graduate registered and in good standing with the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO), a member of the Ontario Chiropractic Association, and certified in Contemporary Medical Acupuncture from McMaster University. Dr. Prashad practises evidence-based, patient-centred chiropractic - not a high-volume "crack-and-go" model. Every initial consultation includes a detailed orthopaedic and neurological examination, a vascular screen where cervical manipulation is being considered, review of relevant imaging, and a written treatment plan that you sign off on before any spinal manipulation is performed.

Modern chiropractic is a neuromodulatory intervention. The rapid small-amplitude thrust of an adjustment stretches the joint capsule and surrounding muscles, triggering a cascade of well-documented neurological effects - post-manipulation reflex inhibition (Dishman & Bulbulian 2000), reduced muscle-spindle sensitivity, gate-control modulation of pain signalling at the dorsal horn, and descending pain inhibition via the periaqueductal grey. The "pop" is a synovial cavitation (nitrogen/CO2 release), not bones moving. Understanding this mechanism means we know what chiropractic can do - and what it cannot.

Not every patient needs high-velocity manipulation. Dr. Prashad is trained in Diversified, Activator (low-force for seniors, osteoporosis, pregnancy, anticoagulated patients), Grade I-IV mobilisation, soft-tissue techniques, IASTM/Graston, cupping, contemporary medical acupuncture and dry needling, therapeutic taping, and exercise rehabilitation. The gentlest technique that will deliver your clinical outcome is what you will receive.

• Acute and chronic mechanical back pain - moderate-to-high quality evidence for chiropractic as first-line care (Rubinstein 2019 BMJ, n=9,211; Paige 2017 JAMA).
• Neck pain and cervicogenic headache - Gross 2015 Cochrane supports manipulation/mobilisation combined with exercise. Jull 2002 and Chaibi 2017 support chiropractic for cervicogenic headache.
• Tension-type headache - effect size comparable to amitriptyline without medication side effects (Boline 1995).
• Sciatica and lumbar radiculopathy - gentle flexion-distraction, Cox technique, or mobilisation (not high-velocity thrust) combined with McKenzie directional-preference exercises improves 60-70% without surgery over 8-12 weeks.
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction and pelvic girdle pain - excellent response to specific SI joint manipulation with gluteal and core retraining.
• Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD I-III) after a motor vehicle accident - early gentle cervical mobilisation and graded exercise outperforms rest and collar immobilisation (Quebec Task Force; OPTIMa 2014).
• Pregnancy-related back and pelvic pain - Activator low-force, drop-piece, and side-lying positioning with pregnancy pillows. Webster Technique for sacral analysis where appropriate.
• Sports and overuse injuries - lateral and medial epicondylitis, shoulder impingement, IT band syndrome, Achilles and patellar tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis.
• Postural syndromes - forward head, rounded shoulder, thoracic hyperkyphosis from desk work.
• Ergonomic and work-injury cases - we bill WSIB directly for approved workplace chiropractic and handle MVA chiropractic under Ontario SABS.

First chiropractic visit (45-60 minutes): four structured stages. (1) Clinical history - mechanism of onset, pain behaviour, aggravating/easing factors, past episodes, medical history, imaging history, medications, red-flag and yellow-flag screening. (2) Physical examination - posture and gait, active/passive range of motion, segmental motion palpation, orthopaedic special tests (Kemp's, Yeoman's, Spurling's, Jackson's, distraction, ULTT, Lasegue, Slump, SLR), full neurological screen (myotomes, dermatomes, deep tendon reflexes, Babinski/Hoffman where indicated), and vascular screening using 5D3N1A (dizziness, diplopia, dysarthria, dysphagia, drop-attacks; nausea, numbness, nystagmus; ataxia) before any cervical manipulation is considered. (3) Clinical reasoning and written informed consent. (4) First treatment - typically combining specific adjustment, targeted soft-tissue work, and first corrective exercises with demonstration and printed/video handouts.

Follow-up visits (15-30 minutes): focused adjustment, soft-tissue therapy or acupuncture where indicated, exercise progression, and re-evaluation. Typical response: acute mechanical back or neck pain resolves in 4-6 visits over 2-3 weeks. Chronic or recurrent presentations typically require 8-12 visits combined with exercise rehabilitation. Dr. Prashad will discuss a realistic plan at visit one.

Safety: roughly 30-50% of patients experience 24-48 hour post-treatment soreness (expected, not harm). Serious adverse events are exceptionally rare - published absolute risk of stroke after cervical manipulation is ~1 per 5.85 million adjustments (Cassidy 2008 population-based case-control study, 109 million person-years). We pre-screen for risk factors on every visit and choose low-force techniques for any patient with osteoporosis, anticoagulation, prior fusion, or other relative contraindication.

Direct billing: all major Canadian extended-health insurers plus WSIB and MVA under Ontario SABS. No doctor's referral required.

Read the full clinical guide: Read our in-depth chiropractic care guide for Brampton patients →