Spina Vita
Chiropractic
Spina Vita Chiropractic Health Professionals is based in Saxonwold and Sunninghill, specialising in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the functioning of the nervous system and general health.
Meet your Doctor
Dr Sian Fuller is a passionate, well-rounded Chiropractor and owner of Spina Vita situated in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. She studied Chiropractic at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Chiropractic at this institution is accredited under the European Council of Chiropractic.
Her Master’s thesis was titled: “Evaluating Chiropractic Students’ Hand Washing Principles Using GloGermTM as a Surrogate for Microbial Pathogens.” Her Master’s dissertation was presented in Berlin, Germany at the EPIC2019: Global Opportunities in Spine Care. This was very rewarding research as it brought to light the issues of infections and how proper hand washing can save lives.
Dr Sian Fuller
Founder, Chiropractor
What to expect on your first visit
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, your doctor will go through a Case History: which is a series of questions about your medical, family, childhood and adult history. We will ask you about your presenting complaint and what treatment options you have used in the past and their effectiveness. Your doctor will then perform a physical examination with several diagnostic and orthopaedic tests to establish where and what the condition may be. Your doctor will screen you to see if spinal or extremity manipulation is suitable for you. If necessary, your doctor may feel the need for additional special investigations such as blood tests, urine samples, X-rays and diagnostic ultrasound to establish a valid diagnosis.
After this, if chiropractic treatment is suitable for you, chiropractic treatment can begin. Chiropractic treatment will involve joint and soft tissue treatment. At Spina Vita Chiropractic, your doctor will explain what the treatment is and why it will be effective in the treatment of your complaint.
What we do at Spina Vita
If you would like to enquire about a certain condition/treatment modality that is not listed, please contact us.
Back or neck pain can be a troublesome and frustrating cause of disability, that may arise from the spine or its surrounding soft tissue structures. The spinal column provides structural and nervous system support to the spinal cord by holding it upright, allows for movement of the trunk and provides a channel of nerve impulses to travel between the nerves, spinal cord and brain.
The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, encased around the spinal cord. These segments are separated by soft, cushion-like structures known as intervertebral discs, which act as shock absorbers when the spine is loaded. Surrounding the vertebral column are various supporting structures such as ligaments, tendons and muscles which contribute to its movement, mobility and support. The spine is separated into 4 segments: Cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), lumbar (lower back) and sacral segments (tailbone).
Injuries, overuse conditions and diseases occurring at any of these structures of the spine or surrounding soft tissue, may result in pain, stiffness, headaches, disability or referred pain.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we are here to assist patients with their back or neck pain in a holistic, drug-free and safe approach.
Our care aims at assisting patients in a reduction or an elimination of the symptoms associated with various conditions, including:
Chronic Conditions:
• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Bursitis
• Cervical/lumbar Facet Syndrome
• Cervical/lumbar spondylosis
• Cervical/lumbar radipulopathy
• Cervical spine disc herniations
• Cervical Stenosis
• Costochondritis
• Degenerative joint disease
• Discogenic pain syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Leg length inequality
• Lumbar spine disc herniations
• Lumbar stenosis
• Maigne’s Syndrome/Thoracolumbar joint syndrome
• Osteoarthritis
• Pirifromis syndrome
• Period pain/cramps
• Rib restriction
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Spinal Stenosis
• Scoliosis
• Scheuermann’s Disease
• Spondylolisthesis
• Torticollis
• Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
• Sacroiliac joint syndrome
• Sacroillitis
• Sciatica
• Whiplash
Environmental Factors Contributing to Back Pain:
• Poor posture when sitting at a desk for prolonged periods
• Poor sleeping habits
• Upper and lower cross syndromes
• Poor posture
• Computer work
• Little physical exercise
Acute Conditions:
• Disc herniations/slipped disc/disc bulge
• Cervical sprain/strain
• Lumbar sprain/strain
• Meniscoid entrapments
• Muscle strain in the lower back, mid back and neck
• Sciatica
Sport’s injuries are most often caused by poor warm-up, poor conditioning, weakness in muscles, ligaments and tendons, unsafe training environments, biomechanical disorders and structural abnormalities.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we treat a variety of different sport’s individuals, such as and not limited to, cricketers, golfers, weight lifters, runners, cyclists, boxers, MMA fighters, cross-fitters, swimmers, rugby players, water polo players, wake boarders, skiers, badminton players and more.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we aim to help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Tennis elbow
• Golfers elbow
• Muscle strains
• Ligament Sprains
• Rotator cuff strain
• Tendinitis
• Guyons canal syndrome (cyclists)
• Knee bursitis
• Pronator Teres Syndrome
• Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
• Hyperextension injury of the elbow
• Little league elbow
• Ischial bursitis
• Trochanteric bursitis
• Achilles tendinitis
• Hamstring tears
• Calf tears
• Runners knee
• Jumper’s knee
• Patellofemoral pain syndrome
• Shin splints/ Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
• Patellar tendinitis
• Iliotibial band (ITB) Syndrome
• Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) and Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) sprains of the knee
Headaches:
Headaches can be a frustrating and troublesome complaint. Majority of people are bound to suffer from a headache once in their lifetime. Headaches can be mild to severe and can cause difficulties with managing every day work and life.
There are two types of headaches such as primary or secondary headaches. Primary headaches are often caused by the headache itself and are not a result of an illness or disease. Primary headaches can arise from an overactivity of pain-sensitive structures in
the head, muscle spasm in the neck and shoulder muscles, certain brain chemicals, poor posture, certain foods, alcohol, skipped meals and lack of sleep. Secondary headaches arise from a certain disease illness like sinusitis, concussion, dehydration, ear infection and hypertension.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following primary headaches:
• Cervicogenic Headache
• Cluster headache
• Migraine headache
• Tension headache
Jaw pain
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects your skull to your jaw and is located on either side of your head, in front of your ears. Each joint contains a cartilaginous disc that acts as a cushion between the bony surfaces, allowing for smooth movement. Jaw pain may arise
from a direct blow to the temporomandibular joint, grinding and clenching of the teeth (bruxism), a misalignment of the jaw joints, genetics, connective tissue disorders or arthritis.
Jaw pain can be a debilitating condition affecting speech and chewing. Jaw pain can also cause headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a clicking sound when opening the mouth, pain around the jaw and ears and locking of your jaw.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Temporomandibular joint syndrome
• Jaw muscle strain
• Cluster headaches
Vertigo and dizziness
Vertigo most often, is a symptom and not a condition. If you suffer from vertigo, it feels as if you or the environment around you is moving or spinning. It may be due to tiny calcium particles (canaliths) clumping up in the inner ear, a build up fluid and pressure change
within the inner ear or a viral infection causing inflammation around the nerves that control body space awareness and balance. The symptoms of vertigo can be barely noticeable to severe which can affect a patient’s balance, everyday life and activities.
Dizziness most often is an altered sense of spatial orientation where one can feel lightheaded or unsteady. Vertigo is a form of dizziness but the main difference is that the patient feels as if themselves or their environment around them is spinning. Common
causes of dizziness can be due to BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), infection, poor blood circulation, a drop in blood pressure, medications, neurological diseases, anaemia, hypoglycaemia, dehydration, heat stroke, anxiety disorders and carbon monoxide poisoning.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
• Cervicogenic dizziness/vertigo
A pregnant mom goes through a series of changes throughout her pregnancy.
These changes include: headaches due to altered hormones or muscle spasm in the neck, spotting and light bleeding, weight gain due to water retention, fluids and an expanding belly, a higher blood pressure, hip pain, back pain, cramps, constipation and heartburn. In the pregnant mom, back and joint pain can either arise from ligament laxity or an increased lumbar lordosis due to a heavier belly. Pregnant women have limited medication options to manage pain during pregnancy.
Majority of pain medication such as NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), anti-inflammatories and opioids are contraindicated during pregnancy. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective solution for pain management in the pregnant woman and in-womb baby. Chiropractic treatment and care may help for an easier delivery and labour for a pregnant mom.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Neck and back pain
• Sacroiliac joint syndrome
• Joint pain
• Piriformis syndorme
• Headaches
• Muscle spasm
• Lumbar/cervical facet dysfunction
• Sciatica
• Pain from an increased lumbar lordosis
The growing child’s musculoskeletal and nervous system is constantly adapting and rewiring every day. Some children and adolescents may suffer from joint related conditions, growing pain and sports-related injuries.
Our care can assist children with nervous system adaptation, pain relief and better sports performance.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Torticollis
• Scheuermann’s Disease
• Biomechanical abnormalities
• Pains
• Arthritic conditions
• Poor muscle tone
• Postural issues
• Little league elbow
• Nursemaid’s elbow
• Juvenile Idiopathic
Arthritis
• Muscle strains
• Ligament sprains
• Meniscoid entrapments
The senior human typically goes through changes in almost all areas of the body. The joints stiffen and undergo arthritic change known as a wear and tear process called osteoarthritis. As a result they can lose joint mobility, range of motion, suffer from chronic pain and joint mobility conditions.
If these conditions related to reduced joint mobility are left untreated, the condition worsens and they may lose the ability to perform normal day-to-day activities, like hanging washing on the line or reaching up into a kitchen cupboard.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with
the following conditions:
• Frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis
• Arthritic disease
• Muscle strain
• Ligament sprains
• Osteoarthrtis
• Knee, hip, ankle and foot arthritis
• Shoulder, wrist and hand arthritis
• Bursitis
• Headaches
• Neck and lower back stiffness
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Lumbar/Cervical spine degeneration
Help your baby with expert, professional and efficient chiropractic care. Our focus for paediatrics at Spina Vita, is to create an environment where parents and babies feel comfortable, at-ease and satisfied with treatment.
Welcoming a newborn into the family is an exciting time in our lives, leaving us feeling a combination of joy, love and hope for the future. For new parents, sleepless nights, bonding, feeding, changing diapers and burping your baby, become something of the norm. As a new parent, we can sometimes stress about our babies and may have angst around their well-being. The signs of a healthy, happy baby includes: good feeding and weight gain, adequate diapers (8-10 a day), babies that turn towards sounds, a baby that can support its own body weight and a baby that reaches its developmental milestones within the adequate time frame.
At Spina Vita, we recognise the unique anatomical and physiological processes within the paediatric population and treat these patients accordingly. Paediatrics is divided into neonates (birth up to 28 days), infants (a child under 1 year of age), juveniles (the period between infantile and adult) and adolescents (period that includes the onset of physiologically normal puberty.) We treat all levels of paediatrics at Spina Vita.
Your baby is incredibly fascinating with regards to the developmental processes they undergo. As babies grow, they take on a unique structural union. Your baby’s joints are separated by cartilaginous growth plates. In other words, their bones are not fully united (congruent.) If there is a pathological biomechanical influence at play, a baby’s musculoskeletal system’s development may take on a non-uniform structure and the incidence of musculoskeletal and orthopaedic disease in future, is very likely.
One in three humans lives with pain and disability related to musculoskeletal health, worldwide. It is important to identify and treat congenital/ developmental musculoskeletal issues sooner in life, in order to prevent musculoskeletal pain/disease in adulthood. This is where chiropractic care can assist in improving musculoskeletal health and reduces disease.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we will take you through a thorough case history. We will ask you about your baby’s type of birth, at what week they were born, whether the delivery was complicated or not and what challenges you have faced as a parent, in general. We will ask you questions about your labour, your baby’s delivery, their immunisation status, their feeding history, bladder and bowel movements, known allergies, general interaction with the environment, responses to certain stimuli and whether they are reaching their developmental milestones within the appropriate timeframe. Chiropractic care in the paediatric population differs greatly to adults. Your chiropractor uses very gentle techniques to help relax joints and stimulate the nervous system.
Chiropractors can help in the following ways:
• Assessment of spinal and musculoskeletal health in the infant
• Assisting in post-birth recovery
• Aid in proper infant development
• Reduce pain and improve mobility in infantile musculoskeletal disorders
• Improved crawling
• Improved breast feeding
• Improved gastrointestinal health
Some of the conditions that we treat and manage at Spina Vita:
• Plagiocephally
• Reflux
• Colic
• Kiss Syndrome
• Latching Problems (breast feeding)
• Torticollis
• Constipation
• Winding Problems
• Asymmetrical Crawling
Chiropractic care is not only limited to spinal injuries and pain. Contrary to popular belief, chiropractors treat almost all the joints in the body.
This includes the cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, shoulder girdle: glenohumeral,
sternoclavicuar (SC) and acromioclavicular (AC) joint, elbow joint, wrist joints, hand joints, hip joint, knee joint, ankle and foot joints.
At Spina Vita Chiropractic, we can help reduce or eliminate the symptoms associated with the following conditions:
• Achilles tendinitis
• Hip injuries
• Knee injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Elbow injuries
• Hand injuries
• Wrist injuries
• Ankle injuries
• Foot injuries
• Rotator cuff strain
• Ischial tuberosity bursitis
• Trochanteric bursitis
• Adductor spasm of the hip
• Hip osteoarthritis
• Ischiogluteal bursitis
• Iliopectineal bursitis
• Meralgia Parasthetica
• Scapulocostal syndrome
• Supraspinatus tendinopathy
• Impingement syndrome
• Bicipital tendinopathy/tendinits
• Frozen shoulder
• De Quervains Tensosynovitis
• Trigger finger
• Carpal tunnel Syndrome
• Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
• Knee Bursitis
• Iliotibial (ITB) band syndrome
At Spina Vita Chiropractic we aim to reduce pain and inflammation, reduce radicular or nerve-related pain, increase sport performance, increase joint mobility (range of motion) and improve quality of life with regards to health and wellbeing. This is done in a holistic and safe manner.
Here are some of the treatment modalities offered at Spina Vita Chiropractic:
• Dry needling
• Chiropractic Manipulation in the spine and extremities
• Ergonomic education
• Cross Friction
• Kinesio-Taping (strapping)
• Ischaemic Compression
• Joint Mobilization in the spine and extremities
• Lumbar Flexion Distracton
• Cervical Distraction
• Sports Massage
• Stretching and strengthening exercises
• Active and Passive release techniques
If you would like to enquire about a certain condition/treatment modality that is not listed, please contact us.
Testimonials
