Examine
History, movement screen and orthopaedic testing before any treatment decision. If something needs imaging or a medical opinion first, you'll hear that on day one.
Chiropractic & movement care
Your back has been sending the signal for a while now.
Assessment-led chiropractic for stiff mornings, screen-bound necks and joints that flare under load. We examine first, treat second, and send you home with work you can do without us.
- First visit Fifty minutes. History, movement screen, orthopaedic testing, then treatment if it's appropriate that day.
- In a session Adjustment where it helps, soft tissue work where it's needed, and loading you can repeat at home.
- You leave with A written plan: what we found, what we're doing about it, and how we'll know it worked.
Where it's coming from
Start with the thing that actually bothers you.
Most people arrive with one specific complaint and a vague sense that it's connected to something else. It usually is. Here's what we see most and what gets examined before anyone touches you.
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01
Low back that locks up
The one that seizes on the way out of the car or halfway through unloading the dishwasher. Often a joint that has stopped sharing the work with its neighbours.
We check hip rotation, single-leg control, lumbar segment movement, and how you hinge under a little weight.
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02
Neck and jaw tension from screen work
Tight from the shoulder blade up, worse by Thursday, better on holiday. Rarely a posture problem on its own — usually a position held too long without variation.
We check upper cervical rotation, breathing pattern, jaw tracking, and your actual desk setup.
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03
Leg pain that travels below the knee
Sciatica-type symptoms: burning, pins and needles, or a dead-leg feeling after sitting. This one gets the most careful screening, because the cause determines everything that follows.
We check neural tension tests, reflexes, strength through the foot, and what positions change the symptom.
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04
Shoulder and upper back under load
For people who lift, climb, swim or carry children all day. The complaint is usually the shoulder; the limitation is usually the ribs and mid-back behind it.
We check overhead range, thoracic extension and rotation, scapular control, and your current training load.
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05
Headaches that start at the base of the skull
Building through the afternoon, one side more than the other, often with a stiff neck the day before. Tension-type and cervicogenic patterns respond well; other patterns need a different clinician.
We check upper cervical joints, trigger patterns, sleep position, and red flags that mean we refer instead.
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06
Pregnancy and the first year after
Pelvic and low back discomfort while everything is changing shape, then the carrying, feeding and floor-time postures that follow. Gentler techniques, side-lying support, shorter sessions.
We check pelvic loading tolerance, rib and breathing mechanics, and comfortable positions for daily life.
Not on the list? Bring it anyway. Part of a first visit is deciding honestly whether this is the right room for your problem — and telling you where to go if it isn't.
How care runs
Four stages, and the last one is you not needing us.
Nobody should be on an open-ended schedule without knowing why. Care here moves through stages, and you're told at each review which stage you're in.
Settle
The short phase aimed at getting the pain down and the region moving again — adjustment, soft tissue work, and clear instructions on what to avoid for now.
Load
Where the result gets made durable. Visits spread out, homework gets harder, and we rebuild tolerance for the thing that set it off in the first place.
Step back
You leave with a maintenance routine and a standing invitation to come back when something changes. No automatic rebooking, no packages sold in advance.
Your visit
What actually happens, in order.
So the first appointment holds no surprises worth worrying about.
- What to wear
- Whatever you can move in — leggings, shorts, a t-shirt. Nothing needs to come off; gowns are available if you'd prefer one.
- How long
- Fifty minutes for a first visit. Follow-ups are twenty-five, or forty if we're doing a full reassessment.
- First twenty minutes
- Talking and testing. What hurts, since when, what makes it better, and what you need your body to do this month.
- How an adjustment feels
- A quick, shallow movement with a pop that comes from gas in the joint, not from bone. Most people describe relief; some feel mildly worked-over for a day.
- What you take home
- Two or three exercises, not twelve. Written down, with the number of days per week and how to tell if you're doing too much.
- If we're not the right fit
- You'll be told at the first visit, given a clear reason, and pointed toward the type of clinician who is. No further appointments booked.
“The aim isn't a spine that looks tidy on a chart. It's a body that tolerates your Tuesday.” Practice note · Golden Signal Chiropractic
Who you'll see
Nadia Ferrier
Doctor of Chiropractic · practice founder
Nadia opened Golden Signal after a decade of treating people who had been handed a schedule of visits and no explanation. Her approach is deliberately unglamorous: examine carefully, treat what the examination supports, and measure whether it worked.
She works most often with desk-based professionals, people returning to training after an injury, and patients through pregnancy and the first year after birth. If your case belongs with a physiotherapist, a GP or a specialist, she will say so rather than keep you in the diary.
Also in the room
Theo Lange runs the loading sessions from stage three onward — the part where your plan turns into weight, reps and a reason to trust the joint again. Most patients see him two or three times across a course of care.
Opening times
When the room is open.
Early and late slots exist because most backs are worst before work and after it.
- Monday07:00 – 13:00
- Tuesday11:00 – 20:00
- Wednesday07:00 – 18:00
- Thursday11:00 – 20:00
- Friday07:00 – 15:00
- Saturday08:00 – 12:30 (first visits only)
- SundayClosed
- First visits are scheduled at the top of the hour; the fifty minutes are yours whether or not treatment happens that day.
- Two slots are held back each weekday morning for acute flare-ups. Ask for one in your request and we'll tell you the same day if it's free.
- Loading sessions with Theo run Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings, booked alongside your regular review.
- Rescheduling is free up to the day before. Same-day changes are fine too, but the held slot may go to someone in acute pain.
- Pregnancy appointments are kept to the quieter midday hours, with side-lying support set up before you arrive.
Questions
The ones people ask before booking.
Do I need a referral to come in?
No. You can book an assessment directly. If your case would be better handled by another type of clinician, or needs a medical opinion before hands-on care, you'll be told at the first visit and given a clear reason.
Does an adjustment hurt, and what is that cracking sound?
The sound is gas releasing inside the joint capsule as the surfaces separate slightly. It isn't bone, and it isn't a measure of whether the treatment worked.
The movement itself is quick and shallow. Most people find it relieving. Feeling mildly worked-over for a day afterwards is common and settles on its own.
How many visits will I need?
You'll get an estimate after the examination, not before it — and it's an estimate, reviewed every fourth session. If the plan isn't producing change by the review, we change the plan or refer you on rather than repeat it.
We don't sell blocks of sessions in advance.
Is it safe during pregnancy?
Care through pregnancy uses gentler techniques, side-lying positioning and shorter sessions, and it's adjusted as things change trimester to trimester. Tell us at booking so the room is set up before you arrive, and mention anything your midwife or GP has flagged.
What if chiropractic isn't the right answer for my problem?
Then you hear it at the first visit. Some presentations belong with a GP, a physiotherapist, a rheumatologist or an imaging referral, and a few need urgent medical attention. Screening for that is part of the examination, not an afterthought.
Can I keep training between sessions?
Usually yes, with specific modifications rather than blanket rest. Bring your current programme or a rough weekly outline and we'll work around it — what to keep, what to scale, and what to leave alone for two weeks.
Do you keep appointments for sudden flare-ups?
Two morning slots are held back each weekday for acute cases. Mention it in your request and you'll get an answer the same day about whether one is available.
Book an assessment
Tell us what's going on.
Send the details below and you'll get a reply with two or three suggested times. If your request mentions acute pain, it's answered the same working day.
- First visit · 50 minutes
- Reply within one working day
- No prepaid packages
- Free rescheduling until the day before