You may be considering treatment for your back or neck for many reasons. It could be to get rid of pain or referred pains from the spine, reduce stiffness, cosmetic reasons, improve sporting performance or something else.

What you should know is that these problems, in the vast majority of cases, stem from a mechanical problem of the spine, which essentially means that the spine is not functioning effectively.

In order to function correctly the spine must be:

1. SUPPLE AND ELASTIC:

Supple means being able to move or bend freely and easily. Elastic means being able to return quickly to a former state or condition after a stress is applied. Other terms that you should be aware of when considering mechanical problems of the spine are stress and strain. In this context, stress is the force exerted on the body, whilst strain is the amount of deformation of the body compared to its original size and shape when a stress is applied.

Loss of supple elasticity occurs with time and age due to the everyday wear and tear that this brings but can also be accelerated greatly by inflammatory conditions and injury.

As the spine becomes less supple, stress begins to concentrate in particular joints of the spine (usually in the low back and at the base of the neck). Back pain, stretched ligaments, excessive wear and tear and disc prolapse are the natural consequences of this overstressing. What is needed is to improve supple elasticity and this is where TAMARS comes in.

2. FREE FROM ABNORMAL CURVATURES AND MISALIGNMENT:

Curvature and misalignment causes stresses to concentrate in particular joints of the spine. This can develop progressively with time and age or more rapidly following an event such as a whiplash injury or a fall but it is important to understand why the spine cannot return to its normal alignment.

As mentioned previously, elasticity is the ability to return quickly to a former state after a stress is applied. However, a condition may arise, such as a fall, whereby the elastic limit is exceeded because the strain is so great and therefore the spine is unable to return to its former state. It is at this point that abnormal curvatures and misalignment occur and the spine cannot recover without help. This is where TAMARS comes in.