Healthy Spines by a Chiropractor & McKenzie Physiotherapist

Dr Michael Black B. App. Sc. (Chiro) graduated in 1983 in Melbourne as a chiropractor from the Phillip Institute of Technology, now RMIT Bundoora. In 1984, he worked in Israel on a kibbutz within the medical and physiotherapy clinic.

Since he was only the 4th chiropractor in Israel at that time, he worked within the physiotherapy system jointly sharing duties at the local public hospital. The physiotherapists on the team were trained in Sth. Africa, UK and Israel in the Maitland and McKenzie systems.

Since the underlying principles of kinesiology, biomechanics and joit fixation were the same as in chiropractic, it was not difficult for everyone to speak the same language and ultimately, the patients received excellent results with the blending of techniques.

The experience planted the seeds for the creation in the early 1990's in Melbourne of Complete Health Medical Centres where Dr Michael Black was a key founder of the multi-disciplinary health teams in three locations in Melbourne.

That project lasted 10 years blending the best of chiroractic, physiotherapy, podiatry, massage therapy, Feldenkreis technique and hydrotherapy instruction. The medical doctors referring to the team were confident that all the necessary skills were contained in-house. Asking for help from an allied health profession was the norm, not the exception.

Dr Michael Black has practised chiropractic for 24 years and in his present Armadale and Lwr Templestowe clinics in Melbourne for 22 years as the Michael and David Black Chiropractic Group with his father David.

Sandra McFaul graduated from the University of Queensland in 1992 with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. She has worked in Tasmanian, the United Kingdom, the USA, Melbourne and Sydney.

In 2003, Sandra completed advanced training in the McKenzie Method of Physiotherapy which makes her 1 of 15 physiotherapists in Australia and around 400 world-wide with this level of expertise.

Sandra is passionate about helping people take control of their chronic & recurrent back and neck pain using the McKenzie Method. She practices at ATA...Physiotherapy that Empowers! which is located in Stanmore, the Inner West of Sydney, NSW Australia.