Get to know Dr Mike Schlamp - chiropractor extraordinaire, all-round good guy and the person to make your body feel just a little (a lot) better this Spring..

Mike Schlamp came out to Australia on, what you could call, a bit of a break - play ice-hockey in an Australian state team during the off season back in Canada, enjoy the sunshine, the beaches and head home six months later. It has now been 18 years and Mike still calls Australia home. He continues to play ice-hockey here professionally, however, his other true passion is his work as a chiropractor (and, aren’t we glad it is). As a newer member of the MO+ team, Mike is exactly the type of guy you want taking care of your body when it comes to a little manipulation. His approach is holistic, backed by years of experience and strong intuition for his practice. Read more for our interview with Mike below.

Dr Mike Schlamp, Chiropractor

Tell us a bit about yourself away from the world of your work as a chiropractor...

I’m originally from Canada and, funnily enough, it was ice hockey that brought me over to Australia. I fell in love with it over here and have stayed since - studied here and stuck around.

I was supposed to be in Australia for six months and that was 18 years ago. I still play ice hockey, so away from work, I’m either at the rink, the gym or the beach.

 Work talk next… how did you come to be a practicing chiropractor?

Back home, when I was playing high level ice hockey - top leagues in Canada - we always had a physio or a chiro. I always knew I wanted to get into that type of industry. The last team that I was playing for in Canada, we had a chiro. Every injury that I had, from shoulders to knees to back - it’s a very physical sport, so you’re always getting banged up - I don’t know if I’m made from glass, but I was always in there with injuries. There were a couple of injuries in particular where I took a big hit, a rib popped out and I was left with this massive stabbing pain that wouldn’t go away for a few days. I went into the chiropractor, he had a look, did an assessment and did one adjustment and it was gone. Totally gone. I knew from that moment that that was what I wanted to focus on -  I wanted to  learn more about the practice and talk to more people who were studying it. There was a guy living here, who was also from Canada, that was studying at the time and who I was also playing hockey with. He told me more about the course and what it was like compared with some of the other modalities - I knew then that it was for me.

 As with many practices that require some level of manipulation to the body, how do you dispel or support nervousness in patients that may feel a little wary about having a chiropractic treatment? How do you manage that?

I suppose, like in any industry, there are people who are good and bad at their practice. A lot of people have had interesting experiences when it comes to chiropractic and there are a lot of myths when it comes to what we do versus what people think we do. I’ve been in the practice a long time and a lot of it is actually how you touch people and the confidence you have in your practice. There are a lot of different ways you can adjust people and it doesn’t have to be that massive manual adjustment. It can be anything from a mechanical tool that provides that small little pulse into a joint right through to that bigger manual adjustment - for someone who does need it - to either correct what is going on at that segment or stimulate the nervous system. There is a lot of reading the person, where they are at, what they can handle in their own mind and body and what they are comfortable with. I am happy to use any sort of modality - I get big clients who need little adjustments, and little clients who need big adjustments. It really depends on each client. It’s about educating them as well as you can, exuding that confidence in what you do and being sure-handed in how you touch them - you can tell if someone is confident in what they do. Sometimes the greatest effect you can have is knowing when to leave something alone - knowing when to adjust and when not to adjust. You learn that with experience. Some clients want you to do as much as possible, but really you have to have the confidence to say “this isn’t exactly what you need at the moment, we need to take a step back”. Sometimes that is when people have a bad experience - when a practitioner does too much and the body isn’t ready for that.

‘Sometimes the greatest effect you can have is knowing when to leave something alone - knowing when to adjust and when not to adjust.’

How would you describe your treatment style? Do you have any signature components to your treatment that people come to you for?

I see a broad range of people - from school-aged kids, up to clients in their 80s. I see professional athletes - I’m currently treating a couple of jockeys. Across all, I use a combination of soft tissue trigger point releases and manual adjustments. I will sometimes incorporate a mechanical adjuster called the Arthur Stem  - a high tech activator, which uses a single shock to stimulate the muscles. I will also use a little bit of kinesiology - muscle testing - which provides a lot of feedback around body alignment and how the muscles, joints, nervous system are all working together. It’s actually amazing to be able to use that tool (the Arthur Stem) with muscle testing - it really shows me if something is working properly or not, and the client can see that straight away. Over the years you pick up more tools for your toolbox and you learn what works best with each client, depending on what problem they present with. I wouldn’t say I hone in on one thing - I like to treat a variety of things. The one thing I am very passionate about are those clients that I have seen for years and years - people that I “maintain” - to keep their joints moving, nervous system functioning, working with them to ensure wear and tear doesn’t get at them and they are functioning at their best all the time. It’s not just waiting for something to break before they come and see me.

 Outside of the physical benefits of chiropractic treatments, do you see the practice aiding the mind and body in other ways beyond just the physical? When it comes to any sort of stress or stressors on the body, you need to have some level of tolerance. If you are so close to a certain point, or a peak, where a minor stressful experience or response is going to set you off, you’re not going to have a lot of tolerance and it’s not going to be a great life. I think chiropractic and a lot of hands on modalities provide a buffer. The better your body is functioning the more capable you are to deal with a stress response - be it physical, emotional or chemical. The more your body is functioning at its optimum, the more you are capable of adapting to those stressful moments. Whether emotional stress that can cause physical complaints, or physical complaints that can cause emotional stuff, such as a chronic injury - your body is going to be able to cope and adapt far easier.