Meet The Blandford Team

After successfully building her practice as an associate at a chiropractic clinic in Dorchester, Karen is now primary practitioner at the Blandford chiropractic clinic where she has been practising since 2007. With an interest in sports injury rehab and functional neurology, she also spends time seeing patients at our Poole chiropractic clinic.

Human health has always interested Karen. She gained an honours degree in biology at the University of Newcastle-upon Tyne. Following this she looked to health care as a career and chiropractic treatment in particular. She graduated with distinction in her Masters degree from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in 2006 and then followed this up with another distinction in her postgraduate certificate in chiropractic practice.

Karen has a special interest in functional neurology and has 15 years experience of busy practice. This has shaped her skills in dealing with people of all ages struggling with conditions such as sports injuries, dizzyness, nutrition and children’s issues.

In her spare time Karen is a very competitive dinghy sailor sailing her RS200, or if it’s really blowing, kite-surfing. In 2016 she won the RS500 Nationals and placed well in the endeavour trophy for the national champions. She was also in the first all girl boat in the RS200 Nationals in Mounts Bay in 2017.

In the winter Karen likes to get away to the mountains to ski, so if you need a pre-season skiing programme, she’s your girl. In addition to this she occasionally gets to mountain bike to wind down from playing netball! So she knows how to keep you active and well.

I’ve been aware of chiropractic since childhood as it helped my grandmother manage her migraine headaches. I’ve now been a chiropractor for over 27 years, graduating in 1994.

I worked in Kent for a year. Then joined Graham Heale in Hertfordshire where I built on my training for the next 5 years. In 1999 I moved to Poole.

I like to keep updated with developments in chiropractic, sports injury rehab and also general medicine as well. All health professions are constantly evolving and developing and chiropractic is one of them.

There have been many changes in approach over my career and I have developed into a better physician by adapting my practice to reflect this.

I firmly believe that chiropractic’s potential for Sports performance is under developed. My keen interest has helped many athletes perform at their true potential. Being an amateur Triathlete has helped my knowledge of sports training immensely (read my triathlon story here).

The thing that I like most about chiropractic is how it can instantly restore strength to functionally weak muscles. It’s a very satisfying feeling when you can often make positive instant changes for patients. Especially if they are a little sceptical and see us as the last resort.

I am also interested in the use of specialist neurological tests and exercises to re-balance the activity of the nervous system following whiplash type injuries or mild traumatic brain injuries.

In my opinion chiropractic and targeted active rehabilitation should be the first port of call when you have back pain or joint and muscle pain. If you correct poor joint movement soon after injury it can help you stay active, flexible and healthier. Then you can stay fit and healthy for longer in your life.

Lucy is a fully qualified Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist and a member of the Institute of Sport and Remedial Massage (ISRM). She trained at the London School of Sports Massage to the highest level within the sports massage field.

As someone who has always been passionate about sport and fitness, Lucy has become an experienced marathon runner and iron distance triathlete over the past ten years. Since becoming a mum she has continued to race at a decent level, still completing marathons each year. She is often seen out pushing her running buggy along Bournemouth seafront.

As a keen runner and triathlete, Lucy has experienced the benefits of massage first hand. She believes strongly in its potential to provide a remedy for musculoskeletal pain caused by sport or life’s everyday stresses. Massage relieves the symptoms of postural problems or chronic occupational fatigue. It also reduces stress, assists with emotions, improves self-awareness, flexibility and helps with relaxation.

For sports people, it can offer the added benefit of speeding up recovery. This allows you to have better quality training, shorter recovery times, as well as a higher quantity of training. It can also help prevent injury or help you spot early problems.