Hi, I'm Dr Gary Tho, a chiropractor, speaker, and writer from Australia, with over 11 years of clinical experience in private practice. I'm the founder of Chiropractic Works, a family, sports and wellness clinic in Orchard, Singapore. I specialise in pain relief and peak performance, helping people be the best that they can be. My clients are high achievers - people who want and need their body to keep up with their every day lifestyle. My clients vary from world champion athletes, to business owners, busy executives and super-hero parents.
Being side-lined, battling ankle, knee, shoulder back and neck aches, pains and injuries as an elite athlete and also in the last few years as a father, I understand the mental and physical toll that simple aches and pains impose. Pain distracts us, zaps our energy, interrupts our sleep, prevents us from doing what we want and need to do, and is simply annoying. Instead of accepting it as part and parcel of our lives, I believe that we all deserve to feel great, move well, heal and live life without limitations.
In order to feel better, and heal faster we need optimal biomechanics, optimal nervous system control and optimal circulation. That is why I developed a simple 4-step process that addresses these key areas that enable us to live a happy pain-free life. The first step is the Right Diagnosis. Too many times we are symptom focused, and not addressing the cause. The second step is to get the body to Reset and Heal by addressing the three essentials of healing instead of randomly trying remedies without any protocols. The third step is to develop proper movement patterns, muscle activation and stability first, strength second. Too many people focus on building brute strength that only reinforces poor habits and strengthens compensatory patterns. The final step is to review, and maintain. This is essential as most people lose motivation once pain lessens, but pain relief does not equate to healed. The reason why pain keeps coming back is because the underlying problems still persist.
Speaker/Trainer:
I am a speaker/trainer, having presented over 600 health talks, workshops and screenings for corporations, associations and the public. I also help to structure and deliver corporate health and wellness programs to improve employee health and wellbeing, employee engagement, job satisfaction, work-life balance and encourage healthy lifestyles. I also conduct workplace posture and ergonomic assessments.
Author:
I am the author of The Pain-Free Desk Warrior, Free yourself from aches and pains, which is the modern pocketbook for those stuck at their desk for more than 2 hours a day. In this book, I share how simple actions create massive health benefits. #simpleactionsmassivebenefits Your can find out more about the book here, purchase the e-book here, or the paperback copy here.
One reason why I wrote this book, is because there is an increasing number of people falling into the pain problem. Over $3.5 Billion was spent last year in Singapore on injuries, aches and pains. Many of us are stuck seated at our desk, and when we get home, stuck seated staring at screens all night long - thus creating many health concerns, including headaches, neck and shoulder pain, back pain, and the like. So many people live with pain and don't bother doing anything about it. Without realising, they've let pain dictate their lives. (Think about the things you avoid because it's painful or 'just in case' because you are afraid it would cause you pain) Most accept is as 'normal', or blame it on 'old age' and do not realise there is a solution.
I always wondered:
Why let a simple back pain or neck ache ruin your mood?
Why avoid doing daily activities like squatting, bending, lifting or walking just because you are scared your pain will be aggravated?
Why miss out on sports, and other activities you once enjoyed?
Why feel tired, and irritated when you can life live free from pain?
Why tell yourself "it's not that bad", and then let to persist and continue to get worse over the weeks, months or years before doing something about it?
Why complain of poor quality sleep, and poor quality life when you have the opportunity to feel great every day?
There are many reasons why:
1. Because many people don't know what the underlying problem is. Our fast paced society demands fast remedies and instant fixes. Yet those rarely result in healing.
2. Because we don't understand the underlying cause of the pain and problem. Muscles get blamed all the time. "Weak muscles". "Tight muscles". "Overstrained muscles". "Muscle ache". "Pulled the muscle". But there's so much more than just muscles that can get injured.
3. Because of Dr Google, an article you were tagged on facebook, or your friends' mums' neighbours' brother gave you the 'new best way' to fix the problem. If you listen to all of these things, you stop and start a variety of treatments. And no improvement will occur. There is no plan to get you well and it's not specific to your body's needs.
4. Because if you don't listen to the above #3, you don't know what to do or where to start. If this is you, ask me for FREE!
5. Because we Pain-Free does NOT mean 'healed and reinforced'. Many people who undergo some sort of treatment, be it exercise or therapy related, stop once they feel better. But some time later, suffer a relapse when the pain comes back. This is because you didn't get the body to fully heal and reinforced.
Because of this, I wrote my book, based on my 4-step (previously 6-step) methodology to get you feeling better, healing faster, and back to enjoying life. I have helped thousands of people with all sorts of physical ailments feel better and regain life, livelihood and back in the game. There is an additional Fifth step (which occurs at the start), for those who are unsure if chiropractic care suitable for them. These steps are:
- Complimentary Discovery Session: To find out more about you and your health concerns, and map out possible solutions to accomplish your health goals.
- Right Diagnosis: A full medical consultation and clinical examination: Aches and Pains can make us frustrated, exhausted and unmotivated. Find the problem, create a plan and set your health goals.
- Reset and Heal: Get pain relief and enable the body to heal. This is the best part. We heal the body through chiropractic care and lifestyle habits. Essentially we help you out of your current painful situation and back into health.
- Reinforcment. Once you’re out of pain, it’s up to you. It's time to develop proper movement patterns, good muscle activation and stability. We advise exercises and rehab programs as well as create ways for you to improve your lifestyle habits. This offers you a long term solution to keep you well, longer.
- Review and Maintain. Fantastic! Life’s great! You're feeling a million bucks and forgot what it feels like to even have pain. Dropping in for a tune-up once a month will serve you well. Besides keeping you problem free (or catching and fixing them early), we’ll keep helping you improve your health so you can be at your best, every day.
The Bottom line:
I've had my fair share of injuries, with one particular knee injury putting me on the sidelines for months. It was depressing. And my recovery program started at walking two laps of a soccer pitch. Finished. That was it. More recently, the past 9 months has been a roller coaster. I sprained my lower back and injured my left shoulder in a motorcycle accident (because I don't really know how to ride! *Silly me!) Having a young children makes these pains worse. All that carrying, bending, squatting, lifting, reaching really does build up. And that's when I realised it's not just pain. It's annoying, hindering and affecting me, my wife, my kids, and my quality of life. If I don't get my back better, I miss out on doing things with my daughter. She also misses out because I can't play, experiment and actively participate in her life.
This is the reason why we deserve to be well, happy and able to move freely and do things as we please. We should strive to overcome even the smallest, irritating aches and pains. Imagine how much more we can accomplish for ourselves. And for those we love, (and our bosses too!)
IMAGING LIFE WITHOUT PAIN. Imagine living without limitations.
So I open an opportunity for you to get back the life you deserve, and better your best. Request for your FREE*, No obligation, Discovery Session to find out more about your health concerns, what's stopping you from being your best, and what you can do to improve your health, freedom and quality of life. You can do so here. (Although it is a Free Discovery session, we would encourage a $20 donation to provide families in Ethiopia, Cambodia and Africa access to life-saving clean drinking water for 2,190 days. (100% of this donation will go to the families).
Alternatively, if you would like to jump straight in and go through the full clinical evaluation of your health concerns, book your appointment online here.
I believe we can all create the life we deserve. Give yourself the gift of freedom.
