If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)
By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)
Dr Kelvin Ng - Talks on the benefits, the importance plus on how payment is done.
Picture 1 - Dr Kelvin Ng attending to Ashley Liew.
When I saw Dr Kelvin, I realised that he was able to get Ashley Liew out of injury the whole year round when the latter was training.
Earlier on, as I know Ashley, he was affected by injury a number of times and this affected his improvement, greatly. With Dr Kelvin's help, everything went smooth to the point that Ashley came in first in the Stanchart Marathon 2012. Hence, I know that a person can keep improving if they have continuity in training while having a smart training programme. It is utmost to keep oneself away from the injury so that one can reach one's goal and he or she can go to the next goal.
In this blogpost, while talking about the importance of seeing a chiro, I feel that it is important to know that some chiro charge by the package.
Why? All along, I thought that Dr Kelvin has a package for 10 sessions etc. My encounter with him at Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant, where he gave me and Ashley our birthday treat, showed that he charge people by session and not by package. This is a piece of great news indeed.
Another thing I found out from the conversation that I had with him was I discussed with him on the difference in charging fees for the first timer and for people who visit subsequently. Dr Kelvin told me that for the first timer he charges $120 because of the time taken. He has a consultation for about 30min to 45min to find out on the injury or misalignment. This really takes time and that was why he charges more for the first session. However, for the subsequent session, he will focus on alignment service and not on many questions, as he already knows from the start. He charges $80 for the subsequent sessions of his service. I told him that this will be good for people to know as I felt that people are thinking that one must take a package to get his chiro service.
I decided to interview his and the interviewed answers are given below.
An Interview With Dr Kelvin Ng.
What is the real benefit of seeing a chiro?
The purpose of chiropractic has often been mistaken as being for
neck or back pain. The truth is that chiropractic is not for any specific pain,
nor does not heal anything. Your body does the healing and chiropractic allows
your body to do so. To understand the objective of chiropractic, one needs to
know briefly how our nervous system works. The nervous system is the lifeline
of a human being.
As many of you may know, our brain controls everything in a
human being: cells, tissues, muscles, ligaments and organs. These have to be
connected to the brain in order for them to function and they do via the spinal
cord and nerves. As extremely delicate tissues, akin to life copper wires in
our electrical wires, the spinal cord is protected by the spine. Our spine is
made up of 24 bones (vertebrae) and their corresponding discs. The vertebrae and
discs form outlets for our spinal cord to exit as nerves.
When the spine is healthy and in good alignment, the brain is
able to communicate by means of electrical signals or impulses with the rest of
our body optimally. But day-to-day demands such as poor sitting posture,
sleeping postures, previous falls, accidents, exercising the wrong way, stress,
etc. can stress them and put any of these 24 bones out of position (a phenomenon is known as “misalignments”). When misalignments of the spine happen,
communication between the brain and the cell, tissue, muscle, joints, etc becomes
interrupted, and nerves that sit between bones can become impinged. Health
issues like discomforts (pain, numbness, strain, tingling, burning sensations),
sports injuries, degeneration, organ dysfunction, etc can result over time (it
can be days, weeks, months, years) due to impingement of nerves.
At my office (www.familyhealthchiro.sg), I am focused on looking
for such misalignments. By means of chiropractic adjustments, misalignments are
addressed and the communication between the brain and the rest of the body is
restored. The restoration allows healing to take place within the body. When
one’s spine is aligned, discomforts and health problems start to go away.
In an earlier blog, we discussed how chiropractic can improve
one’s performance and prevent injury in a sportsman. With this understanding of
the spine, you might now be able to appreciate that if the communication
between the brain and the rest of our body is free from any interference due to
spinal misalignments, one’s body will be able to function at its optimal and
injuries can be prevented. It’s as simple as that.
Why is it important to see a chiropractor earlier?
Just like how most people only see a dentist only when their
teeth or gums begin to hurt, most people come in when they can no longer stand
with the pain, or they have tried every other healthcare options and are still
in trouble.
Does your tooth hurt when it is decaying? Probably not. It
usually starts to hurt after the decay is rather advanced. Similarly, when the spine
is in the initial stages of the misalignments, it may not hurt and one may not
know about it at all. Days, weeks, months, years may pass before pain receptors
are triggered or organ starts to underperform, or joints start to inflame. Most
of the healthcare options available ever so conveniently deal mostly with the
symptoms without addressing the cause of one’s problem.
Chiropractic focuses on the cause of one’s problem from the
first visit. So, it does make sense for one to see a chiropractor at the earliest
convenience, even if one is not in pain!
How do you charge people for your services?
I charge on a per-consultation basis and I do not sell packages.
Per consultation fee allows me to spend quality time with patients. There have
been reportedly many chiropractic clinics selling packages and getting patients
to commit financially to their clinics as early as the second visit and
subsequently over-treating them and exposing them to unnecessary X-rays (note
that X-rays can be harmful to the body). This is frown upon by The Chiropractic
Association (Singapore) (“TCA”) of which I am a professional member.
Xrays at my clinic is not compulsory and are ordered only if I
have sufficient clinical reasons to do so, such as numbness, tingling, or
history of accidents, etc. We have heard from patients who have been to certain
chiropractors in Singapore telling them that Xrays are compulsory and this is
NOT TRUE. It is not uncommon for such chiropractors to profit by arranging for every
patient to be X-rayed.
TCA remains the only chiropractic association in Singapore
tasked by the Ministry of Health to regulate the chiropractic profession
locally. To date, about 20 chiropractors have step forth to be screened for
qualification and standing and agreed to be bound by ethical rules and
guidelines set by the association. A majority of chiropractors in Singapore currently
are not members of the TCA, we are unsure of their qualifications, reputation
and ethical values. Therefore, I strongly recommend that consumers only consult
chiropractors who are members of the TCA.
Why is it that the first time people pay more and for subsequent
appointments they pay less?
The first consultation at my office takes approximately 30-40
minutes and many procedures are performed. First, I discuss with patients about
their medical history, then I examine their postures, spine and perform certain
orthopedic tests. The first chiropractic adjustment will be rendered if the
information gathered reveals that it is safe to do so.
Subsequent visits take between 15-20 minutes of consultation and
treatment.
Therefore, in terms of time incurred and procedures performed,
the fees for the first consultation is higher than the follow-up.
Note:
By Narayanan
Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’ by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
