Voices of the BCA is a member spotlight series sharing the perspectives, experiences, and insights of chiropractors across the UK.
In this edition, we hear from Christopher Gregory, a chiropractor with a practice that spans human and equine patients. Christopher talks about what drew him into the profession nearly two decades ago, why he always asks patients 'why' before he reaches for a test, and the explanation about the nervous system that consistently changes how his patients approach their own rehabilitation.
What inspired you to start a career in chiropractic?
It began with a personal tragedy, nearly 20 years ago. Watching the way health challenges strip away someone's quality of life, and then seeing how the right care could start to restore it, left something in me that didn't go away. I wanted to be the kind of practitioner people could come to first, someone who actually listened, and who understood a patient as a whole person rather than a presenting complaint.
Part of what drew me in was horses. I grew up around them, and the effect chiropractic care had on equine patients was something I couldn't ignore.
One case in particular stays with me: a horse that had been injured and written off, told she would never be ridden again. I rode her every day for her owner. After treatment, she went on to compete in show jumping at 130cm, and still is, ten years later.
That kind of outcome fuelled my passion to work not only with people but also with top equine athletes and their riders, helping both horse and rider achieve optimal performance, mobility, and wellbeing.
Throughout my clinical training and practice, I have always emphasised the importance of thorough assessment, using test and retest methods, evaluating joint mobility, muscle strength, and pain as objective outcome measures. I focus on identifying not just the symptoms, but the underlying causes that impact function and quality of life. This evidence-based approach allows me to monitor progress, guide treatment decisions, and ensure patients — whether human or animal — achieve meaningful, measurable improvements.
For me, chiropractic is about more than treatment; it is about compassion, empathy, and empowerment. I am inspired by helping people regain the ability to perform their everyday activities, reduce pain, and improve their quality of life.
Seeing individuals and animals regain their ability to move, perform, and engage with life fully left a lasting impression on me.
Ultimately, what inspired me to become a chiropractor was witnessing the transformative impact that skilled, compassionate care can have on quality of life — helping both people and animals regain function, mobility, and hope through hands on care and genuine connection.
What is a small communication habit that has made the biggest difference to your patient relationships?
Inspired by Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” concept, I make a conscious effort to understand not just what the patient’s problem is or how it presents, but why they are sitting in front of me in the first place. I spend time listening to their story before touching a joint or running through tests.
Taking the time to truly hear a patient’s “why” is often far more valuable than performing 100 orthopaedic tests. It makes patients feel heard — and for many, you’re the first clinician who has really listened to them. That alone is incredibly powerful for building trust.
Importantly, it also shapes how I assess them. Once I understand their why — their goals, fears, lifestyle, and what they’re hoping to get back to — my orthopaedic tests become far more targeted and meaningful. Instead of blindly working through a checklist, I’m selecting tests with a purpose, guided by their story.
Clinically, it gives you a huge amount of context. You can often form a strong working diagnosis and management plan before any physical assessment even begins, and then use your tests to confirm or refine it — not the other way around.
What is one thing you regularly find yourself explaining to patients about musculoskeletal health?
I often refer to ideas I’ve learned from clinicians like Ulrik Sandstrøm, who emphasise that the nervous system depends on high-quality sensory information from joints and muscles to organise movement effectively. When joints aren’t moving well, the sensory input — the information going from the body into the nervous system — becomes unclear or scrambled. The brain then has to work with poor-quality information to organise the outgoing signals that tell muscles how and when to fire. This can lead to poor muscle activation, coordination issues, or early fatigue, even if the muscles themselves are strong.
I explain to patients that this is why simply doing random strengthening exercises often doesn’t work on its own. If a joint isn’t moving properly, the signals going into the brain are unclear, so the brain can’t control the muscles properly. Even strong, healthy muscles won’t function well if the nervous system isn’t getting good sensory information.
Patients often find it helpful to think in terms of input and output:
- Poor joint movement leads to poor input to the brain.
- Poor input leads to poor processing.
- Poor processing leads to poor muscle output.
Framing musculoskeletal problems this way helps patients understand that pain and limitations are often not just about weak muscles or structural issues, but about how well the nervous system is receiving and responding to movement information. Once they understand this, they tend to engage much more with rehabilitation because they see we’re improving the system as a whole — not just strengthening a single muscle.
Voices of the BCA is a fortnightly series where BCA members speak in their own words about practice, patients, and the profession they've chosen. If you are a BCA member and you’d like to participate, contact aleisha.collins@chiropractic-uk.co.uk.