Text Box: It’s just not cricket! (or very nearly) a clinic success story Steve Minter – Sussex Chiropractic Georgia’s story … Hello, my name is Georgia Aloof and I am 15 years old. I have always loved sport, any sport, and from the start of Primary School I competed in more or less every sport available to me, usually as the only girl in an all boy team.! At the age of 10 I joined a local girl’s football team and was later selected to play for Brighton & Hove Albion Centre of Excellence, competing against teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal. It was while I was at Primary School that I was introduced to cricket. My PE teacher adored the sport and it seemed that I had a natural talent for it. Again as the only girl, I competed in school matches and tournaments and captained the team. It was suggested that I join a cricket club which I did and it was at a nets training session that I was scouted by someone connected to Sussex County Cricket Club. I was put forward for preliminary trials and then selected to train with 30 other girls for a further eight weeks, all the time being tested! At the end of the eight weeks I was delighted to be selected to play for the Under 11’s team for Sussex. From then I had to train every week through the winter and then play matches just about every weekend in the summer, travelling all over the south of England. During this time I still played football, stoolball and hockey for a club and again, after long trials, hockey for Sussex as well as riding my horse (whenever time allowed) and competing in every sport possible at school. After much nagging from my parents , who were concerned that I was doing too much, I made the decision not to continue with Brighton & Hove Centre of Excellence as it was so difficult to keep up with the training schedule they required. I also wanted to concentrate more on hockey and especially cricket. The busy schedule of sporting activity carried on for a few years, with me playing for clubs in football, hockey, stoolball and cricket, and at county level in hockey, stoolball and cricket for Sussex U 13’s and then U 15’s. However in November 2008 following a particularly gruelling and freezing cold hockey match, I woke with shooting pains down the front of my right leg. I assumed I had pulled a muscle and so rested for a week but the pain didn’t get any better, and in fact at times in was so sharp it nearly knocked me to the ground. It was suggested that I see a Physiotherapist who, having discovered the pain was caused by the obturator nerve which was connected to my lower back, recommended that I have an MRI scan and X-ray as he was concerned I may have a disc problem or a stress fracture. This all took a very frustrating amount of time and I could do no sport at all, which seemed like the end of the world to me, while I waited for appointments to come through. I still had the shooting pains and in addition I was now in constant pain in my back which felt like it had locked. I couldn’t bend backwards at all. Finally in January I had an MRI scan and X-ray and by the time I received the results I had been out of sport for four months. The result showed nothing abnormal and the consultant just shrugged his shoulders and suggested I just rest and come back to see him in another two months!!!!! I don’t think he realised the impact this had on me – sport is my life. How could it be that they had no idea what was wrong with me or no idea how they could put it right? It was that same afternoon that a friend suggested that we contact the Sussex Chiropractic Clinic who had successfully treated a friend of theirs. An appointment was made for the following day with Steve Minter. Just talking and having someone understand the frustration made me feel so much better, even before any treatment had begun. Steve Minter made me believe that this wasn’t the end of my sporting life and he was fairly sure he could help me. After just one session, there was a fundamental improvement and the pain in my back was reduced dramatically. I saw Steve at his clinic on a weekly basis for a few weeks and I was soon in no pain at all and the shooting pains in my leg had disappeared. I was even able to start training and competing in sport again! I have continued with treatment and am now (July 2009) back to full fitness and in virtually no pain. McTimoney Chiropractic and the support from Steve Minter have allowed me to continue playing all my sports at a high level and once again I can realistically aspire to play cricket for England in the near future.

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