Simon Munch

Interview

How did you get into chiropractic?

As my father has been a very successful chiropractor in Germany for over 40 years, I was in contact with the profession from an early age. I received my first treatment when I was 2 days old. At first, I didn’t want to study chiropractic at all, but then I moved to Barcelona to try it out. The first semester was very difficult for me and I was about to quit. I simply didn’t know if it was the right profession for me. So I promised myself that I could quit, but only if I gave it 100 percent. The more I tried, the more I fell in love with chiropractic and 5 years later I successfully graduated. Most of what interests me about chiropractic is that you can have such a huge impact on other people and their health just with your hands. For me, it is my calling.

What is your understanding of health today? What is a healthy person?

In my opinion, a person can only achieve complete health if their nervous system is functioning smoothly. The nervous system is the main center of the body and is responsible for all vital functions. Only when we free people from blockages (subluxations) can they reach their genetic potential. It was not for nothing that Socrates (469-399 BC) said: “If you would seek health, look first to the spine.” This is the first path that every person should take if they want to get better. But that is by no means everything. A good diet, plenty of exercise, and mental balance are also important if you want to reach your genetic potential. If you see a chiropractor regularly, eat a very healthy diet, exercise regularly, and do something for your mental health, you will live better than 99% of the rest of the population.

Why do people come to your practice?

Basically, all patients come to me because they are in pain. Most often I see patients with back pain. Mostly in the cervical spine, but also in the lower back. Patients often have pain that radiates to the extremities, such as classic sciatica caused by a slipped disc. I often see people with pain in their extremities, for example knee pain or shoulder and wrist pain. Patients often come to me because they have migraines or because they want to improve their general health. In most cases, my patients stay with me to maintain what they have achieved.

What makes chiropractic so special for you?

What fascinates me the most is that I can have such a big effect on my patients’ health just by using my hands, without any external aids. I am fascinated by the effectiveness of chiropractic and how patients feel completely different after just a few treatments.

How do you see your role as a therapist?

My goal is to provide individualized, specific, and safe chiropractic care to improve the function of the spine and nervous system as well as the well-being (mental and physical) of my patients. On a deeper level, my goal is to help and support people to achieve greater self-love.

The patient only perceives how you touch, move, and adjust the body. What is your own view? What exactly do you do with the body?

As a chiropractor, I take care of two things: the function of the spine and that of the nervous system. I do this by detecting and correcting subluxations. A subluxation is a vertebra with abnormal movement, usually hypomobility, which causes a change in the nervous system and energy in the body. This affects overall proprioception and the body’s ability to self-regulate. I detect these subluxations by palpating the spine for movement restrictions. Once I have discovered the subluxation, I correct it with an adjustment. An adjustment is a very quick and specific movement that I perform with my hands on the vertebra that is not moving in order to restore mobility to the segment and relieve the nervous system. Only then can the nervous system function smoothly, allowing us to achieve better function and health of the body.