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An Angus woman who was told she had “the back of an 80-year-old” as a teenager has opened a new chiropractic clinic in Kirriemuir.

Ruth Abisset, 38, was left with chronic back pain after falling from an attic and landing on a tiled floor as a child.

From then on, her back was stiff and painful and could seize up, making it difficult to move from sitting to standing.

Ruth, who is originally from Aberdeen but now lives in Letham, was later told by an orthopaedic surgeon that she would “just have to live with” the pain, and describer her as having “the back of an 80-year-old.”

It was only years later, after visiting a chiropractor for the first time, that she saw a reduction in her symptoms.

The experience inspired her to train in the practice herself.

Ruth said: “Over time and into adulthood, I developed my own coping strategies for the pain and stiffness through yoga and careful movement, but my life still felt very much shaped around managing pain rather than feeling truly well, and at times I really did feel I had the body of a much older person.

“It wasn’t until after the birth of my first daughter, in 2014, that I saw a chiropractor for the first time.

“That experience was a real turning point.

“For the first time, someone explained what was actually happening in my body, that my pelvis wasn’t moving as it should and my coccyx was displaced, and, crucially, that there was hope for change and she genuinely wanted to help me with my pain.

“Very quickly I noticed a significant reduction in symptoms and an increase in mobility after beginning my chiropractic care.

“I also began to feel like I could trust my body again after years of feeling it was letting me down.

“That sense of reconnection is what ultimately inspired my clinic’s motto, ‘Come home to your body’, and it’s exactly what I hope to help my clients experience.

“Chiropractic care continues to be an important part of my own self-care.

“Having lived with dysfunction in my lower back and pelvis for over 15 years means I still experience occasional niggles, and staying consistence with my own maintenance care helps me manage that, with huge thanks to Sean at Alba Chiropractic in Dundee.”

Having studied for five years at McTimoney College of Chiropractic near Oxford, Ruth opened her own clinic, Sona Chiropractic, on Reform Street in Kirriemuir this month.

The mum of two added: “During my studies, I spent time shadowing and observing in lots of different clinics, and felt myself drawn to those that looked beyond symptoms and treated the whole person.

“I was especially inspired by practices that supported women like me – women who are constantly juggling work, family and everything in between, often putting their own wellbeing at the bottom of the list.”

This article appeared in The Courier on 23 January 2026