My story is an unlikely one. Did I expect to be a Holistic Doctor of Chiropractic studying movement, body balance and nutrition as my life’s work? Not at all, but I enjoy every day of it!
I have treated thousands of patients and its been amazing to facilitate healing in so many that had chosen me as a last resort similar to my story.
Its very fitting that is my practice, as I chose chiropractic as a last straw as well. So I love to changed paradigms every day with how complete of a system food, movement, hands on therapies, and supplements can be.
Now moving to Greenville, SC and starting a new practice I thought it fitting to write to those in the area my bio of sorts. Many are moving to this area looking for natural doctors, and although the city is growing, I see that the natural health community is still very “spread out” and disjointed.
A bit about me:
I started out wanting to be a Medical Doctor after spending a majority of my childhood in and out of the pediatrician’s office.
Suffering from allergies, asthma, and chronic infections even resulted in two hospitilizations.
Fast forward to a 20 year old self and I was on the fast track to West Virginia medical school. I was driven and was sitting pretty with a 3.9 gpa and recommendation letters from key professors.
But something unexpected happened….
I woke up on my 21st birthday very very ill and tired. After two days I sought medical care at the university hospital and was diagnosed with Mononucleosis. A self limiting disorder, I was sent home to rest.
Several weeks later and after many classes missed I went back in for a checkup. They told me I should have been better by now. I was given a weeks round of prednisone. I felt great after that dose, only to crash harder the week after!
I now had 25 mouth ulcer outbreaks and couldn’t hardly speak. Migraines and neck pain that seemed to be related with very enlarged neck lymph nodes, and crippling fatigue! Dropping back a lot of course work and just surviving the year, I was able to make it to summer.
Fast forward one year and I realized I was not getting better. My health was more tolerable but the brain fog and fatigue flair ups were constant. My neck and body seemed to always be in pain.
I would get up the motivation to exercise and then I would crash with tonsillitis or the flu within one day. My stomach began to burn constantly.
Throughout those years I sought many medical specialists and received prescriptions for stomach medication, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants, anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, an endoscopy, bloodwork, and many appointments. Nothing seemed to be working and I knew in the health I was in, my medical school primary acceptance would just have to wait. How could I go to a grueling paced school feeling like this?
One day someone recommended Chiropractic to me and I was very polarized about the topic. I had always envisioned natural medicine as placebo at best. But I had heard about a doctor several years prior that had fixed a classmates shoulder and so I gave it a try.
His approach was very comprehensive and he mentioned muscles and joints to me that no one else had ever mentioned.
The hands on therapy left me feeling pain free and clear headed for about an hour, and I envisioned if I could feel well for one hour, that with future care I had hope of feeling well again.
I went home and did hours of research on why Chiropractic has received a bad rap and delved deep into what it would entail my life to forgo my medical scores, gpa and school acceptance I had worked so hard for and pursue Natural Health.
My health was literally backed up against a wall and I knew this may be my only hope. I was now told that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and few got well, and I may want to look into taking several medications for pain and the disease to be functional in daily life.
I took a huge leap and enrolled in school and the next 5 years were a grand adventure of learning. Talk about getting your entire world view turned around!
With weekly treatments at the school clinic I was able to function in school while only having occasional flairs that would put me down for a week. I was also exposed to muscle therapy, acupuncture, evening yoga, breathing workshops and nutrition seminars all in my first year!
As I pieced my health together I began to learn more and more about my own experience and how I got sick.
In Functional Medicine shadowing experiences and seminars I learned that numerous rounds of antibiotics can cause dysbiosis in the gut leading to chronic infections, chronic pain, and imbalanced brain neurotransmitters.
As well with Functional testing I was able to map out that I had adrenal fatigue, a liver condition that had not been discovered, and poor enzymes and digestion markers amongst many other things.
In Soft Tissue Therapy training such as Active Release Technique, Trigenics, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy I was able to map out my old injuries from sports and childhood and heal them which was a game changer for my neck pain and headaches.
I learned deeply into this art form, and have spent thousands of hours in training and countless hours over 10 years in practice.
I have honed these techniques as a synergistic blend with chiropractic care with elite athletes, novice sports teams, and those trying to get pain free.
-In yoga I was able to learn to calm down my ever moving mind and better balance my day to day stress response as it related to my muscles. By combining what I was learning in rehabilitation at school with my yoga training I was able to merge the two and use it to rehabilitate many.
-The chiropractic adjustment was able to reverse the damage in two particular areas of my body, my sacrum, and my upper neck called my occiput. I had hit my head very hard jumping vertically into a structure and had struggled with headaches every since, but had never pieced the event together until after a very profound balancing adjustment.
there are so many types of Chiropractic adjustments, and as far as I know, I’ve developed some adjustments I’ve seen nowhere else.
-In Breathing work I was able to see that after losing my father, I had literally stopped breathing at age 16. I went on to read numerous books on importance of breathing and attend seminars to balance breathing hands on by releasing the diaphragm and the muscle that attach into the ribs and abdomen.
–Functional Medicine, Paleo, and Weston Price Fondation Principles taught me about the importance of digestive health, liver function, and hormones. With testing as my benchmark I was able to repair my systems over several years.
I lost 30 lbs overall and was able to surf for hours without any fatigue after radically changing my diet.
I now have helped many lose weight they thought was impossible, heal of digestive issues, and manage pain to name a few using these functional approaches.
The Restoration Plan I created has helped hundreds reboot their health and life, and then after the 3 week program we delve even deeper into supplmentation and herbs etc.
The plan goes beyond, “eat this, not that” and calorie counting. We aim to inspire a healthier lifestyle with market walkthroughs and workshops. Having been addicted to processed food for many years I like to say Restoration Plan “keeps it real.” Many have come with food/sugar addiction and found hope. Others are just looking for a reboot in their health and life and feel refereshed after.
Innate Neural Myoskeletal patterns. From the moment you are born their are movement sequences programmed into your nervous system. these patterns are the movements you see an infant perform such a crawling and rolling leading to upright and balanced walking.
Janda, Lewitt, and Kolar from Prague have led the way for this way of thinking. Dr. Craig Liebensen introduced me to these approaches in his amazing book “Rehabilitation of the Spine”.
These movement sequences have provided great maintenance movements to keep my pain at bay. By applying these concepts with kettlebells and yoga its a magical combo to keep balanced in conjunction with hands on therapy.
Health is a lifelong journey and I continue to learn. I had small flair ups with each child birth and the sleep deprivations and occasionally suffer from little flair ups if I “burn the candle at both ends” but to be free to live my life most of the time without disease has been the greatest gift.
I hope this story of a brief summary of my journey can help those struggling find hope.
What are some areas we focus on if you are looking for someone:
1.) If its body pain, there is a great chance we can help. We have helped chronic muscle pain, nerve pain, and joint issues after the patient saw many others with no answers
Because it took so many different avenues for me to find health, the comprehensive approach is all I know. So we take pride at Mountain Movement Center in incorporating
-breathing
-mind body
-nutrition
-muscle therapy of numerous styles
-sports therapy
-Movement/Stretching classes
-The Restoration Plan
With a table designed to gently stretch the body while the patient gets myofascial release, trigger point therapy, percussion muscle release and many other techniques eventually they find freedom from pain.
Many are referred by their medical practitioners, and many are medical practitioners!
Many patients say “I never thought I’d find myself in a Chiropractors office, but now I never want to leave.”
In my opinion many are looking for someone to partner with them on longevity and health. But few practitioners are willing to go the extra mile. Also many get rigid within a “system” of treatment. Some patients are apprehensive about hearing “cracks” in their spine or getting any “rough” type of work. The Day Method is adaptable to the needs of the patient so many feel safe.
2.) Nutritional options for chronic disesase?
Have you always wanted to try to fix your issue naturally?
Have you been looking for someone to look at your entire case and develop a program customized for you?
We can do that at our center.
By employing the tests that I saw work for myself and what I learned in countless learning modules, and seminars we have helped me live a life with more energy and less symptoms.
What are some of the tests we employ? Genova labs and diagnos-techs provide great blood, saliva and stool testing kits. These tests changed my life! Once we have parameters for your hormones, digestion, and metabolic processes we can begin to make precise clinical decisions.
Too many times, natural medicince uses the same paradigm as medicine. One supplement for one symptom. We try to branch out and create an holistic plan for you.
3.) If you’ve lost the ability to do the sport or hobby you love we can help.
There are so many that have lost their passion due to a movement limitation. We can help!
Our entire team gets energized when their is a movement limitation that, if restored, will get you back to your passion.
We have helped so many, finish the race, make the trip to europe, get back to surfing or pick up their child again.
We have worked with marathon teams, outrigger teams, volleyball teams. We have treated every kind of athlete you can think of!
4.) Elite level care for all ages.
Because of my background working with elite athletes I had to learn the very best methods to get them better fast!
By employing taping, soft tissue therapy, joint balance, and a proper analysis the athlete can return to their sport.
I apply the same approach to kids, pregnant moms, and senior citizens. Why wouldn’t they get every method that would get them better faster too?
5.) You don’t even seem like a Chiropractor. Sadly that is a comment I hear often in my practice.
So many are sadly pressured into long term plans and are told their entire problem is from whatever the xray tells them.
There is so much more to really fixing an issue. X-ray and MRI can give us ONE window into the problem but is far from the only answer. We NEVER ask people to pre-commit to a payment plan or pressure sales tactic. Our results speak for themselves.
For instance, if we see a spine bend excessively on one side of the spine, we can’t just blame the joints. We have to incorporate the muscles, fascia and tendons that could be working with the joints.
How did I end up in Greenville, SC?
that is entire other article to explain that long story. But in short, we had an incredibly successful practice in Southern California for 5 years.
It was time for my family to be closer to my three boys. We chose Greenville, SC for the close proximity to the water and mountains. As well we hope to develop a center that can grow into a world class center combining all the services that help people move better into old age.
We envision a center that will empower and teach as much as treat. By teaching how to move, and the best nutrition to balance inflammation and tissue healing we can help many live a full life.
Natural medicine doesn’t have to be weird! There is ample research that tells us what works.
-joint motion in all directions creates good neural feedback to muscle and prevents arthritis.
-proper muscle strength stimulates the brain and helps movement.
-proper muscle ability “length” or ability to absorb shock or relax keeps tears and aches and pains away.
-proper muscle sequencing (muscle must fire in patterns that are preset)
-an anti inflammatory diet, most of our modern disease are rooted in excess inflammation from our western diet, stress and physical limitations.
-balanced movement practice of exercise, stretching, strengthening and high intensity in short bursts. We know that our bodies are meant for a “balance” of all movement disciplines.
-a proper outlook and a quiet time practice
-a community
-a purpose
We would love to meet you!
If you are looking for a Doctor that looks at the big picture than look no farther.
Give us a call at 864-448-2073 for a free benefits check.
