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WELLNESS {health}

Dr. Jenn Rohrick of Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness Center

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By Lynette Chilcoat

The POP!-ularity of chiropractic care doesn’t stem from the sound the spine makes when re-aligned, but rather from a desire for wellness treatments apart from mainstream medicine. With nearly 150 chiropractic businesses operating in Larimer County, residents have a wide variety of practitioners to choose from.

People are increasingly turning toward natural health procedures. Thus, the fact that chiropractors offer an alternative source of healing that is neither invasive nor utilizes heavy doses of pharmaceuticals is important.

But what, exactly, is chiropractic? The body’s basic infrastructure, our spine and the bones radiating out from that central vertebral column, are periodically in need of alignment. Muscles, joints and ligaments can use some tweaking now and then, as well.

If a balance is kept between these parts of our anatomy, from brain to prover-bial tail bone (a figure of speech, humans don’t really have a tail bone — just fused vertebrae at the bottom of the spine called the coccyx), it makes sense that other health issues will come in line, too.

Chiropractic medicine helps to keep the human skeletal system running smoothly, like a well-oiled, finely-tuned machine. Just as nature intended.

The premise is to let the body heal naturally as balance is reestablished. This equilibrium then allows for ideal commu-nication between the brain and the nervous system.

Specifically, chiropractic focuses on the spine, nervous system and the fixation of joints. A primary point of the practice is the detection and removal of subluxations (misalignments of the vertebrae or partial dislocations). This results in a physical cor-rection by which an impulse in the spine frees up movement.

Fortunately for Northern Colorado residents, treatment programs are as indi-vidualized as those looking for relief. Three area chiropractors are highlighted here. Each offer distinctive modalities to get their patient’s bodies completely in sync.

Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness Center

Dr.’s Brian and Jenn Rohrick, of Peak Performance Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Fort Collins, use a variety of chiropractic methods.

The primary focus of the team, which was named one of the region’s best chiro-practors in 2016 by Style readers, is to make the next generation healthier. Their ultimate goal is to add value to their patient’s lives.

“Basically, chiropractic is just working on the nervous system so that the body can heal,” says Dr. Jenn Rohrick. “We offer a free consultation and do a nerve test.” Both have bachelor’s degrees in different sciences, but received their Doctor of Chiropractic educations from Logan Chiropractic in St. Louis. Dr. Jenn focuses on prenatal and pediatric chiropractic, whereas Dr. Brian specializes in sport’s chiropractic. He works on high school athletes and can lend aid to

correct a lot of injuries, such as in the knees, ankles and shoulders.

“Adjustments are a little different in kids than adults,” notes Dr. Brian.

Although the duo’s specialties are differ-ent, they complement one another. With an enthusiastic mindset, they run a light-hearted operation.

“We always have smiles on our faces,” notes Dr. Brian. Dr. Jenn continues that train of thought by adding “we keep our office upbeat and fun. People don’t dread coming here and we try to educate the public.”

“We do mostly manipulation, or hand’s-on,” says Dr. Jenn of their style preference. “The nice thing is that different techniques work for different people. There are ‘diversi-fied’ and ‘table’ techniques. The Webster technique is important for pregnant moms — it’s an adjustment that looks at stress alignments and sets her up for a more com-fortable, easier labor. Drop table techniques are for people who don’t care for popping and cracking. Really, it’s all on a patient-to-patient basis.”

According to Dr. Brian, the main prin-ciple of care is “taking stress off the nervous system. Stress makes your body less efficient and the organs won’t function at an opti-mum level. By removing the stress, we help the body heal itself.”

Dr. Jenn emphasizes, “We really only treat subluxation.”

The term implies a misalignment of the spinal column resulting in the dislocation of one or more joints, which likely manifests

Staying Healthy with Chiropractic Care

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into subsequent function loss. In a nutshell, some of the symptoms are that the spine locks up, adjacent nerves become blocked and muscles may go into spasm or tighten.

But, not everyone exhibits symptomatic difficulties.

“We have patients who come to us for either symptoms of problems or just general wellness,” says Dr. Brian. Muscular retrain-ing as well as nutritional consultations and supplements are also offered at the business.

On the flip side, they also work in tandem with other medical professionals.

“If we see anything on an x-ray, indicat-ing breakage or disease, or if something isn’t healing properly, we refer to another doctor or specialist. Also, we can enhance the care of some physicians, such as a neonatal doctor, but we are not here to replace their level of expertise,” says Dr. Jenn.

“Visits to our office are tailored to individual needs,” adds Dr. Jenn. “There are options to treatment plans and we make things as affordable as possible.”

Chiropractic Wellness CenterDr. Simon Dove, of Chiropractic Well-

ness Center in Fort Collins, uses Network Spinal Analysis as his dominant technique. “This really utilizes soft tissue aspects of the spinal cord by a series of light touch, from the neck to the sacrum area,” explains Dr. Dove. “Touch receptors help us to access tension. We can then find and manage it. Interference on the spinal column is then removed and the body is able to wake up, turn back on and reorganize.”

As an emerging, innovative procedural approach, reorganizational healing addresses why an issue continues to happen rather than simply restoring what is damaged.

“What we offer is timely and needed right now,” says Dr. Dove. “We focus on what is behind the symptoms. Why does this keep happening?”

Going the extra mile for a person, so they can experience transformation, helps a person live a quality life.

Dr. Dove likens the process to “a cat-erpillar turning into a butterfly. There’s no going back to a caterpillar.” In the same vein, once a patient has experienced those self-correcting systems, that person will move toward understanding that proper function is a big part of overall health.

“There’s an innate intelligence running Dr. Tara Zeller of Alignment Natural Medicine

Dr. Simon Dove of Chiropractic Wellness Center

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the show; it’s on the job, thank goodness,” continues Dr. Dove. “That information does need to flow through the spinal system and a chiropractor’s job is to remove any block-ages. This is an approach to help the person create a map and explore healing without the tension blockage, to create action within the spine so that they can lead the life they want to live. It’s recommended at all stages, from babies to 90. If you have a pulse, I would recommend you have your spine checked.”

Dr. Dove, through a thorough examina-tion, draws up a long-term care plan. He explains that in his practice it’s necessary to follow the laid out process in order to achieve maximum results.

Alignment Natural Medicine“For me, chiropractic care really has the

foundation that the body is a self-healing, self-generating organism,” says Dr. Tara Zeller of Alignment Natural Medicine, also in Fort Collins. She notes that a Doctor of Chiropractic has just as much education as a MD.

“I practice functional medicine, which optimizes overall health,” says Dr. Zeller. Her focus is on soft tissue therapy and

cranial work, as well as the entirety of the spine and nervous system. “I also enjoy working with infants, children, and preg-nant women, specifically for chiropractic.”

Alignment Wellness also has an on-site holistic nutritionist, massage therapist and lab for tests. Visits for all can be scheduled on an as-needed arrangement.

In addition to the main menu of hand’s-on body work, Dr. Zeller applies principles of diet, nutrition, plant medicine, stress relief and environmental elements. This then supports other issues, some of which are: gastrointestinal, breathing, sexual function, hormone imbalance, cardiovas-cular, food sensitivities, immunity and skin disorders.

What she doesn’t treat is serious infec-tion, life-threatening illness or anything broken or fractured. She does allow that each patient is unique and so, after an initial assessment, decides where to go from there.

“I help the body heal in conjunction with other medical care,” says Zeller, who “endeavors to restore function by manipu-lating structure. The communication from brain to the rest of the body can be seri-ously interrupted. The nervous system is electric, so it’s like dimming the lights.

That’s where we get disease and pain. The brain is a bright, bright light. The spinal cord is an extension of the brain, then branches out and has roots. If someone gets a restriction anywhere, it interferes with that communication.”

Hers is a philosophy of the true potential individuals possess to restore themselves toward the most favorable state of vitality.

“The depth of understanding of ourselves is what contributes to health of body and brain,” concludes Dr. Zeller. “There’s a com-plexity of mind and body. My intention is fully set on the internal power of the body and what we can do to help it heal.”

For more information visit:

www.peakperformancefortcollins.com

www.myfortcollinschiropractor.com

www.alignmentnaturalmedicine.com

Lynette Chilcoat owns Chilcoat Custom Literary based in Loveland. She has 20 years experience enjoying the freelancer’s lifestyle. Reach her at chilout2@q.com