About Dr. Turner
A lot of people ask me why I decided to become a Chiropractor. I have been around Chiropractic since I was a young boy. My older brother started his Chiropractic practice when I was about 12 years old. My mother used to go to a Chiropractor before my brother was in practice and received a lot of help with her spine related issues.
When I was 14 years old I was involved in a severe car accident. I was a passenger in a vehicle coming down from Pomerelle which went over the side of the hill. We rolled 4 times and none of us had seat-belts on. We totaled a pickup and 4 snowmobiles. I broke my collar bone (of all times right before the freshman basketball season) and severely injured my neck and back. My spine has not been the same since that injury. My older brother really helped me through that first part and helped me so that I was able to play high school sports.
As I got older I decided that I wanted to become a Chiropractor. I received chiropractic adjustments throughout my undergraduate studies and Chiropractic College by various doctors and did fairly well at times but one problem that persisted was that my neck never felt right. I continued with significant episodes of almost debilitating pain. I also began to have severe low back episodes to the point of having difficulty walking. In 1990 I graduated from Chiropractic College and in 1991 started my own practice. For about 5 years I continued with a lot of pain off and on in the entire spine. Many days by about 2:00 I could hardly stand up and would often rest in-between patients. I knew that there had to be a missing piece to the puzzle. I continued getting adjusted but any relief was very short lived and my adjustments would not hold for very long.
I also noticed that some of my patients would feel good for a short time and would need adjusted again right away. While this is common in the first few weeks a patient is being treated I felt that after I had seen them for several weeks that they should eventually go longer periods feeling well, and just need the occasional tune-up adjustment. I also had many patients with severe headaches that I knew were neck related but I was struggling to help them. I was at a loss and very discouraged.
I had a Chiropractor friend who could see my frustration and who had experienced the same thing a few years earlier. He encouraged me to check out some other adjusting techniques that I had not been exposed to in school. One of the techniques I checked out was the Atlas Orthogonal technique. I got my first Atlas adjustment with the instrument in 1996 and couldn’t believe how much better I felt. It was the closest to normal my neck had felt since the auto accident. I switched over to the Atlas Orthogonal technique in 1997 and haven’t looked back.
As my atlas did better I noticed that my severe low back episodes started to reduce and I rarely have episodes of pain. I have to get maintenance adjustments now and then but I am much better since the switch.
I also noticed that my patients started staying in adjustment much longer with this technique. I also liked the fact that I no longer needed to twist and pop the neck. Atlas Orthogonal may not be for everybody but for many it’s the only thing that has made a difference.
Through all of these experiences I feel that I have a good understanding of the pain and frustrations my patients feel.