Prior to taking over the Fairlawn Clinic in Radford, Dr. Brooke served patients at our Blacksburg Location. When it came time to move, many patients follow Dr. Brooke to continue their care with a doctor they know and love. Sandra Schiavo is one of those patients.

Finding Relief in a New Town

“I was referred [to Tuck Clinic] by a long time friend,” says Sandra. “It was just luck of the draw that I got Dr. Brooke. He’s the closest thing to my doctor from back in San Diego, so I’m not giving that up!”
Sandra is a retired Navy veteran who, after almost 27 years of service, packed up and moved back to Southwest Virginia where she had attended college at Virginia Tech as a young adult. She’s been seeing Dr. Brooke ever since she arrived about a year and a half ago for her neck, shoulder, and upper back pain.
Sandra was born with what she refers to as “a crazy spine”, so she is no stranger to back problems. With spinal issues in the cervical part of her neck, she had spent years visiting the chiropractor before deciding to get surgery. While chiropractic care can often help patients avoid surgery, Sandra was in danger of her spinal issues causing her to lose the use of her legs.
The surgery was unavoidable and successfully relieved her spinal cord from the pressure of her spine issues, but still wasn’t able to provide her with complete relief. She has continued to see the chiropractor to help her manage her pain and plans to continue to do so as a lifestyle choice. A choice to feel better and live better.
“I have issues with range of motion, but as soon as I step out of the office after an adjustment, I feel better,” says Sandra. “If I’m doing any traveling and happen to miss an appointment, I can definitely feel it.”

Feel Better to Live Better

Though she is primarily finding relief from her pain, Sandra looks at her weekly sessions with Dr. Brooke as a lifestyle choice. She’s choosing to feel better day to day by supplementing her active and healthy lifestyle with a little extra TLC, because “you can’t fight gravity” no matter how much you work out!
When asked what advice she would give to patients who are considering chiropractic care, Sandra encourages people to keep an open mind:
“It isn’t your traditional western medicine and it’s not always going to be a quick fix,” says Sandra, adding that it could be part of a general wellness routine to keep pain at bay.
She also notes that it’s important to realize everyone’s experience will be different. While her spinal issues were a result of the actual structure of her spine, others may just be battling the normal wear and tear. They won’t necessarily have to go as frequently as she chooses to.
Above all else, she recommends that you go see Dr. Brooke if it’s convenient to you!
“I come in every week and he asks me how I’m doing. Sometimes I’ll have issues with my low back or even my achilles tendon and I can tell he truly listens to me and my needs. He will make those adjustments on the spot to take care of your needs on that particular day instead of doing the normal routine,” says Sandra. “And Amber at the front desk is just a sweet as she could be and is very accommodating.”

Everybody has to face some sort of pain at one time or another in their lives – whether it’s from a specific injury or the general wear and tear of life. What sets us all apart in facing this pain is how we choose to treat our pain. While some individuals turn to their primary care doctor to find relief, others turn to specialists, like chiropractors. The treatments vary as much as the outcomes, but at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic, we’re passionate about tracking each and every visit and adjustment to be sure our outcomes are aligned with your needs.
When you visit a Tuck Chiropractic Clinic, you can expect to be thoroughly informed about our process and your treatment. We’ll rid you of any preconceived reservations by taking the time to discuss your individual needs and care plan. There are no gimmicks and no long-term commitments, just top notch patient-centered care.

Relief by the Numbers

We are dedicated to providing conservative care to patients in pain. This means not only providing an economical solution but a solution that is catered to your individual needs, leaving out any unnecessary testing or treatment. In order to assure that we are practicing as promised, we continually gauge the outcomes and satisfaction of our patients to find opportunities to improve our care programs.
Part of our efforts in always striving for the best outcomes for our patients includes surveying their personal outcomes of care. By reviewing levels of improvement with frequency and type of care, we are enabled to better refine their treatments in the future and plan out treatments for those who suffer from similar issues.
The chief complaint at the offices of Tuck Clinic is lower back pain. In fact, patients suffering from acute or chronic back pain makes up 60% of our patient base. Additionally, we provide adjustments to patients suffering from neck pain, headaches, and pain in the extremities (tendonitis, fasciitis, muscle soreness, etc.). Often times, we find that these issues may even have a connection to an underlying back pain problem.
In order to stay on top of our progressive treatments, we review outcomes after a two week period of treatments, 2-3 times a week in frequency. In our experience, this is the best way to relieve pain in an effective amount of time that does not heavily impact the day to day of our patients. From our surveys, we are pleased to find that our low back and neck pain patients experience an 80% improvement in their symptoms after just two weeks. Often, after 4 weeks patients claim to feel great improvement and relief from their pain. It is at this point that the doctor and the patient decide together whether to maintain treatments or to cease treatment.
Keep in mind that results will always vary from person to person, but no matter what, we will strive to design the best conservative care plan to get you the results and relief you seek.

Refinement Through Collaboration

With 9 offices and 17 doctors, Tuck Clinic knows that there’s strength in numbers. In fact, it’s another tenant of our process in providing our patients with the positive outcomes they seek. We work as a team to deliver a continuum of care across all of our clinics through constant collaboration through clinical rounds and collaborative sessions. Our patients can walk into any one of our clinics and know they’ll be taken care of.
Our clinical rounds are designed to put our heads together on any complex challenge our patients face. With more brain power, we’re able to reach better conclusions together and therefore, provide better care to the patient. Beyond our treatments, we also think it’s important to collaborate on the management of our clinics. The better we can run our operations, the better we can serve our community.

National Standards

It isn’t just the doctors at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic that feel passionately about providing non-invasive, medication free, patient-centered care. The American Chiropractic Association has spearheaded the movement towards conservative care as an alternative to using pain medicine as a first response to pain.
Studies show that patients who seek conservative care through chiropractic treatments like spinal manipulation have higher satisfaction ratings and better outcomes. In addition, the per-patient cost is significantly less in the chiropractic field than pain relief through a regular MD.

While the underlying cause often varies, low back pain is one of the most commonly identified sources of pain in about 80% of adults. In fact, about 60% of our patients at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic seek treatment for it. Regardless if the pain is caused by a sudden strain, disc problems, or general muscle tension, there’s often a common factor: the lower back does not have the right amount of strength and support to provide the foundation for the rest of the body to “stand” on.
In addition to a chiropractic care and wellness program, a popular solution is to take advantage of back support technologies that can help improve posture and provided additional support to your lower back to relieve pressure and pain. But do these support devices truly work? Or is it possible they could prolong the underlying problem? These are just a few questions we’re hoping to tackle for you. But let’s start with the different types of back support devices.

Types and Functions of Back Braces

Lumbar Support Device – Lumbar support devices typically wrap around your waistline and provide support and compression to the lower back to relieve your back of the pressure caused by your upper body to allow your spine, discs, and muscles to heal.
Upper Back Posture Brace – A posture brace is designed to retrain your musculoskeletal system to naturally improve your posture. By means of pulling your shoulders onto your back, this brace strengthens the muscles surrounding your clavicles and upper back to build muscle memory and improve posture.
Back Support Belt – Most general use back support belts are used to provide additional support to the back in strenuous situations such as heavy lifting. By stabilizing your lower back, you can properly support additional weight and move in away that will not damage your back.
Miscellaneous – There are also options like lumbar support pillows or “donut” cushions that don’t attach to your body, but can provide additional support to your back to improve posture or relieve pressure.

Do They Work?

No solution is ever a one size fits all. The effectiveness of any measure to relieve back pain must be aligned with the underlying cause and often supported by additional techniques. While studies do show that these various support devices can provide additional stability and relieve pressure during the healing process, they are not a standalone solution to any back problem.
Subacute back pain may find temporary relief from a lumbar support device, however, there is danger in overusing the support device and causing long term weakness in the muscles. For those with chronic back pain, a back support device is likely to be the least effective for your pain.
Back pain, and body pain in general, should be treated on multiple fronts. Because the musculoskeletal system is so intertwined with the nervous system, we recommend talking to your chiropractor about the best ways you can supplement treatments for your low back pain with the right mixture of support devices and strengthening exercises to achieve a true, long term outcome.

At any given moment, including the moment during which you are reading this article, approximately 31 million people are suffering from lower back pain. In fact, it’s the most common reason patients come into our clinics and the second most common reason for a general physician’s visit. While causes of lower back pain may vary from person to person, it is often a result of a sedentary lifestyle coupled with a spurt of activity and improper use of the back.

Why is the Low Back So Prone to Pain?

The human’s back is the most complex configuration of bones, joints, ligaments, nerves, and muscles in the body and happens to be the largest part of your body. As most of the weight of the body relies on the support of the lower back muscles and vertebrae, this is often the most common area of general wear and tear.
With most modern jobs require sitting at a desk for extended periods of time, there are fewer opportunities from day to day to keep up with a lifestyle that includes activities that support a healthy back and body. As a result of this sedentary lifestyle, there are also increased chances of individuals suffering from obesity and disc regeneration that contribute to the degradation of your lower back musculoskeletal system.
If you are experiencing lower back pain for a period of time more than 4 weeks, you could be suffering from acute or chronic back pain. While both of these issues may be relieved through the conservative care or chiropractic treatment, a well-advised exercise routine* may improve the effectiveness of treatments administered by your chiropractor. The combination of cardiovascular, aerobic, and strengthening exercises may lead to improved outcomes and relief for longer periods of time.
*Please consult your doctor to see if these strengthening exercises can help you.

Pelvic Tilts

When moving from a point of pain it’s important, to begin with low impact exercises that have very little danger of straining your back muscles. Hip lifts are a great way to strengthen your pelvic, gluteus, and stomach muscles, providing a strong trunk to support the weight of your body.
Lying on your back, bring your knees pointing up with your feet close to your hips. With your arms down at your side, begin to rotate your pelvis and tailbone downward, gently tightening the muscles in your lower back. Then, rotate your pelvis in the opposite direction and begin using your legs to lift your tailbone and lower back off the floor. With your hips, lower back, and midsection off of the ground, make sure your core muscles are tight and you are using your legs, shoulders, and arms to support you. Hold in this position for a few seconds, release, and repeat.

Half-Lifted Standing Fold

Once your deep core trunk muscles are strengthened, you can begin to explore other movements that strengthen and stretch your lower back. The half-lifted standing fold is a great way to strengthen your lower back while stretching your hamstrings.
Standing tall with your knees slightly bent to protect your knees, bend forward so that your body and your legs make a 90-degree angle. Rest your hands on your thighs or knees to support the weight of your body and protect you from straining your back muscles. Keep your head lifted and your back muscles tightened. Then fold all the way over to release.

Kneeling Extension

This exercise helps to strengthen your lower back and gluteus muscles to provide added support to your back and body. Starting on your hands and knees, with your back straight, lift your left leg straight out. You have a choice to hold out for 10 seconds or to lower and repeat. Make sure you spend the same amount of time doing the same movements with your right leg.

In the world of natural, non-invasive healing, there is often a crossover in the minds of patients when it comes to deciding between chiropractic care and massage therapy. While they both seem similar on the surface, they’re strikingly different in approach. Both focus on the back and provide pain relief without the use of medicine or invasive treatment, but the methods, solutions, and level of education of each type vary greatly.
There’s a time and place for everything, as is with massage therapy and chiropractic adjustments.

Treatments Are Different By Definition

While both of these practices focus primarily on the back and secondarily on the rest of the body, the approach and overall outcomes differ. Ultimately, massage therapy and chiropractic care differ by definition. For this instance, we look to Miriam-Webster dictionary to explain:
Massage: manipulation of tissues (as by rubbing, kneading, or tapping) with the hand or an instrument for relaxation or therapeutic purposes
Chiropractic: a system of noninvasive therapy which holds that certain musculoskeletal disorders result from nervous system dysfunction arising from misalignment of the spine and joints and that focuses treatment especially on the manual adjustment or manipulation of the spinal vertebrae
Though there is a wide variety of massage techniques, the overall focus is on stimulating the soft, muscular tissue to relieve tension, improve circulation, and encourage relaxation. While massages provide temporary relief and release of toxins, chiropractic care is a step in the direction towards overall, long-term wellness. A massage is often accompanied by low lighting, relaxing music, and essential oils to add to the relaxing experience. A massage can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half, but the longer the better!
Chiropractic care considers the combination of muscular and skeletal systems, with emphasis on the spine. Through techniques like spinal manipulation, or adjustments, doctors are able to help establish better movement in the spine, providing relief to strained joints and muscles. Where massage focuses on soft tissue, chiropractic care goes right to the source of the issue. Because of the focus on the skeletal system, it often takes less time to administer and for patients to begin to feel relief.

Education of the Practitioner

While both practices require a certain understanding of the human body, they vary in levels of schooling and certification. Receiving a Doctorate in Chiropractic Care often requires a deeper understanding of the human body and how its systems work together to build a happy, healthy person. While regulations vary from state to state, you can expect a chiropractor to have a minimum of 8 years of education, completion of residency, and to have passed several rounds of boards and certifications tests to be able to practice.
Most massage therapists only complete between 330-1,100 hours of training and complete a Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam to begin practicing. While their education includes knowledge of the human anatomy and physiology, the ultimate focus is on providing an environment of relaxation and relieving muscle tension points in the body.

Choosing the Right Method for Your Needs

When it comes down to it, the choice we can only ever advise is to do whatever heals your pain – so when deciding between massage therapy and chiropractic care, one should only consider the type of pain one is experiencing. If you feel that your pain is a source of muscle strain, massage therapy may be an easy choice. However, if you suspect there could be an underlying issue causing this muscle strain, it would be best to consult a chiropractor.

Most people have mixed feelings about winter weather. Love it or hate it – it’s ultimately impossible to avoid dealing with the perils of winter weather. One way or another, you’ll have to go out and brace the cold and possibly dangerous conditions, whether you’re taking your little ones out to play or simply trying to clear out your driveway. It’s important to be sure you’re mindful of the possibility of a slip and fall injury, straining your back with a snow shovel, or pulling a muscle flying down a hill on a sled.

Shovel Smarter

Being eager to clear off your sidewalks and driveways is completely understandable. Not everyone has the flexibility to embrace a snow day off. Eventually, you’ll have to dig yourself out. Just be smart about it!
Here are a few quick tips to make sure you don’t strain your back or fall while trying to shovel your snow:
Prepare Ahead of Time – If possible, do your best to lay down salt before the storm. This will help to lessen the amount of snow and ice that piles up, saving you from heavy lifting.
Shovel at the Right Time – Be aware of how much snowfall to expect. If they’re predicting a lot, you might benefit from shoveling a few lighter layers of snow instead of waiting until it has all fallen. Just be sure to bundle up when you’re out in the elements! If you only expect a light dusting to a few inches, waiting until it’s all over with will work just fine.
Use the Proper Techniques: It’s easy to strain your lower back while shoveling if you aren’t holding the shovel properly or using the right muscles to lift. First, you want to make sure your muscles are warmed up enough to combat the cold weather. You can use a heat wrap or heating pad shortly before you go out to shovel to be sure your muscles are nice and loose. Also, make sure you’re using a proper snow shovel that has a curved or adjustable length handle to help with leverage. Finally, bending with your knees rather than your back will protect your muscles and give you more strength to lift the snow. Don’t forget to pivot your entire body instead of twisting to toss the snow away.

Know Your Limits

Snow days often bring out the kid inside of all of us, especially when you have little ones! If you’re going out to brave the cold for the thrill of sledding, make sure you take the proper precautions to keep you and your family safe.
Bundle Up – Wearing the proper attire will not only prevent you from frostbite or the dangers of getting sick, but will also help to keep your muscles warm. Sledding often requires fast reaction times and strength. Keeping your muscles warm and limber will help you react appropriately without straining your muscles.
Scope Out Your Hill – Picking the right hill to sled is essential to both your amount of fun and safety. Make sure there are no objects like trees, buildings, or cars that obstruct the path you’ll be sledding. Also, make sure there is nothing dangerous waiting at the bottom of the hill like a pond.
Feel Out The Speed –They say no two snowflakes are the same. That goes for each snowfall, too! There’s a major impact on the speed of your sled between soft, dusty snow and slick, icy snow. It’s a great idea to push your sled down without a rider to test just how slick the hill will be.

Avoid Slick Surfaces

Even if you stay on top of shoveling your walkways, the melting and freezing cycle that winter weather often brings can leave surprises on your already cleared surfaces. If you’re walking across a questionable surface, be mindful of each step, testing the surface before you apply your body weight.

What Is Acupuncture?
Through common misconception, many associate acupuncture with intimidating needles or painful poking and prodding. Ironically, acupuncture is a century-old practice meant to restore your balance of energy along meridians of the body. Dr. Jennifer Rathmann of the Tuck Chiropractic Clinic in Blacksburg states:
“Similar to blood vessels and nerves that flow through your body, there are channels of energy or what the Chinese call ‘Chi.’ Sometimes there is too much or too little chi and the needles stimulate the points with the most abundant areas of chi to regulate it.”
Acupuncture is performed to unblock or rebalance the flow of energy throughout the body through a series of thin needles placed strategically along meridians of the body. Needles used in this technique are relatively pain-free with the purpose of reducing chronic pain in a natural way.
How Does It Work?
The beginning steps of acupuncture start with a medical exam, rather than an actual procedure. During this exam, questions about pain level, health and overall function are asked. After, your care provider or chiropractor will look for places on your body where chi is potentially blocked.
Using landmarks across the body, thin needles are placed along meridians. While some are placed deeper than other, several needles are used to restore the sense of chi. Treatment times range from 15 minutes to an hour, dependent upon personal needs. On average, a treatment lasts about 20 minutes.
Medical professionals at the Tuck Chiropractic Clinic in Blacksburg use a technique called “Surround the Dragon.” This technique stimulates points around the area of pain with the belief that providing an external stimulus to the muscles causes them to relax. According to Dr. Rathmann, “there is also a pattern called ‘Master Energy’ points which help regulate the chi and are often effective for the relief of stress, anxiety, fatigue and improvement of general overall well-being.”
What Are the Benefits of Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a great option to consider for anyone suffering from chronic back and neck pain, migraines or headaches, joint pain, or shoulder pain. We always suggest a conservative care model, that avoids drugs or medication if at all possible.
According to the Archive of Internal Medicine, acupuncture has proven to reduce chronic pain by up to 15% when used for a variety of pain sources, primarily chronic back pain. This pain can result from physical stress, poor sleeping habits, past injuries, pregnancy, or muscle tightness.
In addition to physical pain relief, this treatment can increase mood, regulate sleep and improve the overall immune system. Finally, well-placed needles have proven to boost immune cells that seek out or destroy infection. Collectively, acupuncture improves overall wellness through the use of meridians along the body.
Where Can I Receive Treatment?
Acupuncture is an alternative technique that few medical professionals can provide. Tuck Chiropractic Clinic offers an assortment of treatment options for pain, one of which is acupuncture. Tuck Chiropractic Clinic offers acupuncture at its’ Blacksburg location for those looking for relief outside of traditional methods.
If you’re interested or have question about acupuncture, contact us and make the first step to a healthier lifestyle today!

Kid-sized rubber is flying up on three wheels around the corner. Blades of autumn grass are slicing underneath the wobbly course of the red joy mobile. Water is dancing through the creek in a shining, crystal background. This is going to be perfect. A squealing three-year-old at the wagon’s helm is bounding into focus. Just have to crouch down a little more. There, that’s it. Joy is about to be forever captured in a matter of “One, two, three, CHEESE!” Nailed it.
This is what it’s like for Kristina Rose to live out her dreams. Her idea of success: a child in one hand, a camera in the other, and a smile on her face. Today, with three kids and a photography business eight years in the making, that’s exactly what she has. But it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, just a few years ago, it seemed woefully out of reach.
One morning, Kristina realized she couldn’t move. The pain was searing. Her back seemed locked. Her feet were swollen beyond recognition. It’s a familiar place for many women navigating the joys and trials of pregnancy. For Kristina, it begged the question: If she couldn’t even get off the ground, how could her vision for a happy life get off the ground?
Beep, beep, beep. She dialed in the numbers to begin a desperate phone call, accompanied by uncertain expectations, to our Christiansburg clinic. Kristina detailed her plight of pregnancy paired with pain and a lack of mobility. She left her contact information, then hung up. She figured she would have to wait her turn for relief – weeks, maybe even months.
Then, almost immediately, on a Sunday morning, her iPhone ringtone shattered the silence. Much-needed hope came in the form of Doctor Lee Matthis’ voice, returning her call from our Christiansburg clinic. His concern for her condition was not constrained by business hours, and neither was his take-charge spirit when it came to making sure she had a convenient and quick appointment.  “Can you come in tomorrow?” he asked.
Kristina was now floored emotionally, not just physically. Dr.Matthis called her back on a weekend, and got her in the next day.  “I was blown away, because that just doesn’t happen,” Kristina recalled.  
As if that wasn’t unique enough, her experience at our Christiansburg clinic made her jaw drop even farther. She had received compassionate, effective care at other places in the past. She had also, on occasion, been treated quickly. But never both at once. The simplicity, convenience, and compassion was life-changing and opened up new possibilities for what it could mean to live pain free.  Kristina said, “I like that it was quick. I got the service I needed, and I felt better.”
Just like that, Kristina was hooked and has been a consistent Tuck Chiropractic patient ever since. We were honored to be part of her second and third pregnancies, which meant the crippling swelling that accompanied her first pregnancy was not a reality she had to relive with her other pregnancies. Kristina said, “My OB was so surprized. Even my deliveries were better.”
These days, Kristina is living her version of the American dream. Whether it be kneeling to get that perfect shot, or hoisting a curious child on her shoulders, she still calls Dr. Matthis the moment any stiffness or soreness creeps in on the rhythm of her busy life. But it’s not one-sided. Every year on her birthday, she hears from her Tuck team. It’s that care, in every sense of the word, which keeps her coming back.  “Somebody went out of their way to do something extra. I was valued.”

Have you ever experienced an ache or pain that seems to have appeared out of the blue? While you might feel your pain popped up out of nowhere, this isn’t always the case. The reality may be that the issue you are “suddenly” experiencing isn’t sudden at all. Rather, it is an issue that has been around and has finally decided to rear its head.
You see, the body is resilient and has the incredible ability of compensating for minor bumps and bruises, allowing it to continue functioning as optimally as possible. However, over time these bumps and bruises can add up; and the body begins to adapt less and less and the injuries are expressed as pain. This process can take days, month, years, or decades to lead to pain that prompts a person to visit their doctor.
Additionally, the healing time for persistent problems is often proportionate to the amount of time the injury has been present, and increases if the problems have been ignored after its initial occurrence.  For these reasons, our team at Tuck Chiropractic suggests treatment specifically designed for individual patients and their needs, with the attempt to get rid of not only the painful symptoms that brought them to our office, but the root cause of those symptoms as well.
One patient success story that demonstrates the importance of proper care is that of Charity – an 11-year-old girl who suffered from hip problems dating back to when she was an infant. No doctor could pinpoint the cause, until Charity’s mom called our office. Dr. Matthis was able to relieve Charity of her pain. Initially, Charity visited our office three times a week for the first two weeks, then two times a week, and finally she was able to go a full month in between adjustments. What took years to develop required time and persistence to resolve.
In this instance, Dr. Matthis explained how injuries are similar to a vehicle hitting a pothole. At first, everything with your vehicle seems fine as you continue on down the road. However, problems may arise and emerge the longer and further you drive.
We all know how important it is to take care of your body. However, it’s just as important to listen to your body. If your back is aching or you have been suffering from neck pain your body is trying to tell you something is out of whack. Rather than waiting until the pain is unbearable, consider contacting your chiropractor. Chiropractic care utilizes a variety of different methods to ensure optimal patient outcomes and long-term solutions.
A few common reasons people come see our team is if they are suffering from back pain, headaches, stress or arthritis. Getting patients back to their normal quality of life and living pain-free is our ultimate goal, and we find patients who commit to the necessary care overcome long-term wear and tear that has caused problems. However – this won’t happen overnight. Our team typically recommends a treatment plan to ensure the issue is resolved, rather than a quick-fix solution that acts as a Band-Aid.
Are you suffering from pain? Do you want to get back your quality of life? If you answered yes to either of those questions, we encourage you to make an appointment today at one of our 10 locations across the New River Valley. Our team is dedicated to helping you feel better and live well. 

‘Why’ – such a short word that that has the ability to reveal so much. At the end of the day everyone has their own personal why. Why they chose the college they attended, why they took a leap of faith, why they made a life-changing decision, or why they chose their career path. For Dr. Emily Ranstadler the reason she chose chiropractic isn’t what you may expect, as she actually started out on the other side of the examination table as a chiropractic patient desperately looking for relief.
Dr. Ranstadler’s first calling—before she began pursuing chiropractic—was serving our country in the United States Marine Corp as a helicopter mechanic and aerial observer. While in service, she obtained a B.A. in Criminal Justice. During her education, a forensics class piqued her interest in anatomy, something crucial for chiropractors to understand. Dr. Ranstadler’s background and experience was the launching pad to future greatness—and a great example of her consistent track record of striving to positively impact others.
Her journey towards a career in chiropractic began with excruciating back pain. One morning Dr. Ranstadler (Emily at that time) woke up with “explosive” back pain and still remembers lying on her kitchen floor, staring at the ceiling, trying to breathe. “I assessed my situation and realized my options were pretty grim,” she recalls. “My husband was in Afghanistan, my friendly neighbors recently moved away, and my 16 month old was screaming his head off upstairs.” Then she had an idea: she had seen a chiropractor several months prior and remembered feeling good after an adjustment. She began calling chiropractors in her area, made an appointment, found the strength to get dressed and grab her baby, and was on her way to the appointment that would change her life and career aspirations (and relieve her back pain).
Following her visit, Dr. Ranstadler felt instant relief. As she was driving home she came to the realization that she didn’t want anyone to feel the pain she felt that morning, she wanted to be part of the solution to the pain so many people suffer from. That very same day, she began calling chiropractic schools. Ultimately, Dr. Ranstadler graduated Magna Cum Laude from Sherman College of Chiropractic, achieving her goal of obtaining an education to help others deal with pain that may be interfering with their quality of life.
While taking prerequisites, she completed a massage therapy course, which improved her clinical skills and now helps her with patient interaction. During chiropractic school, Dr. Ranstadler concurrently obtained an M.S. in Sports and Health Science. “I am very interested in how movement plays into overall function, maybe a crossover from my days of troubleshooting aircraft,” she said.
For an individual questioning whether chiropractic is the right choice for them, Dr. Ranstadler has some advice. “A good chiropractor should always take the time to speak to you, address your concerns, and explain what your options are before proceeding with treatment plans. Additionally, a thorough exam should be performed so that the safest and most effective treatment can be offered for your individual case,” she explained. “I think that at Tuck, we do a great job of gathering the right information to give great care or help get you where you need to be.”
Dr. Ranstadler’s path to joining our team is filled with dedication and passion: two qualities that have led her to be the successful and caring chiropractor she is today. We are very fortunate to work alongside Dr. Ranstadler, who is also a Certified Massage Therapist, NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. When she is not serving patients at our Roanoke-Peters Creek office, Dr. Ranstadler finds joy spending time with her husband and two sons, as well as exploring the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.