While Tuck Chiropractic does not require you to have a PCP referral to become a patient, we realize that the security in knowing your everyday doctor approves of your decision is reassuring.

In a world with an endless array of medical specialties, your primary care physician (PCP) typically serves as your go-to resource for your general health and wellness based on along and trusting relationship. You may frequently pass up the opportunity to see a specialist based on the familiar relationship you already hold with your PCP. In fact, studies show that 10-15% of all visits to a PCP are for musculoskeletal problems. In this case, it could be beneficial to seek out a professional that has a more focused area of practice.
If you’re feeling apprehensive about finding the right doctor in the right discipline for your particular needs, the best thing you can do is ask your primary care provider. Your doctor is familiar with your health history and knows any special nuances another a specialist may need to be aware of. This is the perfect opportunity to get a referral! It’s likely that your doctor already has a rolodex of go-to healthcare professionals in a variety of disciplines that they use to refer their patients to. All you have to do is start the conversation.

Recognize When You Need Alternative Care

Let’s imagine that you recently injured your back while doing yard work around the house. While you may be no stranger to managing acute back pain, this instance is significantly worse than previous problems. Instead of visiting your doctor to get a prescription for a stronger pain medication, you could discuss alternatives with your doctor.
The doctors at Tuck Chiropractic Clinics have worked hard to reach out to doctors across disciplines to build collaborative relationships to provide the best care possible to patients across the board. We believe your doctor will have your best interest at heart and should know exactly what kind of specialist can help you.

Be Honest About Your Needs

We recently discussed how important it is to be honest with your chiropractor about your level of pain and your lifestyle. That rings true for this situation, too. If you’re looking to make a change in the way you approach your healthcare and wellness, you have to be open and honest with your doctor about it. Make sure you are clear about the pain you are experiencing and that you are seeking new ways to manage that pain. While most people assume chiropractors can only treat your back pain, we can ultimately treat any issue involving the musculoskeletal system with chiropractic adjustments alone, or by working alongside other specialists.

Ask For Options

At the end of the day, you should have the power to make your own decisions about your healthcare. While doctors can be a great part of the vetting process, it’s also important to due your own due diligence before making your choice. If you need some guidelines on what to look for in a chiropractor, the American Chiropractic Association has provided a list of best practices for choosing wisely. If you have any questions about our style of care, feel free to call any of our offices! We’re here to help.

 
Another year, another incredible conference hosted by the American Chiropractic Association!
Each year, we look forward to the annual National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, where we have the opportunity to honor our fellow chiropractors for their excellence, advocate on behalf of patients on Capitol Hill, exchange industry best practices, and inspire the next generation of leaders. 2019 was no different! While there was a lot going on during the four-day conference, there were a few moments that really stood out for us.

Dr. Tuck Concluded His Presidency With Honors

This year was extra special. Dr. Tuck concluded his tenure as President as the American Chiropractic Association, but not without putting a seal on the impact he made as a leader for the organization. Throughout the year, Dr. Tuck worked to create a refreshed and vibrant ACA culture, assisted in restructuring the Governance of ACA, and contributed to the advancement of chiropractors across the nation.
As incoming President Robert Jones, DC put it, “[Dr. Tuck] has lead ACA through monumental changes which have set us on a path of financial stability and a true leadership role within the healthcare profession..He is a stalwart champion of chiropractic and ACA.”
To drive this sentiment home, Dr. Tuck was presented with the honor of Chiropractor of the Year.

Presenting on Measuring Success in a Patient-Centered Office

Our own Dr. Tuck, Dr. LaBarbera, and Dr. Matthis had the opportunity to share their expertise in building a successful care system centered around the needs of the individual patient. Our patient-centered care practices have bred a culture of continuous improvement, where both the doctor and the patient work together to track and continue to work for improvement of lifestyle and mobility. By using open communication and being diligent with data collection, we are able to measure our success and continue that track of improvement.

Seeing the Faces of the Future

We see the value in embracing the new insights and fresh take that young chiropractors bring to the table, a driving factor for our professional outreach and preceptorship programs. It’s how we are able to continue to grow as doctors. Another valuable part of this conference is the chance for us to network face to face with the future of chiropractic care.
The bright students of chiropractic colleges across the country come to NCLC to further their knowledge of the industry and connect with clinics that seek to enrich their education with hands on experience. By forging connections with future professionals, we grow a support network that helps us grow as an individual clinic and as a whole industry. We took the opportunity to get out and get to know the students whenever possible.
All in all, it was yet another successful year at ACA’s Annual NCLC. We look forward to seeing how far we’ve come next year at ACA Engage – the new name for the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference!

 
After spending a lot of time spreading our messages outward in 2018, we’re turning inward for 2019. One of our major goals is to focus on our employee and doctor development. Earlier this year, Dr. Tuck attended the 10th Annual Chiropractic Education Conference, by the World Federation of Chiropractic to gather insights on leveraging new technologies in doctor training and engagement.
“Our goal is to make our training sessions more purposeful, engaging, and robust,” says Dr. AJ LaBarbera. “We’re also committed to developing our leadership.”
Because our clinics cover such a wide footprint, we leverage our leaders at each clinic to make sure we are providing consistent care across all of our locations. We’re looking to spend more time supporting the development of these individuals both as doctors and as leaders to further improve the atmosphere for doctors, staff, and patients. By doing this, we can create transparency from the top down from our top leadership, all the way through to the patient. Continuing to improve in these areas will ultimately help us better our patient-centered care delivery and enhance patient experience.
Won’t you join us in tackling your goals in 2019?

While we help a lot of our patients overcome their daily challenges with the care and guidance that we provide, as doctors, we aren’t immune to the troubles that life can throw our way. Many of us have stories about how an accident or injury guided us into becoming chiropractors. Others have learned from other battles in their lives to be able to better relate to patients. Each year, during this holiday season, we often find ourselves reflecting on these challenges and remembering how it has made us become better people and better doctors. While at the time they seemed impossible to overcome, looking back, we can be thankful for the skills and understanding they taught us.
Here are a few of our stories.

Changing Career Paths In Response to a Loss

Dr. Matthis’s story about how he became a chiropractor is truly what sparked the idea for this reflective blog. At the green age of 17, he lost his grandmother while she was undergoing routine surgery. At the time, he had planned to be a surgeon himself. After seeing how fragile life can become, even in the most basic surgeries, he decided he wanted to find a way to help people in a way that was safe, evidence-based, and non-invasive.
When he looks back on this loss today, he is thankful for the learning experience and the opportunity to open his eyes and see other routes of helping people.

Relating to Patients in Emotional Pain

There is a moment in Dr. Susan Kilmer’s life that she will never be able to forget. In 2008, her husband of 32 years received the news, “I’m sorry to say but you have cancer.” David suffered from not one, but three rare forms of blood cancer. A simple blood test identified that he had one million too many platelets and not enough red blood cells. After various specialists, rounds of oral chemo, and multiple transfusions, it was clear that he would need a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, he did not receive a perfect match and his immune system began to attack itself. After a long fight, in 2013, he passed away.
“I had a patient last week come in and tell me his wife had a stroke, he was suffering with the life changes he was facing,” shares Dr. Kilmer. “He had known my husband, and knowing what I went through, it all of a sudden gave him a better outlook, his wife would get better.”
Dr. Kilmer believes she is a better individual and doctor because of the difficulties she went through. Today, she leads a happy life, has remarried, and helps patients overcome their challenges every day.
“One of David’s sayings was ‘Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal’. I don’t have time for negativity, sadness or ill will towards others.” says Kilmer. “All the little stresses in life are not that important. I try to help patients who are anxious and worry by giving them my tips and encouraging them to the release the stress to lead a better life.”

Accidentally Discovering The Chiropractic Path

Dr. Rathmann is one of the many chiropractors at our clinics that came upon the profession by receiving care herself. In high school, she was in a severe car accident during her spring break. After a whole week of being in a lot of severe pain, she was unable to move or enjoy her vacation at Myrtle Beach. When she returned home, she sought out care from a chiropractor for the first time ever. After a session of treatments to help her through her injury, she felt better than she did prior to the accident!
“It was at that moment that realized I wanted to go into the chiropractic profession,” shares Dr. Rathmann.

We all have our challenges that seem impossible to tackle at the moment, but with the right people and plenty of help, we can always find ourselves looking back on how it helped us grow.
What challenges are you thankful for this year?

Earlier this month, Dr. Tuck and Dr. LaBarbera had the pleasure of paying a visit to the University of Texas, Austin’s Dell Medical School to tour their integrated multi-disciplinary clinic at the Musculoskeletal Institute and hear insights and outcomes from doctors and patients. After seeing leaders of the school present their model at South by Southwest earlier this year, there was a keen interest in learning more about what they’ve been working on. As Tuck Chiropractic Clinic works to become an example of this model for the state of Virginia and chiropractors across the nation, the visit was just another step towards refining our practice and care delivery model as they continue working towards even more effective results.

About the Musculoskeletal Institute

The Musculoskeletal Institute is part of a cluster of clinics run by UT Health Austin with the mission of improving the overall health of every patient by leveraging the expertise of doctors across disciplines and allowing them to work together to find a treatment plan that works for the individual.
Their team of experts has been able to help a variety of individuals, including athletes trying to improve performance and individuals suffering from debilitating pain. The team includes a mixture of orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, physical therapists, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and social workers. In this way, they are able to work together to overcome challenges in wellness, provide more well-rounded medical treatments, and only turn to surgery when necessary.

Why Their Work Is Important

We are particularly interested in this model of care because research and experience have demonstrated better outcomes for both the doctors and, most importantly, the patients. The collaborative care model empowers patients to work with a personalized team of experts, allowing them to set specific wellness goals and reach them. With a shared decision-making approach, doctors are able to meet patients where their needs direct care, rather than trying to fit one model to every individual challenge-all part of a highly effective patient-centered care delivery initiative. Finally, this model allows the doctors to measure the outcomes that matter to the patients, rather than a general set of outcomes set up by the doctors. At the end of the day, doctors are able to gain deeper insight and patients are able to meet and maintain their goals.

Our Top Take-Aways

Tuck Chiropractic is heavily based in a patient-centered care philosophy. While everyone in healthcare talks about this method of evidence-based, shared decision making, it was a rewarding experience to see it in action and recognize the measured benefits of it. We were able to watch the team of providers across disciplines working alongside one another to coordinate care. It was especially successful because the patient was also a huge part of that team, helping to make care decisions every step of the way.
At the end of our visit, we walked away feeling stronger than ever that conservative, Evidence-Based, patient-centered collaborative care is very viable and, in fact, the future of healthcare. We look forward to joining with other like-minded Health Care Practitioners and spearheading these efforts in the region we serve.

When sitting in the waiting room of the Tuck Clinic in Christiansburg, one may hear a yelp or holler coming from Dr. Matthis’s office. No- the patients are not screaming in pain, it’s just one of the many ways that Dr. Matthis works to help calm the nerves that may come along with getting an adjustment for the first time.

Savings Lives with Humility

To be a fly on the wall of his office is to watch every type of person come through his door feeling pain and leaving with a smile on their face. You may also spot a box full of letters, cards, and printed out emails from patients about how he has impacted their lives. When you ask Dr. Matthis what he does every day, he puts it simply, but passionately: “I save lives.”

On challenging days, Dr. Matthis likes to sort through his box of letters and reflect on past successes. Sometimes, it’s helping veterans with excruciating pain left over from wars of the past. Other times, it’s helping caregivers spend a few minutes taking care of their own bodies for a change. While Dr. Matthis may not always keep someone from actually losing their life, he often helps make a difficult life worth living, and helps restore their livelihood.
“It’s universal. It can be for pain, but it can also be for a weakened immune system,” says Dr. Matthis. “Everything in the body is controlled by the nervous system so when it’s taken care of, your body is functioning better and technically you are more healthy overall.”

Sharing the Message of Flexibility

For Dr. Matthis, it’s important that people understand that chiropractic can be a part of the solution in the bigger picture. He works hard in his clinic as well as in the community to improve understanding of the field and it’s best practices. In this way, he’s able to improve the lives of his patients as well as other chiropractors.
As a leader at Tuck Chiropractic and in professional organizations like the Virginia Chiropractic Association, Dr. Matthis serves as a voice for new concepts in the chiropractic profession and collaborates with other health care professions throughout the medical field to improve relations. Recently, his message has focused on two techniques that we use at Tuck Chiropractic Clinic that are all encompassing: flexibility and humility.
“It’s about finding what fits a patient and meeting them there,” says Dr. Matthis. “We are building doctors that meet patients and their needs, not doctors that need patients.”
At Tuck Chiropractic, we follow the philosophy that if we can’t help you, we’ll find someone else who can. It’s important to not only focus on our individual strengths, but to know when and where to fill in for the weaknesses. That’s why the team approach at our clinics are vital to the success that our patients see, and that’s why most doctors that complete their internships at one of our clinics stick around to practice.
At the end of the day, Dr. Matthis takes lessons from the wins and the losses. In this way, he strives everyday to live a life where, along with himself, he helps patients feel better and live better lives.

Bedford County in Southwest Virginia has a lot of rolling hills, a lot of farms, and a lot of hard-working people. Dr. John Earsing has been living in the area for over 20 years and has been dedicated to working hard to make a positive impact on anyone who gives him the opportunity. He has practiced in Bedford since 2001 and loves the people and community that make Bedford County “Home” for him.
“We deal with patients who have experience with chiropractic care, patients who have never been and have questions, and patients who have been everywhere else and finally come to us as a last resort,” says Dr. Earsing.
His journey as a chiropractor started when he was a teen. As a college student at the age of 19, John knew he wanted to work in the medical field and as exploring his options. He was volunteering at a hospital and helping to administer physical therapy when he got into a car accident. Suddenly, he became a patient himself. They couldn’t find any distinct injuries on the X-rays after his crash and while physical therapy helped some, he was still having trouble recovering from the impact.
“I couldn’t even look down to tie my shoes,” says Dr. Earsing. “The medication they gave me wasn’t helping me get my job done so after much thought, I decided to go to the New York Chiropractic College outpatient Clinic for a second opinion.”
After an examination, diagnosis and several visits to the clinic, he found the route he wanted to pursue in his own health care career. Seeing his own progress and the way his neck and spine were able to heal naturally, without the help of medication was astounding and inspiring to him. Once he completed his undergraduate degree, he applied to the very chiropractic college that had helped him to heal.
Fast-forward to 18 years later, and Dr. John is helping people conquer their pain one adjustment at a time. After practicing on his own for fourteen years, he merged his practice with Tuck Chiropractic Clinic in Bedford in 2014 and found a great community of doctors to collaborate with as he worked on streamlining his ability to help patients feel better.
“It’s the best thing ever!” he says. “Now, I have 14 other doctors that I can work with. The staff is amazing. It really provides me with the best opportunity to give patients the best care.”
One part of his job that he especially enjoys is turning skeptics into believers and helping the hopeless find relief. When people come in after trying all of the other routes, they often feel like they can never find relief. After just a few adjustments, he finds it incredibly rewarding to see their progress and surprise.
He also gets a thrill out of helping people who are skeptical that chiropractic is the right route for them. For example, in one of his most recent success stories, an aerobics instructor found that she couldn’t straighten her leg past 90 degrees due to damage to her knee. After tirelessly seeking help from an orthopedist and physical therapist, nothing was working. After a few weeks of working with Dr. Earsing and the staff at Tuck Clinic, she hit a milestone. With the help of electrical muscle stimulation, adjustments, and myofascial work, she was able to finally straighten her leg and get back to doing what she loves! While most don’t normally think of chiropractors as a solution for joint and extremities pain, it can be an effective solution.
“If it’s something that we can work on, we will,” says Dr. John. “I findi t enjoyable when people come in saying ‘I don’t think this is a chiropractic problem but my shoulder, knee, or ankle hurts.'”
At the end of the day, all of the doctors at Tuck Clinic see it as their purpose in life to make people feel better, to improve lives, and to help people find relief when they thought there was nothing that could be done.
“I picked something that I could do forever and never get tired of it.” says Dr. John.
And we are thankful for that! If you believe chiropractic can help you with your pain, schedule your first appointment today.

The study and practice of chiropractic got its start in 1895 when Dr. David Daniel Palmer performed the first chiropractic adjustment. While certain adjustment techniques had been around for many decades through history, nobody had ever compiled and codified these practices into a single philosophy of medicine. It was two years later that Palmer School of Cure, now Palmer College of Chiropractic, opened its doors to teach those interested in alternative healing techniques.
Fast forward to 30 years and a student of the Palmer College of Chiropractic, Dr. Robert C. Bowie opened the first chiropractic practice in Galax, Virginia. While a seemingly typical feat, practicing chiropractic was still considered illegal in the state of Virginia at this time. Bowie faced public scrutiny and even legal trouble for his practice.
In August of 1928, the Virginia Medical Society wrote a letter calling for law enforcement to persecute Dr. Bowie for his practice, calling the Chiropractic Board he belonged to a clan of “quack charlatans and imposters”. Despite two arrests and fines of $50 and $500, Bowie continued to bring relief to patients throughout Southwest Virginia through his practice. He was among 12,000 chiropractors with more than 15,000 prosecutions for practicing medicine without a license, but he was never put on trial. This was because there were so many people in town that had been treated by him, they were unable to compile a neutral jury!
Dr. Bowie continued his brave fight for the practice when he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, serving from 1944 to 1946. During his time at the General Assembly, he worked hard to push forward legislation that would accept state licensure of the chiropractic practice. He also became the first chiropractor to serve on the Virginia Board of Medicine. Throughout his career, he continued to serve the community in which he practiced as a doctor, a citizen, and even as Mayor for a time.
So why is this story so important to Tuck Chiropractic Clinic? Well, when it came time for Dr. Bowie to retire in 1982, someone had to purchase his practice. That someone was Dr. Nathan Tuck, our founder, and father of current President, Dr. Ray Tuck.
Dr. Nathan Tuck opened the doors of his first clinic in 1979 in Pulaski, VA, just a short drive from Dr. Bowie’s practice in Galax. Tuck saw this as the perfect opportunity to broaden his area of service while helping Bowie’s patients in Galax continue to access a continuum of service and relief. Here, Dr. N. Tuck continued to practice until 2005, when he suffered a heart attack. By this point, his son and our current President, Dr. Ray Tuck, was prepared to confidently take over the practice.
Today, we still serve patients in the Galax area, they just have a little further to drive. In order to consolidate services, we combined the Galax office with our current Hillsville location. Now, Tuck Chiropractic has 9 locations with 17 doctors that are eager to serve patients across Southwest Virginia. As we continue to grow further into areas beyond the New River Valley, we’ll never forget our roots and the deep roots of our practice in this area!

It’s always interesting to hear how people discover their life’s passion. Dr. Katie McKown’s story is no different. It happened at the age of seventeen. What began with not-so-great circumstances turned into a passionate career. At seventeen, Dr. McKown was involved in a car accident that resulted in a lot of pain. After going through a few cycles of physical therapy and not finding relief, she visited a chiropractor.
“It really struck a chord with me and made me want to pursue a career that would help people like it helped me,” says McKown.
She has been practicing with Tuck Clinic in Woodlawn for 8 years now and spent time practicing in Michigan and Northern Virginia prior to moving closer to her home of West Virginia. Here, she has built bonds with patients the come into the clinic seeking a better lifestyle or relief from persistent pain.

A Better Lifestyle for All Ages

“Even though we should often be the first step to treat pain, we are often the last resort. But when people come in and find relief, they are so appreciative,” says Dr. McKown. “We are able to provide another option for them.”
While Dr. McKown enjoys helping anyone in need, it’s the little ones that stand out in her mind the most.
“My favorite thing about being a chiropractor is the patients – especially the little ones that actually get excited to get their adjustment,” she says with a smile. She adds that even if their experience doesn’t necessarily lead them to become chiropractors, you know you make an impact when they tell their friends about it and they come in.
It’s a great day at the office when you get to make someone’s day better. She often sees people that leave the clinic feeling better both physically and mentally. Because the clinic is in a very rural area, for some people, visiting the Woodlawn clinic is part of the socialization they enjoy for that day. In fact, some patients have joked that they wish they could come in daily to start their day off right!

More Than a Back Cracker

Dr. Katie McKown takes time with her patients to provide the relief they need and help them get back to the lifestyle they want. The fact that many people come into her office thinking they’ll need back surgery or will never find relief and two weeks to a month later their pain is substantially lower is all she needs to keep getting up and coming into the office each morning. She often finds the feeling is mutual.
“It’s always nice to hear when my patients, especially the kids who ask to come and see me, that they can find relief from our care,” says McKown.
She adds that it’s so important to her to educate her patients that the doctors at Tuck Clinic do more than just crack your lower back; “They don’t realize how many people respond to care-and in so many ways-It’s nice for them to see the breadth of what we can really help them with. There are so many ways we can help.”
Coming from West Virginia, Dr. McKown is a pretty big football fan both in her clinic and beyond. Two minutes stepping through her office door, you can probably guess who her favorite team is, and she’s not afraid to admit it in the middle of Hokie territory. In the NFL, she roots for the Chicago Bears. But watching sports isn’t her only past time. She likes participating in them too! In fact, at the time we sat down to talk to her, she was gearing up for her very first golfing lesson.

At the end of April, after serving as interim-President of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), Dr. Ray Tuck was officially elected President of the organization. Having already served in multiple leadership areas, it only seemed fitting for him to rise in the ranks to become the leader of the national organization.
Part of the ACA’s new direction is to position the association to respond to challenges and opportunities and to leverage the talents and expertise of its members. In this way, the ACA will be able to improve the way they work together, as well as the way they work with other professionals to collaboratively solve problems in the healthcare industry.
One function of this initiative is to utilize Dr. Tuck’s great knowledge and passion for this new direction as a voice. With a series of blog posts, the ACA and Dr. Tuck will be able to help members of the organization as well as the public better understand the refocused efforts of the chiropractic industry at large. In his first piece, Dr. Tuck sat down with ACA Blogs editor Annette Bernat for a quick question and answer session about how these recent changes have made an impact on the ACA’s operations.
“ACA Blogs: There have been many transitions within ACA recently. Can you explain what some of them are and the “why” behind them?
Dr. Tuck: The last decade brought significant change to the healthcare world. A few years ago, ACA leadership decided that our organization should do a “look within” to ensure we were staying relevant and able to meet the needs of our members. This led to the development of a new strategic plan, which we have used as a compass for the past couple of years. As part of the plan, we conducted a branding assessment to ensure that we are representing our members as they would want. We also did a review of all our operations with our paid team members as well as a review of our governance model. I would say our main goal was to ensure we remain relevant in today’s world.”
Read the entire interview on the ACA Blogs here: