- Britney
“Before care at Congruent, I was in chronic pain and discomfort; it seemed like I was sick all the time. I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 13 yrs old; that’s when my chiropractic journey began, but I continued to deal with chronic back pain and continual health issues for years until I found healing at CLC.
Additionally, the doctors told me at a young age I wouldn’t be able to have children naturally because of the way my ribcage was shifted (spoiler alert: they were wrong!!). I began care at CLC when I was pregnant with my first, and while being under weekly care I was actually able to have 2 natural births, and my 2nd was even at home! It’s crazy to see the results when you allow your body to do exactly what it was designed to do, despite external limitations doctors place on you, it’s opened our eyes so much.
With prenatal chiropractic care, both of my pregnancies were a breeze, which is something I honestly wasn’t expecting, especially because of my scoliosis. I was under the impression that pregnancy was not going to be comfortable, it was going to be very hard, but both of my pregnancies were enjoyable. I had no complications and there was hardly any pain.
In my 15+ years of prior chiropractic care, I NEVER experienced the pain relief and overall health that I’ve experienced since starting at CLC. My prior experience was more like a “band-aid” approach. Every time I went back to get adjusted, it was always the same symptoms over and over again, it was never really getting to the root of the issue.
Every visit here is different. If there is something new that comes up whether it’s allergies, constipation for the kids, going through a big transition in life… the doctors discuss it with us and we are adjusted accordingly. We are also scanned frequently to see how our bodies are functioning internally, which was something we had never experienced before at our previous chiros. It seemed like we were always having the same problems every week because they were never truly getting resolved. When we come here, we come with a problem and leave with a solution. There’s times when we bring the kids in and they are sick, and with chiro care, they are able to breeze through that illness without us having to use other interventions like medicine and additional doctor visits.
It’s been an empowering experience to be able to have an advocate on our side. Before coming here, we didn’t have that. We were just trying to “mask” our symptoms. If we had a headache, we would take ibuprofen… coming here has completely changed the way we view our health, we have the tools now to allow our body’s to heal and function at their very best. It’s allowed us to be advocates for our children and choose a different route of “standard care”. When sicknesses happen, they last a very short period of time. Sicknesses no longer take our household out for 2 weeks, it’s more of a 48 hr window and then we’re back up and running without needing other interventions like the standard meds and antibiotics we were always relying on before.
At CLC, you find the source of the problem rather than masking it. My whole life was essentially masking symptoms. Taking ibuprofen, doing whatever I could do to suppress the pain. Now, we address the source from the inside and use holistic ways to support our bodies run the course of what they need to go through to actually heal.
If we hadn’t started at Congruent before having kids, their lives would have been so much different. Changing our mindset around health is going to allow our kids to have better lives and change how they are going to view health and healing.
We lived 20+ years in the paradigm of taking medications to mask symptoms and nothing ever worked to make us ACTUALLY feel better or restore health. Here we are a couple years into care at CLC and we’re viewing our health through a completely different lens than we did before. Our lives are completely changed, and now we get to pass that down to our children as they grow.”
- Alaina
Coming to Congruent has been amazing to say the least. I started going to chiropractors a long time ago because of my scoliosis, but I had never experienced the level of care and healing you provide your patients with here. I moved to the area for college and knew I needed to find a new chiropractor, I’m so thankful I found CLC.
Before care at Congruent, it was very hard to sit still and focus in class. On top of that, all of the college books I was having to carry around was taking a toll on my body physically. I was extremely tense everywhere. The new surroundings and demands of college added a lot of emotional stress to my plate that I wasn’t handling well. My stress levels were all over the place and I was struggling with severe anxiety that was consuming my life. My sleep was horrible which led to a lot of fatigue and low energy. Additionally, I had experienced DAILY nausea, for the last 2 years; the thought of breakfast made we want to throw up.
SO MUCH has changed since beginning at CLC. My morning sickness has improved significantly; I was actually able to start eating breakfast without the nausea for the first time in YEARS! Before, my nervous system was too stressed to be able to digest food appropriately, but now I can fuel my body in the mornings to give me more energy throughout the day. The tightness between my shoulders has gone down by a lot and my body overall feels much more relaxed. One of the biggest changes I have noticed has been in my sleep and energy. Before, I would have nights where I’d be up all night long, which led to days where I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. Now, I’m able to fall asleep at night and stay asleep rather than waking throughout the night, which has allowed me to wake up in the mornings with energy instead of feeling fatigued all day. I’m SO MUCH more energized!! That’s been extremely helpful to keep up with the demands between school and work as a college student.
Another HUGE change has been in my ability to handle stress. 6 months ago, one stressful situation would have just tipped me over the edge and I would freak out, my anxiety would go crazy and would often end in a panic attack. It was like having one drop of water in cup that would just cause all my stress to start overflowing, I couldn’t handle it well at all. The stress felt like it was crumbling me up and I couldn’t function. Now, I’m able to actually breath through my stress! Chiropractic has allowed me to utilize coping mechanisms so much better, rather than having the stress completely consume my mind and body. I can look at a problem more rationally and be able to solve it, now that my brain and nervous system aren’t always locked in fight or flight mode. Not only does my body feel so much better, but more importantly my MIND does.
When I was in high school, I actually worked at a chiro’s office and had a basic understanding of chiropractic; but when I came to CLC my eyes were completely opened to the neurological and functional aspect of how adjustments help the nervous system function better; your approach is much more wellness based which I LOVE, rather than always just focusing on pain. The doctors tell me exactly what is going on internally and how my nervous system is responding to adjustments FUNCTIONALLY, which is something I have never had with my prior chiropractic experiences. I really enjoy that aspect, it’s really encouraging to gain an understanding of what is going on with my body internally, you really involve me in the healing process which is so important, it gives me more motivation to want to lead a healthier life style in general.
This was my first chiropractic experience where I had the neurological scans done; they were so validating! I had never actually been able to SEE where the stress was at in my body and just how bad it was; you were able to explain to me what my symptoms were trying to communicate, WHY certain systems of my body weren’t functioning optimally, and how that was connected to my nervous system. It has really allowed me understand how chiropractic is helping my body heal, as well as those steps I can do along with you guys to heal myself fully; it’s been such an empowering experience. My chiropractic experience before all seemed to just revolve around pain, but you guys have gone way above and beyond that. You look at the WHOLE nervous system to restore function. I’ve been able to see so much progress on my scans along this healing journey. Knowing that not only am I feeling so much better, but also functioning so much better INTERNALLY has been so motivating for me to want to lead a healthier life style.
I am actually planning to go to chiropractic school in a few years! You guys have inspired me so much to want to incorporate so much of what you do here for your patients into my practice in the future to help people live a life where they feel and function their best! It’s so cool coming here and watching you care for so many kids and pregnant women, and really teaching people about how to be proactive in their health and healing journeys.
- Cody
“Our son Cody, at almost 10 years old, has faced more hurdles than most people do in a lifetime. We thought he was a healthy thriving baby until he seized in my arms for the first time at 8 weeks old. We saw a specialist immediately and he was admitted on continuous EEG monitoring. Our tiny, innocent baby was pumped full of medications to try and halt these episodes. Almost immediately he quit having obvious seizures but his EEG was showing non convulsive status. Meaning his brain was seizing non-stop but we couldn’t clinically see it. He became so sedated that he didn’t wake to eat and was put through a multitude of tests, lumbar punctures and brain scans. He was moved to intensive care and placed in a medically induced coma in hopes of resetting his seizing brain while more meds were added. Each time they tried to wean him from the coma the seizures returned. It was a devastating bleak situation and his future was not guaranteed. Doctors reached out to other doctors across the country to try and find a diagnosis and effective treatment. While still in the coma he was transferred by fixed wing jet to a different children’s hospital out of state to try an epilepsy drug that wasn’t FDA approved. Neurosurgeons there eventually removed the front left lobe of his brain. We were told that even though this area was the main driver, his seizures were multifocal and he would continue to deal with epilepsy. Not only were they right, but he also developed hydrocephalus as a result of the resection surgery causing even more damage to his already struggling young brain.
He has had 4 brain surgeries to date, mostly to treat hydrocephalus. We’ve tried many anti-epileptic drugs, ketogenic diet, CBD oil, he has a vagus nerve stimulator implanted in his chest and he still seizes nearly every day. He was eventually diagnosed with a rare multisystem genetic disease called Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and has many other manifestations of the disease as well. Life has been very much an uphill battle for him. We’ve done therapy at three different children’s therapy centers in addition to AEA services in our home and at school. We’ve taken him to children’s hospitals in four states seeking opinions from some of the best. While we have met amazing people and have gained something valuable from every therapy he has done. Many inch-stones have come and gone and he is still very much dependent on us for everything. Things he was successfully doing in his younger years; potty training, self-feeding and walking in a gait trainer for example have become harder as his brain and body have continued to fight against each other. In addition his spastic muscles have put tension on his bones and joints creating orthopedic problems that leave him facing a very real likely hood of major surgical intervention in his lifetime.
Like many parents of special children we have spent a lot of time and energy searching the web for resources. Finding hope in new treatments and connecting with other families keeps us moving forward. We found Dr. Mike through a video on Facebook that I randomly watched not even realizing it was about to connect us to someone that would be able to provide a very important missing piece in our journey. Cody’s body has been stuck in fight or flight mode literally all his life. He was born by c-section after a pregnancy that included a large subchorionic hematoma at 13 weeks and a head on motor vehicle accident at 32 weeks gestation. His body was likely stressed before his genetic condition even revealed itself. It’s so hard for any of us to function and grow when our brain and bodies aren’t working together and communicating like they need to.
We are only 5 months into his journey with Congruent Life but couldn’t feel happier with our decision to move forward with treatment. Cody is not verbal and is visually impaired but when he hears Dr. Mike’s voice he completely lights up. He trusts Dr. Mike and knows that he is helping him feel better. Just in the past month we have noticed an increase in his desire to communicate. His yes/no gesture is often times clearer and he’s showing more interest in his communication system. Though we still have discomfort issues, his legs and hips tend to be more relaxed than before. His core was so shut down that he was progressively developing scoliosis. The upper right section of his back was becoming humped and his posture was being affected. His scans have been showing that his core is reengaging, the hump is nearly gone and his spine is obviously straighter. Congruent Life has not made any unrealistic guarantees to heal or cure him of anything. However they have offered hope. Hope that balancing his nervous system will bring changes to his life. We trust and have seen that these changes make a difference in his quality of life. Our family feels so blessed to have added a doctor that genuinely wants to help our sweet boy and couldn’t ask for more!”