Testimonials

“I started at Congruent Life approximately 2 years ago, primarily for my daughter who suffers with ADHD and anxiety. Shortly after, I also started care at CLC. I started due to stress and a horrible memory. I couldn’t even remember appointment dates despite having them on my calendar. Fast forward 2 years and I am amazed at the difference. My memory is slowly improving, but the overall improvements in my HEALTH is what surprised me the most. I rarely get sick now. I work at a child care center and used to be sick so often, despite having worked in the field 20+ years.

Before care, I also was experiencing terrible back/hip pain and frequent migraines and headaches. I had tried other chiropractors and doctors who prescribed me medicine to try to help with the pain, but it never seemed to work or last. It was very frustrating.

My daughter and I both get adjusted weekly now. My daughter says after adjustments her body feels more relaxed and less jittery. She looks forward to going and we both feel like the team at CLC is extended family. We love them to pieces! When things were at its worst for us they gave us hope and encouragement. My daughter is in the middle of her teen years, and I can confidently say that I know her anxiety would be WAY worse without the care at CLC. Dr. Mike and Mady have been so gentle and sweet to myself and my daughter as well as provided consistent and excellent care.

The other thing that impresses me about CLC is that we don’t just get adjustments and leave. Dr. Mike takes the time to explain what he’s doing and how it affects our system. Education is the key to understanding how our body works and it’s been interesting to put all the puzzle pieces of anxiety, stress, pain etc. into one big puzzle of understanding. We love this family/chiropractic office and couldn’t feel more blessed to have them in our life. PS…We have loved the added bonus of getting to know their little Greyson. He makes us smile everytime we see him!”

I had been getting chiropractic care in the Des Moines area when I got a job in Iowa City, and they pointed me to CLC. I had been working for 28 years in public safety which was contributing to my back issues. I was having back spasms that could put me in bed for a week or more.

It was frustrating because I would be making strides and then would fall backwards again. The inconsistency of this was hard, which made it more stressful. After receiving care at CLC, my back feels better and I am not worried it will “give out” again, like it did several years ago. I feel better lifting my handicap daughter from and into her wheelchair. I also travel a lot for work. Before, those trips in the car would cause the back spasms and subsequent issues, but now when I travel I’m just a little stiff. It doesn’t cause the back pain like it used to.

Overall, I am satisfied that the staff at CLC cares, welcomes you, and the doctors have your best interest at heart.

When we started care at CLC our son Cash had recently been diagnosed with mild ADHD. He was consistently interrupting, could not seem to settle himself down and often angry with himself because he knew his behaviors were something that he could not control. We were at the point of daily calls, emails and chats with school about his behaviors. He was getting shipped out of class just as often.

It was a constant struggle with Cash. He’d leave school ‘in trouble’ and come home ‘in trouble’, while at home his was ‘in trouble’. He spent more time being punished because of his behaviors then he did actually getting to be a kid. My husband and I wanted to exhaust every opportunity that we could before even thinking about medicine and we’re thankful we heard about CLC at the time we did. He’s such a fantastic kid (not just saying that as his mom) and has always been ‘that boy with a TON of energy’ and we really didn’t want to lose that about him.

My husband, Nick, goes to the same gym as Dr. Mike, Dr. Nikki and Mady. He sent me a testimonial from another mother whose son was going through the exact same things that Cash was and was receiving care at CLC. It honestly brought tears to my eyes to hear their results. This is what we’d been looking for. The atmosphere at CLC, along with Dr’s Mike & Nikki, Mady, everyone… it’s just such a family feel. They’re rooting for your kids as much as you are.

This journey with Cash is most definitely a process. It’s been a great journey with CLC and Cash is still trying to get exactly where he needs to be. He went through a really good stint at school about a month in. He was getting rave reviews from school and we could also see a change of him being able to not get so angry with himself at home as much. That’s when we knew, hey this is actually making a difference. For Cash – his journey with CLC is still ongoing. For us, as a family, in the end we decided that maybe medicine wasn’t such a bad thing and that we did need to take another look. BUT it’s only one piece of his puzzle. Through that and his regular adjustments with CLC, he is THRIVING at school and at home. There isn’t the same amount of doubt for him and he can now, for the most part (he’s still working on it), control those emotions or situations that would always seem to get him in trouble. We’re hoping that continued adjustments will get him on track to not need the additional assistance of medicine one day!”

Before we came to CLC, Brynlee was super colicky and would go 14 days in between bowel movements. Nursing was also becoming an issue; because she was so uncomfortable she would arch her back a lot and had a hard time latching. On top of that, she wouldn’t want to eat towards the end of the 14 day stretch of not pooping. If she wasn’t sleeping, she was crying. She had to be worn all day long, she couldn’t lay on her back comfortably until she was 8 weeks old because she had so much tension in her system.

It was super taxing to have to where her all the time. My other kids always wanted to hold her but every time I would hand her over to them she would start crying immediately because she was in so much pain. We tried eliminating dairy and spicy foods to see if diet was related to her pain and arching, but nothing would change. I was at my wits end of not knowing what else to do to try and comfort my baby.

Seeing the stress on the neurological scans on our first visit was really encouraging because we finally were able to pinpoint the root of all the stress Brynlee was holding in her body and in her nervous system. Brynlee had a really stressful delivery. They actually were trying to push her head back in to slow her down from coming out so quickly. Dr. Mike walked me through how this stress from labor and delivery had a major impact on all the stress we were seeing in Brynlee’s neck, and how that is related to digestion, calm input to the brain, and growth + development.

Within the first 4 weeks of care, we started noticing Brynlee was such a happier baby. We could visibly tell that after getting adjusted she would be more relieved. She was starting to poop more often! After 2 months of care, she is now pooping every single day, sometimes 2-3x/day and having blow outs! A lot of the times I don’t even know she’s pooped because she is no longer straining and crying out in pain. I don’t have to wear her all day long anymore, where as before that would be the ONLY position she would be comfortable in. Before chiropractic, she would wake up, eat, and I would try and get her back to sleep right away because when she was sleeping was the only time she was happy. I was basically just trying to survive until she was sleeping again. Now, she is the HAPPIEST baby! Anyone can look at her and she smiles. My other kids can hold her now, Emmy held her for 15 min this morning and she was happy the whole time. She doesn’t arch anymore when she is nursing and she LOVES being laid on her back now.

I’ve learned how much the stress in her nervous system literally impacts everything from her digestion, to growth and development. It’s been really sweet to see the growth and the changes. We know it is working and everyone else who has met her can tell the difference as well. She is night and day, a completely different baby. It’s so encouraging to know she is receiving relief and her body is starting to work together the way it is supposed to. We are just super grateful for you guys. She is SUCH a happy baby now!

We started CJ to help with his anxiety and sleep. We had been bringing his sister for a long time and saw such amazing progress with her speech apraxia, we knew we wanted to get CJ checked and give him the same opportunity to feel his best.

CJ had been struggling with both anxiety and sleep for at least a year. He had a lot more anxiety around school and he wasn’t waking up well rested like he should, even with the melatonin we were giving him. It was hard as a parent to see him struggling.

We definitely didn’t want to start medications at that young of an age, we wanted to go the more holistic root and try to find the root cause of the anxiety and sleep challenges. It was reassuring to see the neurological scans you did at CLC because we were able to really pinpoint the areas of stress on his system that could be contributing to his brain being more in a “fight or flight” mode.

Within the first 2-3 weeks of adjustments, I noticed his anxiety was already starting to improve! He didn’t come home from school as anxious as he had been before. He wasn’t breaking down as easily with little things either. We also noticed improvements with his sleep early on and he was able to stop taking melatonin in the evenings.

We’ve been bringing CJ now for over a year and he is doing fantastic! He no longer struggles with anxiety like he was before. When there is something that starts to lead to those anxious feelings, he is able to process it so much better now and doesn’t just get upset right away. He sleeps so well now. CJ loves coming each week for his adjustments!

“Tyson has ADHD and before coming to CLC we were frequently increasing his medication over a years time. He had a decreased appetite due to the meds, and wasn’t gaining weight. It was also very difficult to get him to settle for bed, and often took us a couple hours with him getting out of bed 6-8 times before getting him to sleep. Because of his ADHD and dyslexia, he felt isolated socially and just wasn’t sure of himself. He started to become more introverted, and didn’t want to play or socialize at school or extra curricular activities.

It was hard to watch him struggle, and we would question what we did wrong or what we missed as parents. You just want the best for your child, so seeing him take steps back socially was tough.

When we first came to Congruent Life, when the doctors explained that they would be working to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic Nervous System that made so much sense to me. As a nurse, my brain just totally clicked and I felt like this was the last piece of the puzzle! Because we weren’t adding anything like meds, or other things into his body… my husband and I felt like we had nothing to lose!

We first noticed that Tyson’s care was making a difference at night time! Before, bedtime would take hours and was very stressful. After starting care we were able to decrease the melatonin we gave him every night and he would be able to settle down and go to sleep within an hour! It continues to improve, and some nights he’ll be out within 15 minutes! Bedtime is a lot less stressful now! He has also come out of his shell a lot. He is treating his struggles with dyslexia and ADHD as his advantage! Before care when he was stressed or nervous, he would have trouble getting his words out. Now that his nervous system is more calm, he can process and say what he wants to say! Socially he’s doing a lot better, and he’s proven to people that he’s not “naughty” or “out of control”, but actually a really kind kid. He’s able to reel things in, and really pump his breaks on his own. We’ve also been able to decrease his ADHD meds! The decrease happens in stages, and we were able to go one step down after a few months of care! We are hopeful to decrease even more this summer! This was definitely our missing puzzle piece that beautifully compliments everything else we are doing for Tyson!”

When I started care here, I was dealing with severe chronic back pain and stiffness. I couldn’t even walk 30 feet without being in unbearable pain. It changed my lifestyle and quality of life significantly. I had to spend too much time fighting pain. I wanted to be able to walk my dogs, garden, and cook without being in pain all the time. The pain was interfering with my sleep and every morning was so painful. I didn’t know how to avoid that.

Coming to CLC has changed my life for the better. The neurological scans were really helpful to gain an understanding of where my pain was coming from and other organs of my body that were being affected by the stress in my nervous system. I learned that a lot of the inflammation in my body was coming from neurological interference in my digestive tract and detoxification organs like my liver and kidneys.

Once I began my care plan, I was coming 3x/week for several months and that helped tremendously. No other chiropractor I had been to ever told me to come that frequently, and I found myself stuck in this continued cycle of pain because of that. I’d get adjusted, I’d get a little relief, but a few days later the pain would be just as bad again. What you had to offer was so different because I had more frequent adjustments so my body wouldn’t just revert back to all the old patterns. Within that first month I was starting to notice my pain levels decreasing significantly and I was constantly getting a little bit better every week.

A couple months into care, I had my annual labs drawn at the doctors and it was the first time in over 20 years that I didn’t have blood in my urine!!

A few months ago I had a dental appointment where my jaw was held open for 2-3 hours. The next day I got up and I could hardly move my mouth because of the pain; I could hardly chew. My dentist ended up giving me a mouth guard which helped a little bit, but when I told the doctors at CLC what was going on and we started working on my TMJ I started noticing a tremendous difference and it is completely back to normal now. I don’t even have to wear my mouth guard anymore with the continued adjustments I’ve received in the TMJ area. The mouth guard wasn’t nearly as helpful as the adjustments that I got.

I’ve been coming for a year now and I feel so much better! If I do injure myself, an adjustment helps almost immediately and I don’t have that constant pain like I used to. I am able to take my dogs for walks, garden and cook again without pain! I am sleeping so much better. I always used to be kind of afraid to get out of bed because of how much pain I would feel in the mornings, but now I can get out of the bed in the morning with no pain.

My husband and I drive to Florida every year, and the drive used to about kill me. My back would be ruined by the time we got there and it would make it really hard to enjoy vacation. But this last time we went to Florida I handled it so much better. I recovered so much more quickly. We recently went to Hawaii and my back didn’t hurt at all while I was there!

I’ve learned so many things from the doctors here, and I have been eating much better to avoid inflammatory foods that influence how much stress we see on my nervous system. I appreciate the spirit, the knowledge, the friendliness and the welcoming environment that CLC has to offer!

“Kooper is diagnosed with ADHD and several learning challenges. These all really began for him around age 5. He would struggle to stay focused, he would oftentimes not want to try to achieve things at school due to lack of confidence directly related to his challenges. At age 7 we decided to try medication for him at school. The first medication we tried made it impossible for him to sleep and he was an emotional wreck compared to my loving young boy normally. The second medication seemed ok at first but a few weeks in he started to have severe side effects, the worst being hallucinations. My son was terrified at the things happening to him. I felt so helpless. I felt so heartbroken for my son. Medication was not going to be an option.

We went to several specialists and therapists until we found a great psychologist that understood medication was not for us and worked with us on other ways to help him work through struggles. Although this helped, it was not Kooper’s answer. Our family was still not balanced, he was still struggling, homework would take hours with many tears from mom and son, stress was common within our household. That is when Congruent Life was suggested to us. I was skeptical at first, but willing to try it for my son.

When meeting with Dr. Mike for the first time, I felt such relief and finally knew there was hope for some understanding. Dr. Mike seemed to know exactly what we were going through, he was so positive and encouraging. When we had our sit down to discuss Kooper’s treatment plan my eyes were full of tears of relief, someone understood our struggles and was ready to lead us to a path of balance and wellness.

Since starting care at CLC, Kooper has improved his focus, health and overall well being. Whenever there is an illness he bounces back in a very short amount of time, when before he would be down for days. Kooper’s outlook and confidence has grown. And for the very first time, his teacher at school approached me during school fun night extremely excited, grasping my hands explaining—“We must celebrate!” Kooper for the first time all school year had all his language arts done for the whole week by Wednesday, all on his own. Now this may not seem like a huge accomplishment to some but for us it was a milestone. He was completing work, focused work ahead of time and on his own.

Not only has Kooper’s school work and stress improved, he smiles with more confidence than ever before. His overall health has improved, before when he would catch a bug he would be ill for days. Now it passes quickly and with less severity. His focus has improved and has less stress and anxiety as a result of his time at CLC.

He looks forward to and asks when his next appointment with Dr. Mike is. We completely love and appreciate all the staff at Congruent Chiro. Always a warm smile, every child is celebrated and welcomed and we love Mady’s hugs too!! I am always amazed at how Dr. Mike remembers little things from Kooper’s appointments and is so supportive, he even checks in on mom. Congruent Chiro has changed our lives for the better. Congruent has become part of our family. For the first time, I know Kooper will be ok. We have CLC on our team! Thank you!”

The reason we brought Quinn to CLC was for chronic constipation that was leading to impaction and pain. She was only having bowel movements 1-2x/wk and we were stuck in a terrible cycle of quick fixes. On our own that wasn’t really working very well. She was also having a lot of trouble with sleep, specifically sleeping through the night. She would wake up often and early.

When Quinn first started dealing with constipation over a year ago, we brought it up to her primary care physician and were given the suggestion of a laxative. As parents, we knew this was just a “quick fix” and not really addressing the root of the problem. We didn’t feel comfortable with this option and never went through with it because we felt like we wouldn’t be satisfied with that, especially because we wanted to find a more long term solution. We had tried some essential oils that worked a little bit with the discomfort, but we didn’t notice much change in the constipation until beginning care at CLC.

The constipation was continuing to get worse and we knew we had to find a different solution. We had friends that came to CLC and you came highly recommended. On Quinn’s first visit, we went over her neurological scans. We were seeing so much stress in the areas that calm and regulate her nervous system, which were preventing her from getting into digestion and sleep mode. It was very validating as a parent to see our concerns were real and there was a reason for some of the problems Quinn was having. Having those discussions on how these issues have continued to evolve from challenges she was having earlier on as an infant really helped us connect the dots. Those same areas of neurological stress that were shifting her away from digestion and sleep mode, also influence growth and development of the brain. She had been a late crawler and talker, and we started to realize some of these things may be connected in a way that we never knew due to un-addressed stress on the nervous system from the birthing process.

It was reassuring to know there were steps we could take to address the underlying stress on the nervous system that was likely contributing to not only constipation and sleep challenges, but also delayed growth and developmental milestones.

Since we’ve gone on this journey at CLC, we’ve noticed so many changes in Quinn. After the first couple weeks of care we started to notice major improvements in the frequency and ease of bowel movements and really haven’t had any issues with constipation since! Because she was only have 1-2 bowel movements/wk, they would sometimes get impacted and be very painful. Quinn now has a bowel movement almost every day and no longer causes her the impaction and pain they used to. After several months of care, her sleep has really started to come along as well. Not only have we noticed improvements in her digestion and sleep, her mood and overall level of comfort have also improved. She is in a better pattern in life, I feel like her body isn’t always just trying to “catch up” now.

Her newest set of neurological scans looked SO GOOD. We were seeing so much less stress on her nervous system, which is so encouraging as a parent to see what we are doing with the adjustments not only is helping with the symptoms we brought her in for, but how her brain and nervous system are FUNCTIONING.