Eastbayri.com

Dr. David Van Amberg, 37, opened his own practice as a chiropractor in 2002 in Warren. He studied to become a doctor of chiropractic for four years in Georgia, after receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. In his chiropractic practice, Dr. Van Amberg said he also tries to find the underlying causes for his patients’ general health issues. Currently, he’s conducting an informal research study on vitamin D levels in his patients. Dr. Van Amberg lives in Warren with his wife, Lori, and their two children: Dayton, 7, and Anna, 4.

Why chiropractic? “I always wanted to be my own boss. I went to a chiropractor at 8 years old because of a major car accident; the car flipped over a few times. I wasn’t severely injured, but my father had been going to a chiropractor for years for sports-related injuries and he wanted us all to get checked out. I quickly learned that it was more about health care than pain treatment.”

Sports connection: “I always loved sports. I remember Joe Montana, the famous quarterback, got adjusted on television. This was in the early ’80s. Back then it certainly wasn’t mainstream that people went to chiropractors for health care; some did, but it was more often for pain. I thought that was cool — professional athletes getting adjusted. Tom Brady and Joe Montana have the same chiropractor in California; that’s actually how Tom Brady got to meet Joe Montana. So that’s a chiropractic connection that’s really cool.”

What is chiropractic? “Chiropractic is a health tool. It’s a science and an art, designed to help maximize your genetic potentials. It’s not adding something that’s not already in there; the intelligence is in your body to make you perform well and heal yourself.”

Stress and health: “Chiropractic is so important in today’s world of high stress, where there are so many different types of stressors, from mental stress at home and at work to physical stresses associated with jobs, hobbies, child care and chemical toxicity, from foods, and chemicals (in products like) shampoos.”

The basics: “It’s never just one thing as far as health care. There are always the basics to look at first. It’s sleep and hydration and the foods you put in your body. It’s laughter and it’s vacations and it’s finding meaningful work.”

Motivation: “I really enjoy people’s transformation to better health. If I won the lottery, I would still want to do this.”

Nervous about chiropractic? “One thing I do get a lot from people who aren’t patients: ‘I’ve been wanting to go to a chiropractor but I’m afraid.’ I tell them, part of my job is to find out which chiropractic style or technique is comfortable for that person, because some like traditional styles and others are more comfortable with adjustments delivered by instruments or table pieces. The important thing for all people to do is express their concerns during their consultation. It’s a teamwork thing, completely.”

Vitamin D: “There are certain deficiencies that can come about in terms of nutrition that are based on a person’s lifestyle and vitamin D deficiency is incredibly common and has not received the attention it deserves. A (vitamin D) deficiency can affect neuromuscular function, bone density and many studies even have a deficiency as a precursor to some forms of cancer. The reality is in today’s society there are so many indoor activities — work, computers, video games. It’s amazing how a whole day goes by and many people get no sun (one source of vitamin D). One thing I would recommend for all people to do: Ask their doctor for a vitamin D test to get the number, in case you need to supplement.”

Informal study: “I am informally doing a five-month study on vitamin D deficiencies with all my current patients. Rough estimates are about a 50 percent deficiency rate with vitamin D, to the point where I’m shocked when somebody’s numbers are good. Definitely I feel genetics plays a factor too, as always. Genetics affects all sorts of things; it doesn’t mean we can’t do something about it, though.”

Ticket to anywhere: “I would go to Fiji with my wife, because I’m a lazy southerner at heart.”

At the office: “I’m trying to always give my best effort to find the underlying causes of less than perfect health, and I feel like I take a good amount of time with my patients to open up dialogue where they may teach me the reasons for loss of health. If I don’t ask about certain things, a lot of times patients don’t feel confident enough to ask or feel like the doctor’s too busy. Essentially when you have been in practice for a good many years, you evolve as a practitioner in terms of knowing how to better guide people. I’m not all things to all people and I like to guide people to other professionals for help, whether this means physical therapy, medical care, massage, acupuncture or personal trainers.”

Spare time: “I really love playing sports with my son and daughter — baseball, basketball and golf. I truly value family vacation getaways. A recent trip to Key West was fantastic — beaches without rocks. And, we always enjoy our trips down to Hilton Head, South Carolina — where I’m from.”

What chiropractors do

The most common therapeutic procedure performed by chiropractic is known as “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.” Its purpose is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile — restricted in their movement — as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as lifting a heavy object the wrong way, or through repetitive stresses such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness and allowing tissues to heal.

Information excerpted from www.ACAtoday.org, an American Chiropractic Association website.