City of Doraville - Small Business Spotlight - Dowell Family Wellness, LLC
We met Dr. Rick Dowell, who, along with Dowell Family Wellness office manager, Theresa Bell, told us about their services and gave us some tips.
Dr. Dowell, why do you say chiropractic picked you and changed your life? I got into chiropractic because I had to bring my college roommate, who had an accident, to his appointments. There, I met Dr. Simmons who changed my life. Dr. Simmons was the only person who had been able to help me with my migraines, and I've suffered headaches for as long as I can remember, back when I was four or five years old. He told me he could help me, and I didn't believe him. I thought chiropractors were quacks and were not the real deal. I was pre-medical in school, and I was going to be a pediatrician. So, he made me bet that he could help me. He said he would treat me for free for a month. He said if he could get rid of my headaches, I had to go to a chiropractic seminar with him, and if he couldn't get rid of the headaches, he would give me $200. It's 1993, I was a broke student at college, so I accepted the bet, and he got rid of my migraines in two weeks. That completely changed my life. When I say that chiropractic picked me, that's what I mean. Getting rid of my migraines not only made me feel better but it gave me a career. There's never a time in my career that I don't want to come to work, and I'm blessed to say that.
Why Doraville? In 2012, I was living and practicing chiropractic in Austin, Texas. At that time, I tried to get my girlfriend to move there, but she didn't budge. We had a long-distance relationship, so I finally decided that if we were going to be together, I must move to Atlanta. I sold my practice and moved to Chestnut Place, here in Doraville. I didn't want to have to deal with hiring people - I just wanted to work and go home, so I rented space out of the Gym on DeKalb Technology Parkway, beside the big Corvette dealership. But in about six months, the Gym got evicted, and I needed to move immediately, even though I paid my rent every month. I remember very well when in April 2015, I was at the stop sign turning onto Chestnut, when I saw 'office space for lease' just here in Northgate. So, I visited the office and despite it needing some work, I rented it. Within 10 days, I had painted the office, gotten furniture, put a new carpet in, and started seeing my patients. So, as I said, since then, I've been practicing here, and the business has been great.
You mentioned your business has been great for many years, but what about during the pandemic?When COVID hit in March 2020, I didn't know if I could keep my doors open. You know, many patients come to see me on their way to work, at lunchtime, or when they return home from work., With people not going to work, I was worried they wouldn't come out, but because people were working from home, and instead of sitting in their ergonomic chairs, they were sitting on their couches or beds, sitting for hours and hours with very poor posture they started having little aches, or the pain they were dealing with before at work was then ten times worse . So, the business went up and up, and it continues to get better.
At that time, I also started to transition into seeing more kids offering a pediatric practice, which renewed my passion for chiropractic and fulfilled me, praise God.
What is a Family Wellness Practice? Family because we attend to adults and children of all ages. We see many expecting moms, infants, toddlers, elementary kids, teenagers, high school kids, adults, and seniors. We see children with back or neck pain and other ailments like ear infections and colic. We also provide a free workshop every two or three months called "The Perfect Storm" that focuses on kids with autism/spectrum disorders, sensory problems, and ADHD.
And WellnessBecause from a chiropractic standpoint, we're looking at the relationship between your vertebrae, the bones in your spine, and your nervous system. When most folks think about chiropractic, they think of neck pain, back pain, if you've been in a car accident or if you've been hurt at work, but we see patients with many other conditions or symptoms like migraines, stomach problems , anxiety, panic attacks, and others. In those cases, we take the pressure off the nervous system and allow the body to work better. It is like when I was having migraines. It was something going on in my body that was not allowing it to work. And usually, it's our nervous system that fixes these things. Suppose there is pressure on the nervous system. In that case, it will interfere with the communication between your brain and the rest of your body. I like to use the analogy that if you're trying to get someone's directions, but your phone is cutting in and out, you've got a wrong signal. So, you're not going to get the directions.
Likewise, if your brain is trying to tell your lungs to do something, or your lungs are telling your brain there's something wrong, and the signal is getting chopped up, then your lungs aren't going to work like they're supposed to. Some people will call that asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, or anything else, but from my standpoint, no matter what it is called, we need to find the interference, that puts pressure on the nerve, and then remove it by adjusting the spine or using a variety of chiropractic techniques. Then, once we do that, your body starts to work better. We use computer technology that shows where the problems are, how long they've been there, and what other areas it could be affecting. That information allows me to figure out a plan to fix them.
I always tell my patients the only time most people think about their health is when they're sick. However, if you can believe that every choice you make should be healthy, like deciding what you're having for dinner or breakfast, if you get up and work out, or if you are going to smoke or drink, all those choices are going to determine how healthy you are going forward. The choices we make when we're in our 30s, 40s, and 50s will determine how we will live when we're in our 70s, 80s, and 90s.
How different is physical therapy from chiropractic? Physical therapy basically works on the muscles, movement, and rehabilitation. The chiropractic that I practice is about the function of your body and your nervous system. As I mentioned before, removing that interference and letting your body work like it's supposed to. Now then, they both can work hand in hand. I have no problem with referring patients to therapists. In fact, I refer to them all the time. I don't sell vitamins or supplements. Neither do we have weight loss products. All we do here is chiropractic. If someone comes in and wants to lose weight, I will refer them to a nutritionist. We also try to help the patients without a ton of medicine, and that is great.
What is better, ice or heat therapy? Ice therapy is 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off. If you have inflammation and pain, the ice reduces the swelling. It also numbs the nerves to give you a little bit of relief. Heat can be used for certain things but for the most part, if the patient is having inflammation and pain, ice is recommended.
What do you consider is good posture?Good posture is different for everybody because everybody's body is built differently. However, try to avoid a forward head posture. For example, if the head is shifted forward because you are texting or with technology all the time, you're looking down for a long time or putting excess strain on the neck muscles, on the cervical, and on the neck discs inner part. All of that will be related to your posture. So, a helpful tip, try to keep your ears directly over your shoulders.
What tip can you provide to a busy worker or a businessperson?I do a lot of work with corporations, lunch-n-learns, and seminars, so I always tell them to take some time during the day to sit and be still for a bit. It doesn't have to be meditating per se, but to find quiet time for 20-30 minutes to bring yourself back to the center because we're all going through our day with our hair on fire. The stress accumulates daily, and if you don't unload some of it off you, then you end up getting sick. Also, doing some exercise is important, at least go out and walk around.
Does your office accept insurance?Our office participates in most insurance programs. We accept auto accident and workers' compensation cases. We also provide a flexible payment program for patients with no insurance coverage.
Dowell Family Wellness, LLC3600 DeKalb Technology Parkway #130 Atlanta, GA 30340Phone (470)-395-347 www.doravillechiropractor.com
Original source can be found here.
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