Dr. Maddox from Ideal Health Chiropractic reflects on his decision to become a chiropractor in White Marsh MD.

While going through college one is faced with many of life’s questions and probably the most daunting would be “What am I going to be when I grow up?” However, for me this was not the case. I knew the moment that I walked on to my undergrad campus that I wanted to be a dentist. That’s right… I wanted to be a dentist. I liked my family dentist, in my hometown, and it seemed like he had a pretty good life style with great hours and a nice income. However as the story goes I took another career path.

From Dentist to Chiropractor in White Marsh MD

It all started my freshmen year. I happened to injure myself during basketball practice one afternoon that put an end to my Div 3 NCAA basketball career before it even began. I acutely strained my lumbar spine bulging a disc and suffered a grade 3 sprain to my knee. I was in a great deal of low back pain and went the typical routes of primary care. I saw my doctor who prescribed anti-inflammatory, which had little affect except to tear up my stomach.

Then I went to an orthopedist who referred me to a Physical Therapist that helped while I was at the appointment getting the standard ultra sound and electric stimulation. However, the pain would come roaring back when I got home.

At this point my freshman year was almost over and the orthopedist prescribe vicodin and told me if the pain continues we would discuss surgery. I was 18 years old; no way did I want someone to cut me open. I majored in biology so I would be sure to have all the prerequisites for dental school. Then one day I had a meeting with my biology advisor and she brought up my injury and asked if I had been to a chiropractor… I think I laughed in her face. I told her I didn’t believe in chiropractors and didn’t see how they could help me when all the other “real” doctors didn’t do too much.

Then she asked me “do you even know what chiropractors do?” and I honestly didn’t have an answer. I still wasn’t interested. My sophomore and half my junior year went by and I was still having significant issues with my low back pain and knee pain. I had given up playing any type of basketball and being physically active was a chore, which killed me because I was and still am an extremely active person. Finally, it got to the point that my advisor yelled at me to see her chiropractor and I reluctantly made the appointment. It was by far the best health decision I ever made in my life.

The doctor sat me down performed a full physical and orthopedic examination and ordered x-rays which he fully explained to me. I spent about 4 weeks under his care and by the end I was able to play pick up basketball games again. He took care of the underlying problems of the pain, which was being caused by the misalignment and fixation of the joints in my low back. I was pain-free approximately 3 months after my first visit and it changed my life. I continued my path towards dental school but I knew what I wanted to do. When the time came to choose between dental school or chiropractic school I followed the path that I thought I could do the most good and that’s how this skeptic became a chiropractor.

Now I make sure that I provide all my patients with exceptional care by performing proper diagnostic testing and coming up with treatment plans that are tailored for their specific needs. For those out there that are skeptical about chiropractic and chiropractors I can relate. In every profession there are going to be good and poor practitioners so my advice would be do your research before choosing a provider and that goes with any health professional. You need to feel comfortable with them and make sure that they explain all findings with you and treatment options.