Local Chiropractor Dispenses Mental And Physical Balance

By Nancy K. Crevier

The office of chiropractor Dr John Popowich, at 87 South Main Street, is made up of three, compact treatment rooms and a massage therapy room, as well as a children’s playroom located just inside the front door, near the reception desk and waiting area. Walls painted in hues of gold and pumpkin orange are decorated with the artwork of Hawaiian artist Robert Lynn Nelson, or on the walls of the treatment rooms, framed posters of various skeletal and neurological systems, and soothing instrumental music plays in the background.

“I think of this office as a high-tech, high-touch sort of office. It’s a healing environment,” said Dr Popowich, “with no rushing of our patients in and out.”

Dr Popowich has practiced chiropractic medicine for 20 years, graduating from Life Chiropractic College West in California in 1991. Until 2009, when he and his wife, Patricia, and their 4-year-old son, John Patrick, moved to Connecticut, his practice was in the San Francisco Bay area. He opened Popowich Chiropractic, located in the back, ground level of the Route 25 building, in November 2009.

“I grew up in New Jersey,” said Dr Popowich, and attended college there. But in pursuit of his chiropractic career, he moved to California “and just ended up staying there.” After their son was born, the couple wanted to move back to the East Coast, to be closer to his family, he said, and that was concurrent with his wife’s job opportunity with PGB in Westchester. “We thought we’d be looking in New York or New Jersey, but one thing led to another. I never thought we’d end up in Connecticut, but now we’re here and it’s great,” he said. “There’s a sense of trust here, and a real sense of community,” added Dr Popowich. He has found a positive response to his business and a somewhat “Californian attitude” in the people he has met in Newtown in the year and a half he has been in practice here.

Dr Popowich is also licensed in New Jersey, has been certified in acupuncture treatment for the past three years, and is one of only five board certified chiropractic neurologists in the state of Connecticut. He is board certified in Clinical Infrared Imaging by the American Chiropractic Council of Diagnostic Imaging, and has training in nutrition, and laser and light therapy.

While the majority of his patients seek traditional chiropractic treatment consisting of spinal manipulation to adjust joint dysfunction, Dr Popowich is also able to assess neurological health. “As a chiropractic neurologist, I look at functional neurology, rather than pathological neurology, as a medical doctor would. I assess how the nervous system may not be functioning properly, how it is out of balance,” he explained. When the nervous system is imbalanced, it can lead to pain in many areas of the body, learning issues, and a lack of mental focus, among other symptoms.

Acupuncture is another tool that Dr Popowich uses to treat imbalances in the body that lead to disease. “There are 12 main meridians [energy pathways] in the body,” he said, “and a disruption in any one of them can lead to dysfunction. There are certain points in these meridians that can be brought into balance through the use of very thin needles, about as thick as a shaft of hair, inserted into those points to increase of decrease the energy flow in that meridian.”

Patients who are assessed for acupuncture treatment may be offered electro meridian imaging, a noninvasive means of measuring the balance in the meridians in the body. Information fed into the computer provides the doctor with a graph to determine nerve and energy health.

While he is a very hands-on doctor, he also values technology that assists him in tailoring treatment for every patient, said Dr Popowich. Thermal imaging is used to uncover problem areas through the mapping of “cool” and “hot” spots in a patient’s system. An impulse adjuster is a hand-held device that emits pulses to the joint to reduce muscle spasm and restore normal joint function, and is an alternative to the physical manipulation with which some patients are uncomfortable. Massage therapy is offered at Popowich Chiropractic for sports injuries, relaxation, or rehabilitation, and light stimulation is also used as a form of therapy.

“Chiropractic medicine is for anyone looking for wellness,” said Dr Popowich, from the very young to the very old. He believes that it was his own early experience with chiropractic medicine that led him to this career path.

“From a young age, I grew up in a holistic environment,” said Dr Popowich. Relatives from Russia were always ready with a natural remedy for any ailment. “When I was about 7 years old, my father, who was seeing a chiropractor for back problems, mentioned that I had a lot of nose bleeds. The chiropractor suggested I be seen, and after just a few visits, they cleared up. I remember clearly that first visit,” he said. His initial post-high school intention was to get into some kind of health research career, but a back injury incurred in a fall sent him off to the chiropractor. “In my conversations with him, I realized that I could do so much more for people in a clinical setting than in a research setting, and I think that really led me to pursue this career,” said Dr Popowich.

For those looking to function at optimum levels, said Dr Popowich, whether playing at sports, at work, or during leisure time, chiropractic manipulation is one way to achieve that health. “Properly functioning joints and nervous systems can help prevent falls in the elderly, too,” pointed out Dr Popowich. “As people age, the tend not to be as active because of this fear of falling. That inactivity actually leads to more health problems,” he said. Elderly patients who feel strong and in balance, and are mentally focused, will be more active and healthy.

Chiropractic medicine is about bringing the whole body into balance. “It helps the body function at a higher level, but it does not ‘cure’ things,” said Dr Popowich. Nor is chiropractic care always an “instant cure,” a misconception many first-time patients harbor.

Expectations And Misunderstandings

The amount of time it takes to relieve the initial complaint and to work toward better health varies greatly from person to person, said Dr Popowich. “Studies show, for instance, that for chronic low back pain, 18 visits are best for getting a condition to be functionally better. Then a follow-up of visits every two weeks for the next three to four months, plus home care compliance leads to the best improvement,” he said. Acute conditions may respond more quickly.

“Pain relief is one thing,” reminded Dr Popowich, “but functional ability is different, and that’s where chiropractic services and exercise work together. It’s a process. I remind my patients that they didn’t get sick overnight, so they probably won’t get better overnight. If they do, that’s a miracle, and we’ll take it,” he declared.

Misunderstandings about chiropractic medicine go further than unrealistic expectations, though. Reports in recent years have linked chiropractic neck manipulation to strokes that occur when an artery to the brain is ruptured (vertebrobasilar accidents, or VBA) as a result of the manipulation. A 2001 American Heart Association Journal article, “Population-Based Case-Control Study” by Deanna M. Rothwell, MSc; Susan J. Bondy, PhD; J. Ivan Williams, PhD, concluded that “The rarity of VBAs makes this association difficultto study despite high volumes of chiropractic treatment. Becauseof the popularity of spinal manipulation, high-quality research on both its risks and benefits is recommended.”

This issue was addressed at a recent Research Review Seminar he attended in Boston, said Dr Popowich. “New research and studies look at where the patient was before the stroke occurred, and there were more who had seen a medical doctor [prior to the stroke] than had seen a chiropractor. We believe that people who ended up in a hospital with a stroke were already undergoing a stroke, and may have gone to a chiropractor or medical doctor for symptoms related to that. Arteries are not linked in to an adjustment,” Dr Popowich said.

People dealing with acute medical conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, need to address those issues, he stressed. “Then, follow-up with a chiropractor might be useful to regain balance,” said Dr Popowich. Other components of good health go hand-in-hand with chiropractic medicine, acupuncture, and any kind of medical care, he added.

“You need to eat right, exercise regularly — at least three times a week — get seven to eight hours of sleep each night, and drink plenty of water,” he said. And by “plenty” he suggested eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day. “That does not include other beverages,” he said. “It sounds like a lot, but start out slowly, and build up. Dehydration can lead to a build up of toxins in the body.”

People who utilize his chiropractic skills and adhere to home care exercises and advice will have positive outcomes, said Dr Popowich. He is devoted to his clientele. “I live in Sandy Hook, so if someone really needs me, at any time, I am accessible,” he said.

Seeing the results as patients improve health, lifestyle, and well-being is the fulfilling part of his profession, Dr Popowich said. “Just seeing people change their lifestyles to be more healthy is rewarding.”

To find out more about Popowich Chiropractic, visit www.mynewtowndoctor.com or call 203-304-9037.