The Yellow Springs Chiropractor to see - Chiropractor Yellow Springs

Introducing Yellow Springs Chiropractor Dr. Mark Duckwall

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wright State University in Sociology, with a double minor: Religion and Philosophy. That, my friend, is a perfect background to be a fascinating cab driver! However, I wanted more...

I found myself working in a government agency trying to get people into good jobs.  Frequently, however, I found that some health-related issues prevented my client from moving forward to a better life.  I decided I could better serve my world from a position in health care.  Thus began a long study of the many health careers in an effort to find my niche.  I had absolutely no knowledge of chiropractic.  "Wasn't that outlawed in the 30's?", I might have wondered.  Curiously, it was when I read an anti-chiropractic book, written by some medical wacko trying to scare people away, that I got my first inkling.  This author ridiculed basic chiropractic tenets.  "Chiropractors believe the body heals itself!"  Hmmm...that has been my experience. 

In the back of this book was a list of the chiropractic colleges as if they were toxic dumps to be avoided by all prudent consumers.  I wrote to the three closest for more information.  As misguided as that author was, I am grateful for that reading experience.  It ultimately led me to the Logan College of Chiropractic in 1973.

Can you imagine a soft-science kid walking into a curriculum of organic and inorganic chemistry, neuroanatomy, histology, embryology, etc.?  What was I thinking?  I didn't even tell a lot of my friends I was leaving because I figured I'd wash out and be home again before they missed me.  However, stuck somewhere in this blast of hard science was a class called "Chiropractic Philosophy 101".  I learned incredible things in this course!  Did you know that headaches aren't an aspirin deficiency?  The body really does heal itself, from above down, inside out.  I floated 18" off the floor knowing I had found a health care occupation that was naturally right.  No academic rigor could keep me from succeeding once I understood where I was going.

While a student at Logan, I was introduced to a remarkable new area of study called Applied Kinesiology.  This provided a way to evaluate a person, using their own nervous system, apply a corrective effort, and reevaluate their response.  I would spend the rest of my life learning about what works and what doesn't  work by looking through the lens of Applied Kinesiology.   

Perhaps the biggest challenge in practice is over-coming the "drugs and surgery for health" model that we're raised with in this society.  Absolutely, there may be times when the medical model is the perfect fit for a health challenge, but we must take charge of our own responsibility for our health status.  Diet, exercise, mental/emotional attitudes, structural integrity--these are the factors that control how our bodies function.  In addition, each of these areas is profoundly interrelated with each other.  You can't have structural integrity along with horrible posture, for instance, and you can't have good posture along with poor self-esteem or a lousy diet.  As my mentor, George Goodheart, DC once said," We are intricately simple and simply intricate."  So my effort at the office is to keep learning and sharing new information, and encouraging patients to do the same.  Health, like education, really is a journey, not a destination.  It never ends, and that's the fun of it!

It's particularly enjoyable when someone new to Chiropractic comes in for one problem and, during the early stages of care, realizes that other problems have gone away or another aspect of their life gets better.  One of my first patients (an elderly lady) came in for some unrelated problem and after her first adjustment the diarrhea she'd had for 8 years since gallbladder surgery went away.  She was so happy!  The part that I enjoyed was that I didn't even know she suffered with that problem.  Remember, the body heals itself, it just has to have a chance.

In my office, I strive to find the simplest, easiest problem that is having the worst impact on your life and health.  What is the least costly, most natural way to improve your life?

Shortly after I picked up and moved to St Louis in 1973, the love of my life, Mary, followed.  We got married, and for graduation she gave me our son.  Eight years later, when the practice was up and running, along came our daughter.  While you are welcome to disagree, based on your own experience, I'm convinced that I have the two best kids on planet earth.  My daughter-in-law is now a Chiropractor, and my daughter and nephew are students at Logan.  Everyone is healthy, happy, and enjoying the challenges that life always has to offer.

Outside of the office I seem to gravitate toward the humbling practice of golf.  Again, its the integration of mental/emotional, physical, and chemical elements, in this case, trying to converge precisely on the backside of a little ball.  There is meaning everywhere, I suppose.  Perhaps the ultimate goal is to achieve true present time consciousness in everything we do.  Or maybe its just to play with my grandson!

I am pulled down by the same gravity and tempted by the same advertisements as everyone else, so staying healthy requires diligence.  I prefer to get adjusted every two weeks, I exercise at home and at a local club, I am careful with my diet, and I take a lot of Standard Process (and occasionally other) nutritional supplements.  What I take, of course, changes as my stressors and needs change.  Remember, the one thing that is certain is change.  We should always be evolving, growing, and changing, so our health care needs to shift also.

Enough about me! How can we help you with today’s safe and natural chiropractic care? Give us a call so we can help you take your first step towards better health.

These are links that Dr. Duckwall is proud to be associated with:
International College of Applied Kinesiology
Standard Process