I know what it feels like to be hurt, to have something real on the line, and to receive care that addresses the symptom without changing anything underneath it. I have been that patient. That experience is the reason this clinic exists.
Before I became a chiropractor, I was a hockey player. Varsity in high school, then junior hockey, then ACHA D1 at Missouri State University. The level kept getting higher, and so did the stakes. Getting hurt at that level is not just painful. It is a threat to everything you have been working toward.
I got hurt. More than once. I saw athletic trainers, physical therapists, sport chiropractors, and other providers. Every one of them helped in some way. But I kept landing somewhere between fine and ready. At that level of play, fine was not enough.
Dr. Dixon was a chiropractor, but he did not treat me the way I had been treated before. He was not just looking at my symptoms. He wanted to know how I was moving, what was not stabilizing correctly, where the breakdown was upstream of the pain. He combined adjustments with rehab built around how the body actually stabilizes itself. The results were different: measurably, obviously different on the ice.
Then, in my second year of junior hockey, I was in a car accident and tore my labrum. Dr. Dixon diagnosed it before imaging confirmed it. He ran a prehab program before my surgery and managed the rehab after.
That is not a minor variance. That is a different outcome. And it came from treating the whole movement picture, not just the injury.
I had planned to go into practice with Dr. Dixon. He passed away in 2016. I finished my degree at Logan University and built this practice on the model he showed me: function first, passive care as a tool not a ceiling, and never send someone back until they are genuinely ready.
I had a concussion during my playing career. The guidance I got was outdated, the recovery plan was vague, and I spent a long time feeling stuck without any real sense of when things were going to get better. That experience is why concussion care is a core part of this practice and not an afterthought. I know what it feels like to be dismissed and given bad information when you are already at your worst. I am not going to let that happen to the athletes I see.
Everything I know about treating athletes came from being one, getting hurt, working inside every kind of care setting, and watching what actually made a difference. This practice is the result of all of that.
Symptoms tell you where the breakdown arrived — not where it started. When the source of the problem is upstream of where you feel it, treating the symptom alone is why the same issue keeps coming back.
DNS is a big part of what I use here. It helps me see and retrain the breathing, bracing, and movement patterns underneath the symptom — because until those patterns are rebuilt, the real work isn't done.
Pain reduction is not enough if you cannot train, compete, work, or move with confidence outside the clinic.
I competed at a high level and I know what the return pressure feels like: the coaches watching, the roster spot on the line, the season already slipping. I know what it means to be told you are "better" while your body still is not ready, and that experience is why I hold a higher standard for what "ready" means here. Technically improved is not the same as ready. I do not sign off on return until the movement picture backs it up.
That is why the athlete program starts with a dedicated athlete consult and moves into one-on-one, DNS-based care built around movement quality, sport demands, and real confidence before return. Not just cleared. Ready.
The athlete program starts with a full movement and function assessment — not a general intake. That exam tells us exactly where the breakdown is before we build a return timeline.
DNS helps rebuild position, control, and force transfer before asking the athlete to trust the body at speed.
Return-to-play clearance is not the standard. The final stage tests how the athlete moves under the conditions their sport demands, because that is when the body has to hold.
Treatment here is structured around what your body needs, not what an insurance model approves. That keeps visits more focused, more coherent, and more honest about the work required to get you back to what you want to do. An insurance framework shapes treatment around what it will reimburse. That is not always the same thing as what you need.
This practice is strongest with people who want a real plan, not indefinite passive symptom management. If that is the kind of care you are looking for, you are likely in the right place.
4225 IL-159 Ste 2, Glen Carbon, IL 62034
Recurring injury cases, concussion patients, active adults, and athletes who want more than relief.
