The Hickory Chiropractor to see - Chiropractor Hickory

Introducing Hickory Chiropractor Dr. Matt Crouse

I wish my dad's chiropractor had told him what I know to be true now. Instead, he kept going to the chiropractor for low back pain and was never told that chiropractic can be a tremendous help to those suffering with headaches. For me, that meant 5 to 6 more years of headaches...had I only known then what I know now.

Finally, after suffering a weightlifting injury in college, I went with my grandmother to her chiropractor because of neck and shoulder pain. After my exam and xrays, he asked me a question that would change my life. "Do you ever have headaches?" To that I answered, "Boy, do I have headaches!" It was that simple...one question. From there, I began a treatment plan that not only got rid of the neck pain caused by a shoulder injury, but the headaches I suffered with and missed school with, began to disappear. Three to four headaches a week became a thing of the past. Truthfully, I now have 3-6 per year. It then became my goal to help others in such a fashion. I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, but until that time I did not know in what area. I had found my calling. I want to serve my patients with honesty and integrity, but I also make a goal, daily, to inquire about friends and family members that we may be able to help...much the way I wish my dad's chiropractor had done so many years ago.

After graduating from college with a degree in Exercise Science and Physiology, I attended Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, SC. I initially felt prepared for what was about to happen. Little did I know that every moment of the next four years of my life had been spoken for. It was an extremely challenging four years that pushed me to learn and absorb more useful information that I thought possible. One of the most influential classes was the first, philosophy. It was there that I learned that the body is truly more than just a bunch of parts working at the same time. It is uniquely made, as you definitely learn in anatomy lab. As I learned in neurology classes, it can do extraordinary things if we only give it the opportunity. We don't have to tell it to heal a cut...it does it on its own. As one of my professors always said, "It is our job to find the cause of the problem, remove the cause, and get out of the way." The body does the healing, not me. I am just an instrument.

As I said earlier, my job is to find the cause to whatever problem a patient comes in with, be it headaches, back or neck pain, or as the result of a car accident. My objective is to serve them with the best of my abilities, putting their care and concern first. In the office, we look for the cause in the spine, misalignments called subluxations. They put pressure on nerves exiting the spine and lead to all kinds of problems, with or without symptoms. We choose a non-surgical, non-invasive, natural method to correct the cause of the problem. Some of the most satisfying compliments we receive are very simple..."I can get in the floor and play with my grandkids again," "My golf game has never been better," and most touching and personal to me... "I can go through the day without having a headache now. That never used to happen."

I have been married to the most beautiful girl in the world since August of 2000. Erin and I met and quickly became best friends, though I was in school four hours away. Time nor high phone bills could keep us apart. One day I was thinking what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and I couldn't imagine it without her. Erin made me truly lucky that day we said "I do." Now we have an amazing little boy named Landon, who came into our life in 2007. In our spare time, which I must admit is very few minutes with a toddler, we enjoy movies. It has been our thing since college. For me, it is the "date" we can go on each week, and for Erin it is the "date", but also the popcorn. It is a weekly luxury that we enjoy, just getting to act like boyfriend and girlfriend again, when you just enjoy being in each others company. If I had to chose, I could not have picked a better wife for me and mother for my son. She has been everything from a shoulder to cry on to a foundation on which to stand as we build a home to raise our son.

It is important to me to do what I tell my patients to do. I get adjusted weekly because I feel that gives my body the chance to function at its best. Also, I am human and need the encouragement to get the rest my body needs, a reminder to eat a proper diet, and to drink plenty of water. I get all of that during a visit for an adjustment. As a chiropractor, I believe in giving my body every chance to heal and help itself. At home we don't immediately run to the medicine cabinet for an ache or pain, or sniffly nose. We make sure our bodies are getting the proper vitamins along with rest and plenty of water in order to shorten or prevent those everyday health problems. A lot of over the counter meds out there seem so safe because they are so accessible, when in fact that makes them more dangerous. In my opinion then, given the opportunity, chiropractic can help far more people than are currently taking advantage of it.

Thank you for allowing me to express how important chiropractic is in my life, and how passionate I am about making its safe and natural procedures available to more people. I look forward to meeting you in person and learning how we may be of service to you and the ones you know and love. Give our Hickory office a call, or email me using the link below and lets arrange a time to explore your options.