My name is Eric Stumpff. I am a chiropractor, here in Plantation FL around the 33324 area, or also known as a Doctor of Chiropractic. Some of you may already be wondering what that even really means. The truth is, you have a right to wonder “what is a chiropractor”. The chiropractic profession is full of different philosophies and treatment procedures, so your boss may have had an experience with a chiropractor they found very beneficial, but your best friend may never go to a chiropractor again. Where does that leave you?
This is my letter to you to tell you about who I am and why I chose to become a chiropractor. I grew up in South Florida where I played a variety of sports. I grew up in a hospital where my parents worked and found myself always wanting to enter the world of healthcare. When the time came for me to make a choice after four years of college, I could not decide. I took a year off, worked in a hospital, and shadowed chiropractors on my days off to get more of an understanding of each profession. When it came down to it, I looked at the way I treated my injuries and ailments. I was rarely reaching for medication and I never found myself stopping the aggravating exercise (I’m a bad patient, I know). For me, it was more about supporting and modifying to help my body heal to perform. With that, I decided to pursue a career in chiropractic, a profession that provides passive care such as stretching, adjusting, massage, and other manual therapies that help acute injuries, as well as active care – exercises, movement screenings, and life style modifications – to maintain living a pain-free lifestyle.
My philosophy on chiropractic is that it is more than an adjustment – it is a top choice for any neuromusculoskeletal injury. The Global Burden of Disease implicates low back pain as the leading cause of disability. The World Health Organization recognizes that the incidence and prevalence of low back pain ranks high – and often first – as a cause of disability and inability to work. This means that there is a bigger need for chiropractic than people realize, and we’re only talking about one condition! Addressing muscles, bones, and joints to find the source of a patient’s pain and getting them back to their lifestyle as quickly as possible is important to me. If a person is able to do that without having to go under the knife, I will do my best to provide treatment and exercises for them to get there.
I look to grow the chiropractic profession in Plantation so when people have muscle or joint pain and go to their primary physician; the referral to a chiropractor exists. I want to relay that chiropractic is more than long-term care plans or a quick “crack.” I want to provide the most up-to-date, evidence based treatment for neck pain, back pain, or any other condition with which patients may present. I have seen a shift over the past few years for people looking for the “alternative” and looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. For me, chiropractic provides the tools for a patient to manage any neuromusculoskeletal condition. Those are my goals as a chiropractic physician. Hey Plantation, what are your goals? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! I hope this helped if you weren’t quite sure what it is that we chiropractors do, and if you are someone living with pain, I hope to see you soon.
Best,
Eric Stumpff, D.C.