By LOIS KINDLE
When most people hear the word chiropractor, they think of someone who cracks necks and align spines. But Dr. Heather Haverfield does so much more.
“I focus on a patient’s entire body and use a holistic, functional-wellness approach to treatment,” she said. “It’s so rewarding when a patient comes to me as a last resort before surgery or has had a chronic condition that’s gone unresolved for years, and I can help them get noninvasive, quick results.”
Carla Pia, of Sun City Center, has been Haverfield’s patient for many years, and she seeks the doctor’s advice and nutritional counseling before going to an MD.
The friendly, knowledgeable staff at Advanced Chiropractic includes, in front row from left, Kathy Sica and Nora Greenwall. In the back row are Susan Reatherford and Kim Wilde.
“Nine of 10 issues can be handled without drugs,” Pia said. “She treats each person’s case individually, and treatment is geared to their needs. She respects her patients’ wishes and doesn’t push things they don’t want.
Haverfield owns Advanced Chiropractic in Ruskin. In addition to performing traditional adjustments, she offers ultrasound treatment, interferential muscle stimulation, custom foot orthotics, kinesiology testing, saliva testing (for hormonal imbalances), nutritional counseling and the BodyHealth Optimum Weight Management Program, which includes a diet plan.
Howard Meyer, of Sun City Center, has lost 32 pounds on the program and is working on his last five. After back surgery in April, he was left in tremendous pain. He tried acupuncture and pain management but nothing worked. So he turned to Haverfield who got the pain under control.
“I wish I had gone to her first,” he said, adding while he had been incapacitated, he put on a lot of weight. “I followed the program she recommended to the T, and it worked out great for me. I’m pain free now and go back once a month for maintenance.
“I’ve been to many chiropractors over my lifetime, and she is at the top of the list,” Meyer said.
Other healing options
Haverfield additionally offers a number of other safe and alternative ways to help people deal with health issues beyond medication and surgery. She also adjusts dogs, horses, llamas and cats with a veterinary referral on Tuesdays and Thursdays (through mobile service).
Her treatments and interventions include the latest in advances in chiropractic care. These include
• nutritional/medical DNA testing to help a patient understand the kinds of issues the body is at risk for, how to fix them and how their body will uniquely respond to specific nutrients, food and drink, exercise and their environment.
“Most fixes are dietary and include some supplemental deficiency,” Haverfield said.
To address that, the doctor carries Standard Process organic, whole-food supplements and two other high-quality brands.
• hair analysis or trace mineral analysis, a screening tool that detects deficiencies or excesses of mineral content in the hair, which ultimately reflects the health of the body’s tissues.
Mineral imbalances can result in or aggravate numerous conditions, including arthritis, hypoglycemia and hypertension; cardiovascular disease, allergies and diabetes; digestive issues, musculoskeletal disorders and many more.
• ion-detoxification foot baths, which draw out heavy metals, toxins and medications that haven’t cleared the body and are stored in the liver. This can lead to chronic health conditions, including disease, allergies, fatigue, pain, insomnia, mental issues and more.
• Summus Class IV laser therapy is used to stimulate the body at the cellular level to repair damaged tissue or injuries, including fibromyalgia, rotator cuff issues and neuropathy; arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and plantar fasciitis; osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, shingles and other pain-related conditions.
“Every cell in your body has factory workers called mitochondria, which produce ATP (a nucleotide that speeds up healing).
The laser speeds up production of ATP, increasing metabolic activity and cellular function.”
This laser therapy is painless and creates an optimal healing environment for reducing inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms, stiffness and pain, thus restoring function and relieving pain.
Freedom Plaza resident Rachel Krupp would go to no one else.
“She’s amazing. I’ve been to other chiropractors in the area, and no one compares to her,” she said. “I had bursitis in both hips a couple of years ago, had four cold-laser treatment and have had no pain since. I also received laser treatment after an ablation in my mid back. I was hurting like crazy and she fixed it.
• Coming soon: StemWave acoustic soundwave therapy, which “penetrates the cells and activates the body’s own stem cells,” Haverfield said.
The therapy is a drug-free, targeted noninvasive pain treatment that gets results in a matter of minutes. It’s used for treating shoulders, knees, feet, hands, the lower back and other areas of the body by alleviating pain, decreasing inflammation and improving range of motion.
The average treatment is between three to eight minutes and provides immediate relief in pain and reduced inflammation that time.
“Typically, patients feel the difference and increase in range of motion in one session,” Haverfield said. “The goal is to trigger stem cells and the body’s healing response to achieve regeneration and long-term results. We can work with injuries, acute pains, chronic pains, and even pre- and post-surgical cases, anywhere on the body.”
COURTESY PHOTOS
Dr. Heather Haverfield, owner of Advanced Chiropractic in Ruskin, offers her patients a wide array of treatment options for alleviating pain and achieving optimal health. She has been a licensed chiropractor since 1996.
About the doctor
Originally from Boardman, Ohio, Haverfield graduated from Boardman High School in 1989 and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Bowling Green State University four years later.
She went on to earn her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Marietta, Ga. in 1996. Immediately after, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and opened her own practice. In 2006, the doctor moved to Apollo Beach to be closer to family.
She opened her practice in Ruskin in 2009, which serves the entire South Shore community, and moved to her current location at 207 W. Shell Point Road in August 2022. Office hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday and Friday; 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday; and 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday from October through May.
She is married, has three teenage children and two dogs, a 10-year-old Husky and 3-year-old German Shepherd.
For more information, email ruskinchiropractor@gmail.com/, visit www.ruskinchiropractor.com or call (813) 841-1118.