From Stigma to Solutions
The Innovative Approach of Love Chiropractic Center
PHOTOS BY JACK PORTUNE | DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOVE CHIROPRACTIC
Right about the time the pharmaceutical world found itself at a major intersection in the early 2000s—between booming sales that were climbing to another stratosphere and a thin bottom that couldn’t support the massive weight it was carrying—Dr. Tiffany Love was coming to a crossroads of her own.
Tiffany was on the verge of taking the same turn that lured many of her soon-to-be medical schoolmates onto a road where the big pharma marketing machine had both hands on the wheel of the healthcare industry.
Sensing that those in control had little moral sense of what it meant to pump the brakes, Tiffany opted for an alternative route.
“I was doing cancer research at the University of Chicago while waiting to take my MCAT exams,” said Tiffany, who originally had her sights set on cosmetic surgery. “While doing that, I realized that traditional medicine was not the route I wanted to take.”
“There’s a stigma with chiropractors, where they try to tell the patient that it’s going to require all these visits to get to the end of this problem. I wanted to have a practice where people could trust my opinion and I would give them a reasonable recommendation.”
NOT JUST A MEDICAL ASSEMBLY LINE
The payoff for that decision came in 2011 with the creation of the Love Chiropractic Center, a venture with her husband, Dr. Stephen Love.
Together they have built one of Lakeland’s most respected medical practices and a community staple that treats patients’ underlying problems—aiming to take the necessary time to identify the root cause of health problems as opposed to quick fixes that get one patient out the door to make room for the next.
With the addition of nurse practitioner Danielle Nasello, who is renting space at the Love’s building in South Lakeland, the Love Chiropractic Center has added another specialist whose mentality lives out the company tagline: The treatment you need, no more, no less.
“There’s a stigma with chiropractors, where they try to tell the patient that it’s going to require all these visits to get to the end of this problem,” Stephen said. “I always thought to myself, that’s not really necessary. I wanted to have a practice where people could trust my opinion and I would give them a reasonable recommendation.”
That has resonated with the patients since Stephen and Tiffany bought the former Chiropractic Center of Lakeland South. It doesn’t hurt that Stephen is a hometown boy either.
“I really like being back in my hometown helping out the people in the community,” Stephen said. “And quite frankly, it was easier to build a business in your hometown than it would be if you didn’t know anybody.”
Born in Northern Ireland, Stephen’s family moved to the United States when he was just 5 years old to escape political turmoil in the country.
Stephen’s father eventually found work in Lakeland. The oldest of three boys, Stephen went to Lake Gibson High School before earning a degree in business administration from Florida Southern.
Dr. Stephen Love uses dry needling to help a person’s body release endorphins and reduce inflammation.
ORIGIN OF THE LOVE’S STORY
Like Tiffany, Stephen also had a decision to make at his own life intersection—choosing between being a chiropractor or a physical therapist.
Eventually his path collided with Tiffany’s at Palmer College in Port Orange, Fla. That’s where the pair met the future Dr. Erika Love, who would eventually join the staff not long after marrying Stephen’s younger brother.
Erika rounded out the chiropractic staff, which also included Dr. Christopher Terry, another Palmer alum.
DRY NEEDLING: NOT JUST A PASSING TREND
Dr. Chris Terry and Dr. Stephen Love have been using a lot of needles around patients this past year. But not the way in which doctors typically do so. Dry needling has become a hot topic on Internet hangouts such as YouTube and Reddit.
It’s not just a passing trend for the team or this summer’s latest challenge at the Love Chiropractic Center. Stephen said the clinic has had marked success with it.
Not to be confused with acupuncture, which is based on traditional Chinese medicine that targets meridians and energy pathways through the body, dry needling targets trigger points and tight bands of muscle and works similar to a needle filled with lidocaine. However, instead of something in the needle to inject, the dry needles are placed at certain points to disrupt inflamed muscles.
“The act of the needles being in there actually disrupts the cycle of how tight the muscles are,” Stephen said. “And it actually encourages the body to release endorphins and reduce inflammation.”
From left to right: Dr. Chris Terry, Dr. Erika Love, Dr. Tiffany Love and Dr. Stephen Love make up the leadership team at Love Chiropractic.
YOUNGER CLIENTELE SHOWING UP FOR DIFFERENT REASONS
Tiffany and Stephen said they continue to serve younger clients battling back and neck problems from the persistent use of electronic devices such as tablets and smartphones.
But not all of their younger clients are dealing with aches and pains. Stephen said he is seeing a lot of athletes coming to the office seeking treatments that help prevent future injury and maximize performance.
“There’s actually good data that shows that doing simple, very gentle spinal adjustments on people actually makes them perform better,” Stephen said.
While that’s going on, the chiropractic team is performing procedures like cupping and shockwave therapy. Shockwave therapy uses high-peak sound waves to transfer energy to tissues and bones in the body.
It activates the body’s healing process by increasing blood flow, helping muscles relax, re-generating bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles, and by releasing pain-relieving endorphins.
So many individuals struggle with chronic pain, and Love Chiropractic is committed to treat each case with the distinctive care and attention it deserves.
“One of our main goals here is that we want to give out good advice,” Stephen said, “and we just really want to help people get better as quickly as possible.