If chiropractors make you think of arthritis, car accidents and old, achy spines, you’re not alone, but chiropractic care can start much sooner in life than when grey hairs appear.
Kim Muhlenkamp started seeing a chiropractor as a baby when torticollis, a painful condition causing muscle spasms in the neck, made it painful to lift her head. For Muhlenkamp’s family, regular chiropractic care was simply normal and “part of our everyday lifestyle.”
Today, Muhlenkamp, who goes by “Dr. Kim,” has her own chiropractic practice, the
Live Well Chiropractic Center, which opened last April in Mason. She sees all ages of patients, but focuses on relieving pain in kids and expectant moms. One of her specialties is the Webster technique, an adjustment designed to balance the pelvis and allow breach babies to be born naturally by giving them space to position themselves head down in the womb.
Muhlenkamp, who sees a chiropractor weekly herself, says pregnancy doesn’t have to be painful. She points out that chiropractic adjustments can relieve the pain of sciatica as well as discomfort in the lower back, ribs and pelvis that women often experience during pregnancy.
Children require a much lighter, gentler technique Muhlenkamp says, which is what makes her expertise so important. After all, she says, “The birth process can have a huge impact on the spine and neck. Even a little misalignment can affect things down the road.”
She’s also passionate about helping kids avoid pain and injuries later in life. “The reason we develop arthritis and imbalances, well, let’s just say it’s not just something that happens overnight. It’s something that starts with a fall or an injury in high school, something that happens early on. When it goes untreated, our bodies compensate, and we develop issues down the road. The importance of keeping everything aligned from the early stages on is huge.”
By Robin Donovan
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.