When and why did you decide to pursue chiropractic and functional neurology?
From about age 10, I wanted to be in healthcare. In college I decided to pursue sports medicine and went on to receive a Master’s degree in sports medicine, too. I became certified as an athletic trainer and worked for about 10 years for youth, high school, college, and professional sports. By day I worked in sports medicine and physical therapy clinics and at night I covered the various athletic events; football in the fall, hockey, wrestling and basketball in the winter, and baseball and track in the spring. I worked side by side with some of the top orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists in Alaska and Minnesota. It was rewarding work and I loved working with athletes to evaluate the immediate on-the-field injuries, determine the appropriate course of action (emergency response, protective taping/bracing/padding, etc), and the day to day rehabilitation of injuries.
However, my wife and I wanted to have a family but athletic events are typically in the evenings and on weekends, which doesn’t lend itself very much to having a lot of family time. So, I decided to return to school to become a physician’s assistant. I figured that most PAs work business hours, get paid pretty well, and get to do most of what MDs do. I began to take the required prerequisite classes at Normandale and was preparing to go into that field when one day while sitting in my office I had an “AHA” moment. A question popped into my head that asked, “What do PAs really do?” Well, the answer came almost immediately into my head, “They prescribe drugs.” My heart sank as I realized that I didn’t want to prescribe drugs. I had always had the innate belief that the body doesn’t need medications/drugs to function properly.
That day, on my lunch break, I hustled across the street to the local public library and began combing through the “Health Careers” section. Admittedly, I was in a little bit of a panic because I suddenly felt like I was completely lost. But like the light breaking through the fog, a thin book with a yellow binding jumped out at me. The title of the book was “Chiropractic First.”
I thought this was interesting because, while I was drawn to the book, I remembered that I had nothing good to say about Chiropractic. As a matter of fact, I badmouthed it by calling it unscientific and saying things like: “Chiropractors cause paralysis.” “They’re not real doctors.” “They’re quacks.” etc. The truth is that I had never been to a chiropractor and everything I knew about them was from what the orthopedics and PTs had told me. In other words…DOGMA!
In that lunch hour, I read that book cover to cover. The premise of the book was exactly what I already knew but didn’t know how to put it. The chiropractic philosophy is that the body is self-healing, self-regulating and needs no help, it just needs no interference. That was it! God gave us all we need to be healthy as long as there is nothing interfering with that health potential. Chiropractic says that the nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of the body through the brain, spinal cord, and nerves and that communication pathway can be interfered with by vertebral subluxations. Chiropractors work to restore proper neurologic communication by reducing vertebral subluxations.
It was elegant and simple all at the same time! I went home that night and told my wife, “I’m going to chiropractic school!” And the rest is history.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy camping and fishing with my family, and coaching/playing baseball with my kids.
What drew you to work Valeo?
I had a practice in Chaska for about five years and I began to feel like I was on my own little island. I realized that I would be better suited to work with a group of like-minded people. Fortunately, Dr. Aaron and I knew each other from school and he had come to shadow my practice when he was beginning to start his own practice. We began to talk about joining up and in a matter of 10 months I was able to move my patients and join Dr. Aaron and Valeo.
What is your most memorable success story?
Probably my patient who was told by Mayo doctors to get his affairs in order and prepare to die in six months. Once we started working with him, we were able to find and remove a myriad of toxins (multiple herbicides/pesticides, any chemical you can imagine that farmers use) and parasites in his brain. Now my family spends time on his farm camping, shooting firearms, and riding his machines.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Romans 8:28 “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”
How others see him
Dr. Rob’s coworkers would describe him as compassionate, innovative, curious, funny, and a family man.
