Car Crash Care to Spinal Curve Corrector
INTERVIEW
REHABILITATION
Interview with Dr. Jason O. Jaeger
by TAC Staff
DR. JASON O. JAEGER did his undergraduate work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and completed graduate school at Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS). As class representative and Student American Chiropractic Association vice president of the SCUHS chapter, he successfully lobbied in Washington, DC, for issues such as Medicare and HMO reform. Dr. Jaeger participated in a rotation through Cal State, Northridge’s prestigious physical therapy program, where he successfully integrated neuromusculoskeletal therapies on paralysis and stroke victims.
Dr. Jaeger has practiced chiropractic since 1999 and has been a chiropractic physician in Las Vegas since 2001. He holds a 180hour postgraduate certification in Chiropractic Biophysics®, a multidiscipline spinal biomechanics approach. Nevada’s Chiropractic Physicians Board recognizes this postgraduate education and allows DCs to hold themselves as experts in the state.
He received the 2014 Researcher of the Year award for the Advancement of Chiropractic Science at the Annual Chiropractic Biophysics® Research Symposium in New York City. Dr. Jaeger was tapped as the 2016 and 2017 Chiropractor of the Year at the Annual Chiropractic Biophysics™ Research Symposium and as Nevada’s Chiropractor of the Year by the Nevada Chiropractic Council (NCC). He is also the developer of the Universal Tractioning System (UTS) used by Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP)®. Dr. Jaeger was integral in working with the International Chiropractic Association and Chiropractic Biophysics® Nonprofit to establish a 403-hour nationally recognized Diplomate in Clinical Biomechanics® of Posture.
In an interview with The American Chiropractor {TAC), Dr. Jason Jaeger (JJ) shares with us his inspiring story and ongoing success in chiropractic.
TAC: What inspired you to become a chiropractor?
JJ: I was pre-law at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada. I worked at the Excalibur jousting show as a sword fighter. I was on my way to work when a car pulled out in front of me while I was in the number one travel lane, going around 45 to 50 miles an hour. I hit the front axle of his massive Grand Torino car and totaled my truck.
Regardless, I went to work that day and did two shows. I woke up the next morning unable to move. Every movement caused searing, 10-out-of-10, debilitating pain. I was 18 years old and panicking, so I called my mom for help, and she made me go to a chiropractor.
Her name was Stephanie Youngblood, a famous chiropractor at the time. She X-rayed and examined me and noted my neck lacked the proper curve. After about three months of treatment, I was better than ever. Stephanie suggested I become a chiropractor, and even though I was determined to be a lawyer at the time, her comments ended up getting to me.
At the end of the care plan, I got a final exam. Surprisingly, the X-ray showed my neck was still straight. This inconsistency became my motivation to become a chiropractor — to find out why adjustments didn’t realign me, despite feeling better. Still, it was discovering CPB® that made me stay in the profession in the long term.
TAC: How did you discover Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP)®?
JJ: When I decided to go to chiropractic college, I chose the most evidence-based chiropractic program near me with a research reputation in hopes of understanding and restoring the curvature of my neck. After graduating without finding the answer, I considered going to med school.
Luckily, during my internship with a fellow chiropractor, he stumbled on a corrective care seminar and invited me to join. This turned into an opportunity to work in a Chiropractic Biophysics™ clinic. I was clinically exposed to helping patients and actually making an objective change, which provided literature and data on fixing spine alignment, including the neck curve. It lOx, no, l,000x my passion and career motivation, changing the trajectory of my life in chiropractic.
Now, I dedicate my life and career to teaching, resear ch, patents, spinal inventions, and lecturing ar ound the world with my friend Deed Harrison.
TAC: What type of patients do you generally treat or attract?
JJ: We treat and attract people who want total-body health and lifetime wellness! Advanced Spine and Posture (spineandposture.com) helps patients in Nevada and Michigan, seeing acute and chr onic neck, back, spine, shoulder, hip, knee pain, scoliosis, auto, sports, and work-related injuries.
TAC: What are the top five conditions you most often treat in your office? (i.e., back pain, headaches, extremity, etc.)
JJ: Acute and chronic neck and back, spine, shoulder, hip, and knee pain; loss of cervical and lumbar lordosis; anterior head carriage; thoracic hyperand hypokyphosis; scoliosis; and auto, sports, and work-related injuries.
TAC: Which techniques do you use and why?
JJ: Advanced Spine and Posture trains and facilitates the training of all of its providers, including medical, physical therapy, and chiropractic in Chiropractic BioPhy sics®1/Clinical Biomechanics® of Posture. We are a drug-free facility that combines the best of all healthcare disciplines, helping the country and world achieve total-body lifetime health.
TAC Tool Kit
Dr. Jaeger shares some specific products and equipment he uses to run a successful practice.
Tables:
• The original CBP® Mirror Image Adjusting Table
• The original Omni Table
• CBP® Mirror Image Adjusting Table, was designed and developed by Don Harrison, DC, PhD.
Diagnostic Equipment:
• Full-spine digital X-ray
• MyoVision Dynamic EMG®
Rehabilitation Equipment:
• Universal Tractioning Systems ® (UTSspine.com) for full spinal alignment collection
Nutritional Supplements
• Metagenics
Computer Software
• PostureRay® X-ray mensuration software
• PostureScreen® digital postural analysis software
X-Ray Equipment
• FUJIFILM full-spine digital X-ray
Other Companies I Love
• Chiropractic Biophysics® seminars
• Universal Tractioning Systems®
• UTS® Spine
• Elite Business Coaching seminars
TAC: What types of diagnostic testing procedures do you use?
JJ: We conduct examinations, including orthopedic and neurological testing. We use X-rays, digital motion X-ray, and video fluoroscopy. We also do Myo Vision dynamic EMG, as well as JTech strength assessment.
TAC: Tell us your most amazing patient success story.
JJ: A patient came to us from a fellow chiropractor in the Midwest. She presented with some very clear, postural distortion; her body was shifted significantly to one side. It was noticeable and embarrassing for her, causing pain and appearing twisted. During the examination, we noted her medication list and that she was taking a very expensive urinary incontinence medication. Her insurance wouldn’t cover the cost, at a price of $500-$ 1000 per month. Despite this, she still experience urinary incontinence, and had to wear a pad 24 seven. This led to a significant psychosocial and emotional distress, after her evaluation we recommended that she was a candidate for CBP® corrective care.
She did approximately eight weeks of corrective care, including exercise, adjustment, and corrective traction. At the end of this treatment plan she was examined, had a posture screen digital posture assessment and was x-rayed. We noted significant external postural improvement, as well as a major reduction of the lateral translation in her radiographic assessment. During the review of the re-examination, she mentioned, “Oh, by the way, my urinary incontinence has disappeared.”
We published a study on this case, “Revolutionary Resolution of Urinary Incontinence Secondaiy to Chiropractic Biophysics® methods.” which is now in peer-reviewed literature. It’s one of my favorite cases.
TAC: What has really impacted your growth as a chiropractor and that of your practice?
JJ: Chiropractic Biophysics® saved my career in chiropractic. Without it, I might not have persevered in the profession. It was genuinely impactful. Changing the lives of the patients we’ve treated — even though it may sound cliche — has been incredibly rewarding and impactful for me.
Currently, I’m no longer on the adjusting table clinically; instead, I serve as the CEO of a group with six clinics. I have the opportunity to influence a group of about 5,000 doctors through collaboration with Dean Harrison and CBP®. Lecturing and discussing our resear ch is immensely rewarding for me because it allows me to touch so many more lives that, in turn, impact countless others.
TAC: What marketing strategies do you use to attract new patients and keep current patients?
JJ: Early in my car eer, we used to attend various conventions like home shows, garden shows, and even gun shows. We’d set up a booth and ask people if they were interested in learning about chiropractic and run a Myo Vision EMG scan or a posture screen from Posture Co® and would offer an opportunity to visit the clinic if we spotted something. That’s how we built many big practices — face to face, one on one during those shows.
That was the beginning, but it seems like the world has moved on. Now it’s all about the Internet, Google, social media, and word of mouth. Keeping patients is crucial. In medical health care, it often feels like a DMV experience, but chiropractors are more caring and empathetic.
Growing up in Las Vegas and with my experience working in hotels, we’ve aimed to bring a concierge five-star human experience to our chiropractic care. We believe that’s the culture we’ve created to help retain our patients.
TAC: With your practice having an emphasis on CBP®can you tell our readers your advice about setting up and maintaining such a practice in today’s healthcare system?
JJ: I believe that the future is heading toward interdisciplinary work. Chiropractic doctors influencing medical and physical therapy practitioners to move away from symptom-based treatments, including drugs and medications, is not just the way of the future but how it should have always been. I’ve invested my efforts in bringing in medical and physical therapy providers, not as a sellout but to influence them toward offering proactive, wellness-based health care.
TAC: What general advice would you give an established chiropractor whose practice might be struggling?
JJ: In my opinion, it’s cmcial for most, if not all of us, to do a residency and learn under a mentor. Making mistakes under guidance is invaluable. Additionally, having an accountability partner, usually a coach, is essential. This person can call you out on things and help you stay on track, ensuring you align with your mission when starting that practice.
TAC: Where do you see the future of chiropractic headed?
JJ: There is a big movement in health care away from reactionary “medical” and “medication,” away from treating the symptoms only, and into a collaborative, multidisciplinary “healthcare team” model. Chiropractic has never been better poised to have cultural authority in health care than it is today.
For example, our group, Advanced Spine and Posture, not only operates as a team of medical, physical therapy, and chiropractic healthcare providers in our four Las Vegas, Nevada, and two Michigan outpatient centers of excellence, but we are also part of the HCA Health group, serving three hospitals in Nevada as the “musculoskeletal call providers” directly from the emergency rooms.
TAC: Any final words for our readers?
JJ: Currently, chiropractic has a median age of about 50, whereas when I started, that median age was around 35. This points to the fact that we’re not attracting enough new chiropractors into the profession, and those who do come may not be staying.
Chiropractic is legitimate, evidence-based, and effective, and patients love it. We need to grow the profession. Although we do attract young doctors, any effort to spread the word to the general community, encouraging them to try chiropractic, learn about it, and be exposed to it, is cmcial.
Moreover, I’ve heard at recent meetings like the World Federation of Chiropractic in Suncoast, Australia, and the Florida National Chiropractic Association meeting that different philosophies in chiropractic are starting to come together for the common cause of advancing chiropractic. The profession has spent too many years divided, focusing on our differences, which has had a negative impact. There is a significant reason for why we see a median age of 50. Instead, if we can unite, focus on our commonalities, work together, respect each other’s differences, and build chiropractic, we can expose the world to this beautiful profession.
To contact Dr. Jason and learn more about Chiropractic Biophysics®, call 702-591-6181, email [email protected], or visit advancedspineandposture.com.
