EDWARDSBURG - A satellite office in Edwardsburg not only makes it easier for his chiropractic patients, but for Dr. Toby Mitchell as well.
The new Edwardsburg Clear Choice Chiropractic office on M-62 is much more convenient for Michelle Gruver of Edwardsburg than driving to Niles. She is shown with her children Aubrey, 2, and Marie, 5, whom Dr. Toby Mitchell is adjusting.
Clear Choice Chiropractic and Holistic Wellness Center, based in Niles, has a new office in Kieser's Crossing, on M-62.
With his own three children in Edwardsburg schools, Mitchell himself is frequently in Edwardsburg, picking them up. He is also a soccer coach in Edwardsburg.
"I have always had an attachment to the community," he said. He also has many patients who "live here and have to drive to Niles," he added.
Mitchell is not only making visits easier for his Edwardsburg patients, another satellite will open in Dowagiac in just a few weeks.
Niles patients shouldn't feel left out as a major project there will be completed in the spring.
Mitchell opened his first office in Niles in 1997. "It wasn't even 900 square feet," he recalled. Now that facility is 13,000.
He and his wife Kimberly, of 16 years, have homes in Niles and Granger, Ind., where he is heavily involved in the Granger Community Church and have property on Portage.
Their daughter Taylor Rae is 14 and a freshman at Edwardsburg High School. Jacqulyn Hunter, 12, is in seventh grade and their son, Zane Jordan, 10, is in fourth grade.
Mitchell studied and had his internship in Marietta, Georgia, the home of Life University.
"I was able to work with Olympic athletes at the training facility," he said.
A 1985 graduate of Niles High School, he returned to Niles to open a practice.
His wife, he teases, is a "Buchanan Buck," graduating in 1990. She is the executive administrator of all his offices.
"I own this, but I am not the boss," he added.
In all he employs about 26 people, including massage therapists, who have special rooms to help take the stress out of patients.
The new rooms at the Edwardsburg office have fireplaces to give a cozy atmosphere.
Massages can be for medicinal purposes or for therapeutic stress reduction. "It's a safe, clinical environment," he added.
While doing adjustments, the doctor also gives advice on how the patient can take care of their own health.
"Proper sleeping, walking," he explained, all make a difference, including keeping a bulging wallet in a back pocket.
He also offers nutritional advice, exercises and stretching, which can be done at home.
"These empower them to take responsibility for their own health," he said.
Comparing spinal health with dental health, he suggests merely cleaning your teeth twice a year isn't enough, you must also brush and floss.
Instead of age being the cause of many health problems, often it is "the bad things we do over time. If we use our body improperly, it breaks down sooner," he added.
"Once they learn the importance of spinal hygiene, most people choose to periodically come back," he said.
Mitchell is not one to lecture, though, giving information in "short, concise amounts."
He is proud of his success rate, which he puts at 98 percent.
"We do what we are supposed to do," he added.
Chiropractors do not prescribe drugs, which Mitchell adds often have side effects which are worse than what is being cured.
"The spine is the housing for the nervous system," he said.
Chiropractic medicine looks to help where it is compromised.
Often, he said, patients have problems areas clear up which hadn't even been mentioned to him, after any interference is removed.
"If the nervous system is allowed to express itself fully, it knows how to fix the body," he added.
His center takes virtually all insurance and about 60 percent of his patients come in with some type of injury or after an accident. Many others are referrals from pleased family members of other patients.
Chiropractic care is "absolutely the safest, most effective, form of health care," he said.
The Edwardsburg office is open on Tuesday and Thursday.
The one in Dowagiac will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Niles office is open Mondays, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday and Friday and also on Saturday by appointment.
He does take new patients and walk-ins, but they may have a short wait while those with appointments are treated. In Edwardsburg, Clear Choice may be reached at 663-6600.
