Chiropractor Tanner Ruberg has helped more than one patient whose primary goal was to be able to reach and retrieve their favorite coffee mug from the kitchen cupboard.
“It may seem like a silly goal, but when you’re frustrated and in pain, it impacts every area of your life, both physically and mentally,” says Dr. Ruberg, who opened Vital Chiropractic in Loveland in January.
She remembers all too well the pain that enveloped her life after getting kicked hard in her side while playing high school soccer, and how she visited a series of doctors for help.
“They ran tests, did MRIs, and said, ‘You’re fine.’ But I was like, ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I can’t sleep. I’m not fine,’” she recalls.
One day a trainer suggested she see a chiropractor. Instantly, the chiropractor could see that she had two broken ribs and three were dislocated. “It blew my mind,” Dr. Ruberg says. “Here I’d been walking around for two months with broken ribs, and nobody thought to mention it to me. Not only did this guy believe me when I said I was in pain, but he found a way to get me out of pain.”
Three weeks later, she was back on the field. She eventually earned a full-ride scholarship to play Division 1 college soccer. All of that was exhilarating, but just as exciting was the fact that, during her visit to the chiropractor, a seed took root in her mind regarding her future career plans.
“That one visit changed my life,” she says. “I decided that I wanted to become a chiropractor so that I could be that person for someone else one day.”
Today, Dr. Ruberg envisions building a wellness practice where patients come to maintain their health, not just to get relief from pain. People tend to think, “If I’m not in pain, why would I go see a chiropractor?” The truth is, it’s a lot easier to stay well than to get well.
“If you start getting adjustments at a young age, by the time you’re in your 40s, you’ll feel like you’re 20,” says Dr. Ruberg. She notes that regularly seeing a chiropractor can help you avoid arthritis, headaches, degeneration, and herniations.
“The nervous system is all correlated, so if it’s functioning well, then the rest of the body functions well,” she explains.
According to Dr. Ruberg, it’s wise to remember that pain is the last indicator of a problem because the body is made to adapt.
“You can watch somebody walk down the street who is all kinds of crooked, but they don’t realize it because their body has adapted,” she explains. “If you’re not in pain, that doesn’t mean there’s not a problem or irritation that’s causing you to not be your optimal being.”
Of course, it’s not just our bodies but our minds that adjust to ongoing pain. For instance, we’ll tell ourselves that it’s normal to get headaches twice a week or to have chronic digestive issues, but in fact, those are indicators that there’s a problem. According to Dr. Ruberg, chiropractic care is the most innovative and straightforward way to correct such issues. If you don’t correct them? Eventually your body will wear out and pain will set in. But again, you can avoid that altogether if you’re proactive in your approach to health, she says.
Dr. Ruberg chose the name Vital Chiropractic because when you go to the doctor, they take your vitals — blood pressure, heart rate, height, and weight. But nobody checks your nervous system, which can provide ample information about your wellness.
“Quite frankly, if you don’t have a functioning nervous system, none of your other vitals matter,” she says. At Vital Chiropractic, Dr. Ruberg is committed to helping her patients live with vitality, and that means keeping them moving.
The adage “When you have your health, you have everything” may be true, but according to Dr. Ruberg, people tend to forget that and take wellness for granted.
“People often don’t realize the importance of health and moving and being able to do things they love until they can no longer do them,” she says.
Feeling less than vivacious lately? Does your vitality need a boost? Perhaps Vital Chiropractic can help. Visit vitalichiropracticpro.com or call 513-239-5921.