Chiropractor hits the road for his Valley patients

Chiropractor hits the road for his Valley patients

By Ed Gately, Tribune

July 20, 2006

If you ever see a silver Scion xB with the logo On the Go Chiro on its side panels, you can bet it’s on its way to help somebody in pain somewhere in the Valley. Tory Brooks is literally a chiropractor on wheels.

Instead of seeing patients in an office, he treats patients in their homes. A sizable portion of his patients live in the East Valley and his billing address is in Scottsdale.

A former University of Arizona tight end, Brooks splits his time between treating ordinary patients and treating professional athletes both locally and on the road. Last year, he treated players with 13 different professional teams.

“I’ve been practicing for 10 years and I did have a traditional office, but due to relocating my office to a place where it was hard to get to off the freeway, patients were having difficulty getting there,” he said. “So my wife came up with the idea of well, why don’t we just go to them in our off-time. I looked at her like she was crazy, but we tried it and the patients absolutely loved it.”

Brooks said going mobile virtually eliminated his business’ overhead expenses. All he needs is his collapsible chiropractic table, which he brings into patients’ homes for their treatment.

“We’ve got clients in Mesa, deep into Queen Creek, into Pinal County and then all the way into Ahwatukee and Tempe,” he said. “We’re even going into Maricopa, and I’m thinking whew, I’ve got to get another doctor. I look forward to having more doctors to help me with the flow that I have now. It’s just me right now.”

In addition to offering inhome chiropractic treatment, Brooks is the only chiropractor in Arizona to offer the Fenzian treatment system. Originally developed for Russian cosmonauts, the device is an electrical impulse system that uses digital technology in treating injuries. Brooks is a certified Fenzian practitioner.

“I’m a chiropractor by trade, but I just happen to have this incredible tool that gives us something extra,” Brooks said. “A business partner of mine who is the head trainer of Team Suzuki came across this in Europe about 4 1 /2 years ago, and then he brought it back to me. It just combined with chiropractic so beautifully.”

The Fenzian device, which is noninvasive and about the size of a television remote, helps the nervous system send messages about a particular injury to the brain so it can properly respond to that injury and accelerate healing, Brooks said.

“It triggers the body to do all the healing, and that’s what makes it so perfect because the body knows how to heal and when to heal it,” he said. “One of the cascading events that happens with this device is that a cortisone release occurs, but it’s the body releasing it and regulating it.”

In many cases, athletes’ injuries are treated with cortisone injections, which provide temporary relief, but ultimately don’t heal because they cause degradation of tissue, Brooks said. “That’s why you can only have six (cortisone injections) in a lifetime,” he said. “Ultimately in sports, the number these guys have had far supersedes that. You wonder why they’re so hurt, why they can’t get healthy. This helps the body heal because the body knows what it needs, instead of forcing a treatment.”

Brooks said his practice is growing rapidly, and wants to continue expanding in Arizona and even bring the mobile chiropractic business to other states.

One of Brooks’ patients is Alton Lister, a former Arizona State University Sun Devil and NBA center for several teams. He now serves as head basketball coach for Mesa Community College. He relies on Brooks and the Fenzian device to manage the aches and pains that come from years of playing a contact sport.