Meet Dr. Bob!

Meet Robert Newhalfen of Northwest Indiana Chiropractic Health

VOYAGECHICAGO STAFF

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Newhalfen.

Robert, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was a multi-sport athlete in high school. I ran cross country and track as well as playing basketball. During basketball season I had various injuries including low back injuries and many ankle sprains. Our local Chiropractic Physician helped out our basketball team by treating the injured athletes, myself included. We got to know each other and at that point, I decided I wanted to become a Chiropractic Physician. I went to undergrad at Illinois State University and then went to Chiropractic school at National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, IL.

After school, I worked for several offices in Chicago in the Jefferson Park and Lincoln Square neighborhoods. I learned a lot at those two jobs about what worked, what didn’t work and how I wanted to practice.

At a certain point, I decided it was time to branch out on my own and I decided to open up my own clinic in the town of Schererville, Indiana.

I mix a lot of different techniques together as my personal philosophy is to do what is best and most efficient for the patient. We combine a lot of cutting edge Chiropractic and rehabilitation technique with really cool technology and other ideas. I am always on the lookout for items, techniques or tech that might help a person with little to no risk involved. I think it this philosophy and willingness to continually get better and look for more for my patients that have helped our business grow to the size we have so quickly.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Lol, definitely not. Owning a business and being a doctor are two totally different skill sets and knowledge bases. There has been a lot to learn on both fronts, more so on the business side of things. Learning how to balance patient care, customer service and running a business has been one of the biggest struggles. My guiding philosophy has always been to do right by the patients, always. That philosophy has worked very well for me but does come at a cost that at first, I wasn’t fully aware of. It costs a lot of time and mental effort to maintain that philosophy, which I am ok with but it took me some years in business to balance that cost with my family and personal life. Example, I would often stay up until 11:00 pm at night doing notes, managing the business or thinking about a certain patient that I just wanted to help a little faster. When you have a 1 or 2-year-old, that’s just not something you can do night in and night out if you want to sleep and stay sane. So I have had to learn how to manage my time more efficiently over the years and pick and choose my battles.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Northwest Indiana Chiropractic Health – what should we know?
We have 2 locations currently in NW Indiana in Schererville and Crown Point. We specialize in Chiropractic and Rehabilitation for musculoskeletal problems but we offer other services as well including massage therapy, nutrition, and acupuncture. We do our absolute best to treat the entire person from a functional perspective. Meaning, just because your knee hurts doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a knee problem. We often find people with knee pain have ankle mobility (flexibility) and hip stability (strength and control) problems and the knee is just the guy or gal caught in the middle of the fight. We also find that just because people have a structural deformity (such as a disc bulge or a meniscus tear) doesn’t necessarily mean they have to have pain. I have several patients right now that have MRI verified meniscus tears that are training for marathons and performing CrossFit without pain. Meaning, if a person’s function is good enough a lot of time structural lesions really aren’t that big of a deal. It’s like have a 1967 Ford Mustang that has a perfect engine and is firing on all cylinders but maybe has an old paint job or has a few dings in the hood. Are you still going to drive that car? Heck yes, you are because it’s fast and it’s awesome. That’s what we want for our clients. Who cares if you have a few dings in the hood (disc bulge, meniscus tear, whatever), I want your body functioning as optimally as possible. Very often the pain goes away and people start feeling and functioning better than they have in years.

A few techniques we specialize in as well are Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS), Active Release Technique (ART) and GRIP Approach. These are all cutting-edge techniques in the rehab and human performance fields and widely used throughout amateur, collegiate and professional sports. One of the head trainers for the Chicago Cubs is well known to be a big DNS fan!

We take, what I believe, to be a very logical and practical approach to helping people function better with the least amount of intervention necessary. I want to teach people how to take care of themselves so eventually and ideally, they don’t need me anymore. We have a TON of tools and techniques to help people reach their goals and that is one of the biggest things that sets us apart. The other is our mindset and attitude to help people get better each and every visit.

As a company, we are proud of the team we have put together. Each and every individual at our company truly wants to help people better themselves and is willing to constantly learn more in order to do that.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Honesty, I am as open and honest as they come about my business and everything involved with it. I am honest with my patients, honest with my team and honest with myself. I know what my limits are and when I need to ask for help. I am honest with my team about what is going on with our business. I am honest with my patients about what I can and cannot do for them and what they need to do for themselves. I really think people appreciate the honesty on all fronts.

Pricing:

• A new cash client is $135 for a 1-hour visit.
• Follow-ups are $55/visit.

Contact Info:

• Address: Schererville: 1425 Eagle Ridge Dr.
  Crown Point: 566 N. Indiana Ave.
• Website: https://www.motusintegrativehealth.com/
• Phone: 219-322-6942
• Email: drbob@nwichiropractic.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nwichiro
• Other: https://plus.google.com/u/2/+DrRobertNewhalfenNWIChiro

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