Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Keller.
Lauren, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor when I was in the 7th grade so almost everything I did in middle school, high school and undergrad was geared towards helping me reach that goal. Once I was actually in chiropractic school I fell in love with acupuncture after it helped relieve a sinus headache I had been fighting for days. After that my gears shifted into a love for both chiropractic and acupuncture.
While in school my sister had her first child and was frequently calling me because she was having different aches and pains and didn’t know how to treat them. I wanted to help but there wasn’t a ton of training in school for the pregnant or postpartum mama so I started taking continuing education as a student in order to help my sister. Slowly my friends started talking to me about their struggles with conception and their pregnancy and postpartum aches and pains. I immediately fell in love with helping women through the preconception, prenatal and postpartum phases of life because I felt like it was an under-appreciated area and I wanted to give those women as much relief as possible.
This year I also took on the role of Regional Director for BIRTHFIT Chicago. BIRTHFIT is about helping expecting & postpartum moms take charge of their bodies & their decisions, and supporting one another’s journeys. Our four pillars are fitness, nutrition, chiropractic and mindset. We help women take charge of the motherhood transition in these realms. Our goal is education and support and this is partly done through our postpartum series that focuses on safely rehabbing a woman after birth (both vaginal and cesarean) so she is able to meet not only the physical demands of motherhood but also get her back to any fitness goals she may want.
It’s my love for helping women that also brought me to opening my own practice. I wanted to practice “my way” which included spending quality time with the patient in order to understand what their concerns were as well as their goals in order to create a treatment plan they felt comfortable with. Every person is different and so are their goals so each patient is treated to meet their unique goals and concerns. I have the tools (chiropractic, acupuncture, weight lifting/rehab/stability training) to help women get out of pain and I love when I’m given the opportunity to help.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all! In all truthfulness, I like to take on too much, sleep too little and hope for the best. I actually signed the lease for my office the week after I gave birth to my daughter. I basically toted her around to every business meeting in order to get things up and running. As a mother, doctor and business owner I am the jack of all trades as I’m the receptionist, marketing manager, insurance biller, and cleaning lady on top of the being the physician. It’s amazing how your “mom guilt” competes with your “doctor guilt” which competes with your “business guilt”. It has been a true balancing act to make sure that I am giving the quality time each of these deserves.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Elemental Chiropractic – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Elemental Chiropractic is focused on helping women through the motherhood transition – conception, pregnancy and postpartum.
My goal is to get a patient better as quickly as possible, period. I do this by utilizing up to date research in the fields of chiropractic, acupuncture and rehabilitation. Even though these are my tools – I put the patient’s expectations and values first and I listen to their needs. Each patient is treated uniquely and their treatment plant reflects their goals.
I understand and value everyone else’s time as much as I do my own. While there is a waiting room, I don’t even have magazine for you to read because I don’t want you waiting long enough to be able read one. I don’t want a mom to not be treated because of childcare restraints so children are always welcome and there are even toys for them to play. Since time is so important, I try to maximize the time spent with each patient and I believe in giving individualized home rehabilitation programs in order to keep the patient progressing even when they aren’t in my office.
Education is also a key value at Elemental Chiropractic. I want every patient that enters my office to understand why they are receiving that specific treatment and how it will help them reach their goal. I try to give patients the tools they need to be successful, and this includes empowering them to know they are strong enough and capable to do whatever activity they want.
Most importantly, I know that I am not perfect and I am not the person to help everyone. While I am trying to better today than I was yesterday, I will admit when I cannot help someone or if someone else is better suited to care for a patient and I will make that referral without hesitation.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I gave birth 15 months ago and opened Elemental Chiropractic 6 months ago so I’m going to lay low for now on any major changes.
My long-term goal is to make Elemental Chiropractic the place to go for educating pregnant and postpartum mamas. I would love to work with childbirth educators, labor and postpartum doulas, lactation consultants, pelvic floor physical therapists, therapists and counselors, as well as local gyms and fitness centers to give women the best opportunity to succeed.
Pricing:
- New patient evaluation: $120
- Chiropractic adjustment: $30-$40
- Acupuncture: $50-$55
- Therapeutic Exercise/ Rehab: $64/half-hour
- BIRTHFIT Postpartum Series (8 classes): $169
Contact Info:
- Address: 1449 W Lake St.,
Ste. B
Addison, IL 60101 - Website: www.drlaurenkeller.com and www.birthfitchicago.com
- Phone: (331) 307-7110
- Email: drlauren@drlaurenkeller.com
- Instagram: @elementalchiro and @birthfitchicago
- Facebook: @ElementalChiro and @birthfitchicago
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elemental-chiropractic-addison
Image Credit:
Cecily Breeding
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
