SPORTS & ACTIVE LIVING
Sports & Active Lifestyle Chiropractor in St. Louis Park, MN
You don’t have to be a professional athlete to get care like one. Whether you’re getting back to your sport, staying strong for the things you love, or just want to feel good at work and keep up with your kids, we can help.
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician® (CCSP®) · Minnesota Monthly Best Chiropractor 2020–2026 · Serving Minneapolis and the west metro
Veteran with a VA Community Care referral? Dr. Heather is a fellow Veteran and an Optum Community Care provider. Here’s how it works →
YOUR BODY HAS SOMEWHERE TO BE
Care for Every Kind of Active, from Your First 5K to Keeping Up with the Kids
Maybe it’s a knee that complains every mile after six. A shoulder that won’t cooperate at the gym. A swing that feels fine until the back nine. A back that tightens up after a long workday.
Most active people keep going through it, modify around it, and hope it settles down. Sometimes it does. Often it just moves somewhere else.
We’ll find what’s really behind it and build a plan to get you moving the way you want to again.
Common reasons active people come in
- Knee pain from running, including IT band and runner’s knee
- Foot, heel and Achilles pain, including plantar fasciitis
- Shoulder and elbow pain from lifting, throwing or swinging, including golfer’s and tennis elbow
- Low back pain in golfers, gym-goers and rotational athletes
- Hip and hamstring strains that keep coming back
- Tightness that limits mobility and holds back your training
Not sure if it’s worth getting looked at? If it’s changing how you train, it is.
WHO WE WORK WITH
From Training Goals to Everyday Movement
Whether you’re lacing up for the first time, getting back into it after a break, or chasing your next personal best, we look at what your activity asks of your body, not only where it hurts.
01
Runners & Endurance Athletes
From couch-to-5K to marathons and triathlons, plus cyclists building mileage. Knees, hips, feet and the overuse injuries that come with volume.
02
Gym & Fitness
Strength training, classes and home workouts, whether you’re new to the gym or building back up. Shoulders, backs and hips that can handle what you ask of them.
03
Golf, Tennis & Pickleball
Rotational and overhead athletes. Back, shoulder and elbow pain that shows up in your swing, serve or follow-through.
04
Active Adults & Busy Parents
Hiking, gardening, walking the dog and lifting the kids. Staying strong for the life you actually live.
05
Professional & Elite Athletes
Your team’s staff cares for a whole roster. Here, it’s just you, with care built around your history, your injury, and where you want to be and how you want to perform.
06
Grade School & High School Athletes
From ankle sprains and back strains to recovering after a fracture, we help your athlete get back to their sport sooner and come back stronger.
EVERYDAY INJURIES
Not Every Injury Comes With a Jersey.
Sometimes it’s a weekend project. An icy driveway. A couch that needed moving. Or picking up your kid at just the wrong angle.
You don’t have to be an athlete to deserve a careful, movement-focused exam. We look at what happened, how you’re moving now and what your body needs to get back to doing.
Your body has a job to do. Even on a Tuesday.
Common reasons people come to see us
- Back pain after shoveling, yard work or moving furniture
- Slips and falls on ice, including wrists, hips, tailbones and knees
- Strains from lifting children, suitcases or boxes
- Flare-ups after a busy weekend or a long day on your feet
- Neck or shoulder pain after a new workout or a new desk setup
- Old injuries that have become bothersome again
Hurt at work or in a car accident? Those visits involve different claims and billing. Work injury care → Auto accident care →
TRAINED FOR SPORT
Why Active People Choose a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician®
Sports chiropractic is its own specialty. It takes training in how athletes move, load and recover, and in when to push and when to refer.
- Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician® (CCSP®), with a post-graduate fellowship in sports nutrition.
- Master’s-level training in exercise science and kinesiology, so care builds capacity, not just short-term relief.
- Full-body Active Release Techniques® (ART®) certified and Graston Technique® trained for precise soft-tissue work.
- Previously ran the Human Performance Center at Northwestern Health Sciences University, providing integrated care for the Minnesota Vixen, NFL Alumni and MN Freeze, and has cared for Team USA Tug of War athletes.
- Taught and mentored students in Northwestern Health Sciences University’s sports chiropractic program, and presented on concussion treatment and recovery at the MCA Sports Symposium.
- Eight years in the U.S. Army National Guard. Dr. Heather knows what it’s like to ask a lot of your body.
What you do is specific. Your care should be too.
HOW IT WORKS
From Sidelined to Back to What You Love
The tool comes after the finding. The plan changes as you do.
01
Assess
We talk through your sport or activity, your training and what changed, then test how you move under the demands you care about.
02
Explain
We review your history and findings, then walk you through what we found, why it matters for your sport or activity and what we recommend at your follow-up visit.
03
Treat
Hands-on care chosen for what we find: adjustments, ART®, Graston®, laser and targeted exercise.
04
Return
We re-test, progress your load and get you back to training, or whatever you love doing, with a plan to keep you there.
Tools we use when the findings support them: chiropractic adjustments, Active Release Techniques®, Graston®, Class 4 laser, rehab exercise and massage.
PATIENT STORIES
What Active Patients Say
Minnesota Monthly Best Chiropractor, seven years running (2020–2026) · Read more reviews on Google →
HANDS-ON CARE
Soft-Tissue Treatment Built for Active Bodies
Many sports injuries live in the muscles, tendons and fascia, not just the joints. That’s why care here often goes beyond an adjustment.
- Active Release Techniques® (ART®) to find and treat restricted tissue that limits motion
- Graston Technique®, instrument-assisted work for stubborn tendon and fascia problems
- Class 4 laser when the findings support it
- Rehab exercise so you leave with a plan, not just a visit
- Sports massage with our massage therapist
Training with a coach, trainer or physical therapist? We’re happy to coordinate.
QUESTIONS
Sports Chiropractic Questions
Have a question about your sport or injury? Call (952) 920-9247.
Do I have to be an athlete to see a sports chiropractor?
No. Sports chiropractic is about what you need your body to do. That might be a marathon, a heavy squat, 18 holes or keeping up with a busy life.
I hurt myself at home, not playing a sport. Is this the right place?
Yes. We evaluate everyday strains, falls and movement-related injuries alongside sports injuries. The first step is the same: understand what changed and what you need your body to do. If it happened at work or in a car accident, see our work injury or auto accident pages for claim-specific details.
Do I need to stop training?
Not always. We’ll look at what aggravates the problem and what doesn’t, and help you modify training so you can keep moving while you recover.
How is a sports chiropractor different from a regular chiropractor?
A Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician® has additional training in sports injuries, movement and return-to-play decisions. Care is built around the demands of your sport, not only where it hurts.
How soon can I get back to my sport?
It depends on what we find and how you respond. We re-test along the way and progress your training load step by step, so you return with confidence.
What should I wear to my first visit?
Comfortable clothes you can move in, like workout gear. If a specific movement, shoe or piece of equipment brings on your pain, bring it or tell us about it.
Can you work with my coach, trainer or physical therapist?
Yes. With your permission, we’re happy to coordinate so everyone is working toward the same goal.
Do you take insurance for sports injuries?
It depends on your plan and your injury. Call us with your plan details and we’ll tell you what to expect before your first visit.
PERFORM
Your Body Has Somewhere to Be. Let’s Get It There.
Schedule a visit at Excelsior & Grand in St. Louis Park, MN. Tell us what you’re working toward, and we’ll build the plan around it.
Questions first? Call (952) 920-9247.