The spinal alignment experts at Aligned Health Center will help you live your best life, free from back pain
By Patricia Nugent
To keep up with its fast-growing patient load and umbrella of medical services in the arena of Chiropractic BioPhysics, Regenerative Medicine and Physical Therapy, next month Aligned Health Center will move into a new dedicated building three times its current size.
“We’ve been looking for larger space for a few years,” says Founder Dr. Nicholas Bigrigg, who notes the new location is only seven minutes away from their current one. “When we found out this historic building was available, we decided to buy it and take it down to the studs to rebuild it to our specifications, allowing us to add more practitioners and medical services.”
Located near the corner of Westwood and Center Ridge Roads, the new facility will open in what was once the main Post Office for Westlake. Built in 1963, it had undergone a renovation in 1994 when the post office moved to its current location.
Maria Jeancola, who is COO of Aligned Health Center and is overseeing the expansion, says the idea of rehabbing and repurposing the building was appealing to them.
“We will have a modern yet homey feeling, incorporating our signature colors of blues and greens,” she says. “We also plan to give a nod to the past with wall art featuring photos of the old post office.”
His Passion is Personal
For Dr. Bigrigg, the mission to bring Chiropractic BioPhysics to Cleveland is personal. After earning his undergraduate degree from Kent State University, he was playing professional indoor football and suffered a debilitating 5-S1 herniated disk injury.
“My doctor recommended spinal fusion surgery, which would have effectively ended my career, so I sought a second opinion and found a doctor who specialized in Chiropractic BioPhysics and worked with me to realign my spine,” he says. “After treatment, not only was my pain gone, but I was able to continue to play football.”
He was so impressed with the results that he decided to learn about the protocol himself. After several years of study and a doctorate degree earned from the Palmer College of Chiropractic, Dr. Bigrigg practiced for a few years in Chicago before the Amherst native moved back to Cleveland.
Individualized Care Plans
“Just as every spine will have its own unique set of deviations, each care plan is customized specific to the patient’s needs,” he explains. “We utilize a technique called Chiropractic BioPhysics which consists of three components: mirror image exercises, traction and adjustments to restore the spine back to its correct shape.”
The first step of chiropractic care is a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Bigrigg. He will go over a patient’s health history and overall goals. During that chiropractic evaluation, he’ll assess your range of motion and check your spine by hand to evaluate its position, curvature, muscle tone and restricted range of motion. He will take a series of digital X-rays to identify any postural deviations of the spine.
“As soon as the next day after the initial exam, the patient comes back and we go over the findings with a 21-page diagnostic report,” he says. “I take the time to discuss the patient’s health concerns and provide a customized care plan.”
The length of treatment varies, but most patients undergo treatment for about 12 weeks.
“After completion of a patient’s treatment plan, we take another set of X-rays to show patients the profound changes that took place with their spinal alignment,” he adds.
Complete Regenerative Care and Physical Therapy
As the number of patients has grown over the past six years, so has the team of integrated practitioners. Aligned Health Center has brought on a Medical Doctor, Physical Therapist, Nurse Practitioner and several Patient Care Technicians to keep up with the growing service line of Regenerative Medicine that helps patients with painful and arthritic joints such as knees, shoulders and SI joints.
Medical Director Dr. Ibrahim Elsheikh oversees the medical services which include Regenerative Medicine joint injections.
“This growing field of medicine taps into formulas to work cooperatively with the body’s natural functions, to supplement, cushion and provide support for natural tissue repair and recovery,” says Dr. Bigrigg.
And licensed Physical Therapist Joseph Knazek works with traditional rehabilitative therapy, sports PT and post-surgical therapy to help patients recover their active lifestyles. Always on the lookout for emerging treatments, he became certified in trigger point dry needling over ten years ago. It has become the most requested PT treatment at Aligned.
“He’s also just introduced cupping therapy, an ancient Chinese practice in which gentle suction cups are placed on affected parts of the body to speed healing and reduce pain by increasing blood flow,” says Dr. Bigrigg.
Rounding out the cheerful and energetic staff are Nurse Practitioner Alexandria Mancuso, Patient Care Manager Adam Raymond, and staff members Aliyah Segarra, Peyton Skernivitz and Bayleigh Skernivitz.
Lunch & Learn Speaker Series
As the team prepares to get settled into its new digs, Maria says they have relaunched their Lunch & Learn Speaker Series at local businesses, companies, church groups or organizations.
“We cater the meal and then we speak about the connection between spinal health and overall health,” she says. “Educating the public is part of our mission. We hope one day people will see getting a spinal X-ray as part of a preventive and proactive approach to their health care, like going to the dentist.”
Maria welcomes all businesses & organizations in the community to reach out to her if they would like to be a part of this program. There is no cost at all to the organization.
What is the Chiropractic BioPhysics Difference?
“The main difference between traditional chiropractic care and Chiropractic BioPhysics is that we target the main cause of the problem, as opposed to addressing only pain symptoms,” says Dr. Nicholas Bigrigg. “We can reshape the spine to the proper shape.”
In addition to a patient lying on a table getting an adjustment during a visit, just like a regular chiropractic visit, at Aligned Health Center they additionally work on equipment that is designed to gently move the spine back into its ideal alignment with the use of weights and pulleys. He says the principal is similar to an orthodontist moving teeth, bone and soft tissue back into proper alignment through braces.
And unlike a traditional chiropractor, where you need to keep up with your adjustments, Aligned Health Center remolds the shape of your spine back to its correct posture and barring any future injury, will remain like that for the rest of your life.
Aligned Health Center is located at 2237 Crocker Road, Suite 110, in Westlake, across the street from Crocker Park. They hope to move to the new location, at 26933 Westwood Road, in Westlake, by the end of the year and are now scheduling appointments there. Chiropractic care is covered by most health insurances. Hours are Monday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.; Thursday, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.; and Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon. To make an appointment, call 440-385-7357 or visit AlignedHealthCenters.com.