Would you like to meet your new neighbor? Meet Dr. Dave Oliver, a chiropractor. He hails from New Jersey but has lived in the Boston area for the past five years. A little over a year ago he took over  Newton Wellness Center in Piccadilly Square in Newton Centre — you know, right above Rosenfeld’s Bagels. He also is a new Newton resident. You might have seen him and his dog Marley in Newtonville.

1. What made you decide to move to Newton from New Jersey?

After chiropractic school I moved back to New Jersey where I did my internship. I started looking around for an associateship but didn’t find anything that I felt fit right.  A little while after I graduated I took a trip up to Boston to visit my sister who has been living in Burlington the past 15 years. I had always enjoyed visiting Boston and really loved the area! I decided while I was up here I would see if there were any offices looking for an associate. I happened to find an office in downtown Boston that needed a new doctor to take over their patients.  It seemed like a great opportunity so within a month I moved up to the area and started working. After spending 4 years working there and learning a great deal about running a chiropractic office, I decided it was time to start my own practice.  After looking around a bit, I found a practice for sale in Newton that matched well with my style and was in a great location. I had always heard good things about Newton and as I began to look into the area I became more excited about starting a business here. I took over Newton Wellness Center in October 2010.

2. What did you do before taking over Newton Wellness Center? 

I graduated Cum laude from Palmer College of Chiropractic in San Jose CA. While I was in school I had the opportunity to travel to Fiji where I spent several weeks traveling to the under-served areas and provided free chiropractic care to the local residents. Many of these people had never even seen a doctor in their lifetime and I found it to be one the most rewarding experiences in my life. I treated several hundred people during that trip and hope to do something similar in the future.

Shortly after, my move to Boston happened and I started working at Boston Chiropractic Associates in downtown Boston.  I was the main clinic doctor in a very busy office so I  learned a lot about running a business and what it takes to succeed.  I established trust and great relationships with my patients – many of whom have followed me to Newton to continue their care.

3. I noticed that you have a large exercise room in your office. I’ve never seen that in Chiropractor office before and I’ve been to a few. Tell me about it and your philosophy on treating chronic pain.

I believe chiropractic care is a very effective treatment for a variety of conditions but I think there is far more we can do for our patients than simply adjust them and restore proper spinal motion. Many of the symptoms people come to me with –  whether it be lower back pain, neck pain, headaches, etc.. are coming from the joint fixations/ misalignments in their spine. By adjusting them and restoring proper motion I can alleviate most of their symptoms.

However, when patients go back to their normal lives sitting at computers for hours, chasing their children, etc. (activities that most likely brought them into my office in the first place) more than likely their symptoms will come back. This is something I noticed working in Boston. Many of my patients would get a lot of relief from treatment but would inevitably come back in a a year or two and say their pain was back again. Unless they were under consistent care, many of them would have these recurrences.

This was a problem to me! There had to be a better solution, one which could provide longer lasting results. I began looking into the things that were really causing patients to come to me in the first place. I determined it was due to poor ergonomics at work – mostly desk workers and weakened or unconditioned muscles around the spine. I started learning as much as I could about proper ergonomics and spinal rehabilitation and started using what I learned on my patients. Low and behold their results were much better than before. They started to see/feel longer lasting relief and were still able to enjoy all the things they loved in life. So, when I looked for an office to open it was very important to me that I  find one with a large space in which I could teach my patients simple stabilizing exercises which they could perform in the office and then perform on their own at home.

4. If I come to you in pain — headache, neck or back pain — what is the first thing that you do?

The first thing that is done is that we sit down to go over your history to get a clear picture of who you are and get clues as to why you are experiencing these symptoms. Then an exam is performed to check range of motion to see if there are any restrictions to movement as well as specific orthopedic tests. Finally I will examine your spine by gently assessing for motion. At this time, I will determine if chiropractic adjustments are appropriate in order to treat you. I will let you know what I have found, what I believe to be the cause of your symptoms and if and how I can help you. Many patients tell me that they really appreciate this portion of the initial meeting. They feel that a lot of doctors don’t give them true explanations for their symptoms. I find it is essential that my patients understand why they are in my office and what has caused their problem(s). If they don’t understand this, then how are they going to prevent it from from coming back? My goal is not to make people dependent upon me. It is to empower them to take control of their health. 

5. How do you like Newton and where might we bump into you?

So far my time in Newton has been great. I moved to Newtonville 6 months ago and have to say I really love the area. I have a black lab who loves walks so I try to take him as often as I can!  It’s great that  there are a lot of other dog lovers in the area. I have also taken trips over to the dog park at Crystal Springs. My patients have definitely made me feel more at home here – always recommending great local hangouts and restaurants to try. My girlfriend and I enjoy going out to eat on the weekends and have found several great restaurants in the area. We are big fans of Paddy’s, The Local and the newly opened Max and Leo’s for pizza. I also love to travel and get away when possible on the weekends often heading up to Maine or visiting family in New Jersey.

Running a School Auction? Take Note!

To introduce himself to the Newton Community, Dr. Oliver would like to donate  gift certificate for a massage and chiropractic consultation/examination to any school auction in Newton including preschool, public or private school. Please email him at droliverdc@gmail.com to arrange to pick up your school auction item donation.

Introductory “Meet Us!” Rate

Dr. Oliver is offering a special Introductory Rate of $49 for a 50 minute massage and chiropractic consultation/exam — normally $230. He’d love for you to come in with no strings attached and see for themselves what his office is about. And on top of that, you get a 50 minute massage!

I’ve asked Dr. Oliver to be a regular contributor to this blog. Look for future posts from him on Top 10 Ergonomic Safety Tips!

Newton Wellness Center is a an chiropractic office which is dedicated to helping you become the healthiest person possible. Besides chiropractic care and spinal rehab instruction we have an excellent massage therapist who has a lot of experience and is highly trained in treating musculoskeletal conditions.