New Avon Chiropractor Joins Whole Health Associates Team

For Christina Connelly, 26, a new associate chiropractor at Whole Health Associates in Avon, her job is about more than cracking backs.

“There’s more to it,” she said, noting that muscles, stress and poor posture often contribute to a person experiencing pain.

Patients don’t always come to her for back or neck pain. They sometimes come if they have muscle tension, headaches, shoulder or knee pains, or they just don’t feel right.

“A tight neck is the biggest cause of migraines,” Connelly said, for instance, besides dehydration.  “We have a lot of stresses in our live,” she said.

Connelly, who started at working at Whole Health at the beginning of September, does treat patients who want the kinks worked out in their backs, but she also does stretches and exercises with them, modalities, electric stimulation and ultrasounds if necessary.

“A very important step in the treatment process is being there, listening and providing answers,” Connelly said. “You can’t base the whole patient model on one patient.”

She teaches them exercises that they can do at home. For instances, for back exercises, people can do lower back extensions and bridges. To prevent neck pain, people can do neck tuck-ins, lift their whole neck up repetitively, or run foam rollers up and down the neck.

“Over the long run, they gain the strength back that they need,” she said. “I’m here to help you. I love to help you. But if you did your back exercises, you wouldn’t have to come in as much.”

Connelly graduated from the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic in May and graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in bio-medicinal science in 2008.

People can get free 10-minute consultations with Connelly any time. All major insurance carriers, Medicare and Medicaid cover chiropractic appointments with Connelly and patients just pay a co-pay for a regular appointment.

Whole Health Associates is located in the Healthtrax Health and Wellness Center building on 100 Simsbury Road in Suite 208 Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.