Expert Interview Series: Dr. Peter Kantzilieris DC of Next Step Chiropractic Discusses His Practice

Dr. Peter Kantzilieris
Dr. Peter Kantzilieris DC is the owner of Next Step Chiropractic, who ensures the best and most well rounded care of each of his patients.

Tell us about your practice. What sets you apart from other practitioners in your area?
I focus on providing well-rounded care to my patients. This does not only include Chiropractic adjustments but other modalities to ensure that all of the needs of my patients are met. I also focus on soft tissue therapies since muscle are very important factors in keeping an adjustment. If soft tissue therapy is not applied at all or not applied correctly then one can adjust the spine all they want but the adjustment will only provide temporary relief and everything will back to the way it was shortly after.

We’d like to talk about a patient success story you’re especially proud of. Tell us about the patient. How did they learn about your practice?
This patient was referred to the office by a friend of the practice.

Why did this patient come to your practice? What problems were they experiencing?
This patient was a high school softball player and she slid into home base and hurt her shoulder and neck. She was not able to turn her neck all the way to the left or extend her neck back. She was also not able to move her shoulder in most directions and was in a lot of discomfort and needed to keep going on with the season.

How did you go about diagnosing him or her?
A thorough examination was done for her neck and shoulder that included orthopedic and neurologic exams, range of motion exams, and a thorough Chiropractic assessment.

What treatment course did you decide on?
After the thorough examination of the patient’s complaints it was decided that we use several modalities to get her back to normal and playing the rest of the season. We decided to start with Electrical Stimulation and ice to the shoulder and upper trap area on the right to help with pain and inflammation. Once that treatment was completed, we proceeded with a soft tissue therapy, Active Release Therapy to be exact in order to work on all the inhibited muscles in the area. Active Release Technique (ART®) is a patented manual soft tissue treatment that is effective for a broad range of soft tissue injuries. This allowed the patient’s muscles to be stretched and any trigger points in the area to be treated properly. We then proceeded with Chiropractic adjustments to the cervical and thoracic spine as well as Grade 4 mobilization of the scapula of the involved shoulder. The visit was then completed with Low Level Laser therapy to the shoulder area to ensure that the inflammation would be kept to a minimum.

What was the impact your treatment had on the patient? How did you help him or her?
The patient immediately felt a difference. She was able to move her neck in all the directions fully where she was not able to before. She also was able to move her shoulder in almost all directions with minimal discomfort. She was even able to play a game the next day after more of the inflammation was reduced. She was able to play with almost no discomfort and the team even won that game!

What advice would you give Chiro students today? For instance looking back at your own career is there anything you would do differently?
I would advise someone going in to the field to make sure they do their research before choosing a school. Unfortunately, there are not that many school of Chiropractic in the country and not all focus on a well-rounded complete treatment of the patient and therefore students will not get to learn all the different avenues one can take to help a patient. Also, I would advise them to look into getting many certifications that are available while they are in school in order to save time and money.

Please talk about any ways you are trying to impact the community you’re a part of:

– Mentoring/Teaching? I have been involved in my town’s “Career Day” for high school students for the past 2 years. This is a program where students who may be interested in a particular field and they spend a day following a professional around for the day learning about the field from an expert. It is a great time introducing the field of Chiropractic to potential future doctors!

– Community involvement/awareness? I am involved with the Paramus Rotary that does many community events as well as world-wide volunteer projects and fundraisers to make the world a better place. The Rotary’s motto is “Service Above Self” and the Paramus chapter was established in 1949 in order to give back to local, regional, and international communities. It is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to help build good will and peace in the world.

– Working with veterans or the disabled? I am involved with a project through the Rotary club where we go to the local Veteran’s home to play bingo with the Veteran’s in order to break up their day and do a fun project. This is a fun way to brighten their day and bring them some joy through a simple game such as bingo.

What is the funniest thing, if any, that has happened to you in practice?
I once had a parent bring in their child to get care for their neck who slept wrong and he woke up in pain and could not turn his neck. The child was very receptive in receiving care until it was time to adjust his neck. After he heard one side getting adjusted his reaction was laughter. A lot of laughter. SO much laughter to the point that it spread through the office like wild fire. 10 minutes later the front desk manager was laughing, the patients in the waiting room, and even the masseuse had to stop because the patient on the table was laughing from all the laughter going on in the office. It was a very funny and interesting reaction to an adjustment. The patient definitely saw improvement after that visit and the mother and I still laugh about it!

Categories: Chiropractic

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