We were lucky to catch up with Emma Lockwood recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emma , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment for me as a chiropractor was when I was in Zanzibar Tanzania volunteering at an office there. I had a lot of cases and a lot of patients that I had never seen in a clinic in the US and for many of them I was there only line of defense and only doctor in the area. One of those defining moments was when I saw a patient who had had a stroke a few months before and I was used as the person to help him with his healing. I saw him almost every day for 2 weeks and I was able to see how his body responded to my care. They don’t have a physical therapist on the island and I was the only person that was there to help. Another defining moment on that trip was watching the Barefoot soccer games every evening and seeing a lot of the players in my office the next morning to get taped or to get checked to see if they had any issues with their ankles such as a fracture because there was no x-ray machine in the area. I learned how to think on my feet very quickly and how to take care of clients who didn’t speak my language. It was an amazing time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Emma Lockwood, DC. I am a chiropractor in the Metro Detroit area specifically in Troy. I specialize in prenatal Chiropractic as well as postpartum and pediatric Chiropractic. I also am cranial sacral therapy certified through UpLedger. I have in a chiropractor for 12 years and it all started when I was 15 and had a hip issue with a short leg that was found by a massage therapist. I went to the pediatrician and they wanted to put me in physical therapy and also get a brace for me with possible surgery in the future and we happen to have a family friend who was a chiropractor and she said why don’t I just adjust her and see what happens. I got adjusted for the first time and things change I didn’t have the aches and pains of growing that I used to have I didn’t really have headaches and I didn’t really have other pains that I thought were normal as a 15 year old who played contact Sports. I knew that this was my calling and I knew that I wanted to help others live in health. One of the favorite things about my office is that we are a multi-generational office so I usually see Mom through her pregnancy and then end up seeing dad and their children and then after a while I usually end up seeing Grandma or Grandpa sometimes aunt and uncle and our office is really just a family affair. My favorite thing is when I have people coming in on a Saturday and Mom and Dad and their three kids are coming and then they meet up with their aunt and uncle or their grandparents at the office and I’ll go out to lunch after being seen. I really think that generational health is so important and something that we do not see in the world anymore. It is really important to start with prenatal Chiropractic because you have seven structures in your pelvis which include your SI joints your pubic symphysis your secret tuberous ligament as well as your round ligaments and if just one of those things is not in the place that it’s supposed to it can cause significant pain to the growing mom. Chiropractic is also been known to make an easier and less painful labor and delivery. Once mom has the baby it takes many many months up to a year to really get your body back. So I am there to help Mom understand her new body and also make sure that her body is able to bounce back to some extent through Chiropractic Care. When it comes to babies birth is not an easy or quick process and oftentimes babies have birth trauma that can cause things like colic torticollis and gastrointestinal issues which can all be taken care of through getting their nervous system checked.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The best thing that I have done is go to business coach. I work with Ignite the spark which is specifically for chiropractors. Because of them I learned how to go into OBGYN offices as well as Medical Offices to talk to them about exactly what we do with patients and Chiropractic Care. I think that especially if you’re an entrepreneur and if you are in the office by yourself having a business coach is one of the best things you can do. It gives you accountability for things that you might not always remember to do and it gives you support when most people have employees or co-workers when you don’t have those it can feel very lonely. When I lost my business partner I felt very lonely and like there was no one else who was really there cheering me on and wanting me to succeed, other than my family.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2017 I opened my practice with a very good friend of mine. She got married in 2017 and found out she was pregnant with her first child. In February of 2019 she told me that she was pregnant with her second child and I knew that we would be able to survive it but in March of 2019 she had a seizure and was found to have brain cancer. Overnight I became the soul owner of our practice and in charge of everything. I still helped support her well also trying to run a practice by myself with the help of my amazing father. In 2020 she finally decided that she was not going to be able to come back to the office as she had two kids now as well as a brain tumor even though she had surgery in April of 2019. In March of 2020 covid hit and we had to close down for about 10 days until we could reopen since we are considered services that were allowed to be opened. My practice continue to grow throughout 2020 even with covid. I was able to continue our practice and it is now thriving even though we had a very tough start.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wholefamwellness.com/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/whole-family-wellness-emma-lockwood-dc-troy

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