We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Afsaneh Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Afsaneh, thanks for joining us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

I treat a lot of active individuals in my office. I see youth athletes, crossfit athletes, triathletes, as well as the average joe trying to be healthy! I recently had a call from a patient I had seen about two years ago. I helped him through his sciatic flare up and he reached out wondering if I could help his 85 year old mother with similar symptoms. She walked into my office clearly in pain, relying heavily on a walker to move. She was suffering from constant hip and leg discomfort that was making it very difficult for her to get around. We spent an hour together- and let me tell you, this woman was strong and determined to get better! Now, we could not perform a lot of the moves I would give a younger athlete, but we modified the movements to her level. We Spent time on the table learning to breathe through the trunk and connect her mind to her core. We moved her hip joints, knees, and ankle. Then we got up and did some glute activation with band work. She walked out of my office barley relying on her walker! I sent her home with some exercises and she will return this week for her second treatment. Her daughter messaged me saying they could already see progress and her mother was motivated to continue the homework I gave her. It meant so much that this patient trusted me to help her through her pain. I’m confident that she will be walking walker free again in no time. Looking forward to helping many more patients like this.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello! Im Dr. Afsaneh Martinez, DC. Most people know me as Dr. Afi. Im a sports/rehab style Chiropractor out of Whittier, CA. My husband and I will be celebrating my daughters 2nd birthday in just a couple of months! I love to do Crossfit and am just starting to pick up the hobby of running.

I was a personal trainer right out of college but there was always something missing. I was so intrigued about how our body moves and very curious about the injuries that our bodies produced. With the help of a few mentors I decided that the hands on holistic approach of Chiropractic care was right for me. While I was in Chiropractic school learning all things related to our nervous and musculoskeletal system, I was still intrigued by the athletic and movement side of things. I joined a club called Rehab to Performance that focused on how to integrate exercises into chiropractic treatments. With my background this made the most sense, I knew from the moment I joined the club I would help change lives of so many people.

Flash Forward 5 years later, I now run a practice called Aligned Movement. I work with patients one on one taking them through various movement assessments, orthopedic, and neurological exams to determine not only their diagnosis but the underlying cause of their dysfunction. I run a cash based model in my practice- this allows me to treat the way I’d like and always put the patients needs first. My 3 step treatment process includes; muscular tissue release (in the form of cupping, scrapping, or Muscular release technique), the chiropractic adjustment, and correct exercise/strength training. This hands on movement based approach is what has worked for Aligned Movement and gives my patients the absolute best outcomes. Something that surprises most people is how I approach their pain- it takes a lot of teamwork and homework my patients are required to do outside of the clinic. I look at their body as a whole rather than just following the site of pain. I’m really proud the the practice Ive build and how many people Ive gotten to help along the way. If you’re an active individual looking to learn more about mobility, increased athletic performance, prevent an injury, or rehab a current one- Aligned Movement is the place for you!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Outside of clinical skills I’ve come to realize that business skills are just as if not more important to master! Ive spent the last year diving into sales and marketing, and learning to work on my business not just IN my business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Business was booming back in 2021. I was one of the lucky business who benefitted from most people working from home during Covid. This meant increased neck and back pain, not to mention the stress everyone was under. I was the only chiropractor working at Aligned Movement and wore all the hats! Sales, marketing, bookkeeping, treatment, patient management- it was all me. In September of 2021 my husband and I found out we were having a baby girl! While I was incredibly excited I was also very scared for what this meant for the business I had spent the last year building. I started looking for a maternity leave substitute chiropractor and lucky found one that fit the practice perfectly. Cash based chiropractic care is a very relationship based business. So when I stepped out, some of my patients wanted to wait for my return. While I was incredibly grateful for my maternity leave sub I found myself having to do a lot rebuilding when I came back. There was a point where I didnt even know if it was worth continuing. Trying to build a business back up with a newborn at home was pure chaos. I had to change my systems and pivot from what use to work. Im proud to say my daughter will be two years old in April and I have successfully rebuilt my practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: Alignedmovement.net
• Instagram: Doctor_Afi
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL942xKg1fT07vvZUwurMYg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aligned-movement-whittier