We recently connected with Dr. Austin Saxon and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Austin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

I had a patient a few years back with a very challenging and acute case of vertigo. She had vertigo so severe for years that she eventually lost her job and her drivers license. She had seen neurologists, ENTs, chiropractors, PTs, and a list of other specialists trying to resolve the vertigo without success. Another patient of mine whose vertigo resolved under my care told her she should give it one last shot to see if someone could help her. Reluctantly, the patient came to my office to try “one last time”. She had severe misalignment of the C1 bone in the top of her neck, and if she turned her head left or right at all, the vertigo would send her into intense spinning and dizziness. I performed some gentle muscle work in her neck and shoulders, addressing tightness in the muscles that attached to her C1 bone, then I performed an instrument adjustment to C1 to correct rotational and translational misalignment. She left the office that day without much change, and I didn’t hear anything from her for about three months. I assumed she had not gotten results and decided she was done trying to fix her vertigo. She had been through so much unsuccessful treatment, so I understood the feeling of helplessness and feeling like giving up. Finally, I receive a phone call from her at the office, and she says, “I’m so sorry I never came back and that I never contacted you, but the next day I woke up and my vertigo was completely gone. I’m afraid if I come back that you’ll mess it up somehow and I’ll be disabled again with vertigo.” I told her that was completely understandable and to not come back to see me unless she began getting vertigo symptoms again. I have probably seen her a total of four times over the years since then, when she would get minor flare ups of her vertigo. Amazingly enough, she has completely recovered her life. She now has her drivers license back and is back to work and enjoying her grandkids. I’ve seen some pretty amazing stories come through our clinic, but this one really stood out to me as one of the most important moments of my career. Any time you can really save a life like that is the very best part of working as a chiropractor.

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

I grew up in Woodstock, GA and met my wife, Naomi, while we were attending Etowah High School. After high school, I went on to attend Kennesaw State University to attain my bachelors degree. I received a degree in Spanish language and culture with the intention of teaching Spanish. Throughout my time at KSU, I taught guitar lessons and played with a band to pay my way through school. At the end of my degree, I spent two months in Spain and was able to go to the running of the bulls festival and also see the Spanish win their first World Cup. After finishing undergrad, I ended up getting my first “big boy” job at a company called Retail Data Systems, where I was a project manager. I worked there for two years before deciding that I needed to work an active career where I could be on my feet, working with my hands, and helping people. My whole life, my father has been a successful chiropractor in Marietta, GA, and I had considered the potential of joining the profession over the years, but the amount of education seemed nearly insurmountable. After working 60 to 70 hours a week with Retail Data Systems, a doctorate program seemed like it would be a similar level of effort with a much more meaningful outcome, so I took the leap and enrolled at Life University. I quickly attained my bachelor of science in their program where you can do all of the prerequisites for the doctorate program, then I started the Doctor of Chiropractic program in 2012. I almost instantaneously fell in love with the intricacies of the human body and the vitalistic philosophy that chiropractic is a key component of. I graduated in 2016 and joined my father’s clinic immediately. I can still remember my very first day, feeling as nervous as I ever had in my entire life. It felt like my life was finally headed in the right direction after so many years of uncertainty and lack of purpose. During our time in Marietta, our first son, Rowan was born in 2020, then another boy, Rio, was born in 2022. They have been a major driving force for us to continue to grow and make progress in life. Most weeks, you’ll hear one or both of the boys running around and generally heckraising while we work. During my time at our Marietta clinic, I continued gaining experience and learning more about this incredible natural approach to healing and health, I became evermore passionate about my career. After 6 fantastic years working with my dad in Marietta, my wife and I decided we wanted to open our own clinic in our hometown of Woodstock. We applied for loans, bought a building and all of the equipment we needed, and suddenly in June of 2022, we were in our own clinic, Ignite Chiropractic. It has been the biggest leap of our lives and a work of many years of focus and passion, and we feel so incredibly happy to be here working with so many great people. It truly has been one of the greatest endeavors of our lives.

When we opened our clinic, we poured every ounce of ourselves into the aesthetic and feeling of our clinic, and we also invested in powerful modern healing tools to be able to help as many people as possible. We think the combined experience of a very comfortable and inviting environment plus top-notch chiropractic work makes for a clinic you’ll want to visit over the years to maintain a high quality of life through a healthy and smoothly-functioning body. One of the greatest parts of the chiropractic profession is the incredible relationships you form with your patients as you help them stay well over the years, and it is such a joy every day to see all of the people who chose us for their care.

I apply a relatively unique approach to chiropractic care and natural healing, and I am constantly in search of new ways to improve outcomes for my patients. Over time, I have developed a range of effective protocols for the majority of painful conditions that humans experience. We apply gentle and precise chiropractic adjustments to ensure proper communication between the brain and body, we use myofascial/muscular release techniques to address painful conditions, and we use a class 4 medical laser to make our patients heal much faster. Every patient receives care that is specifically customized to fit that patients needs, and every person receives a minimum of 20 minutes with the doctor. We feel that this is a more thorough and patient-focused approach than you will see in most chiropractic offices. We’ve also tried to make access to care relatively straightforward. There are no subscriptions, hidden fees, or any sort of plan that you are required to sign up for. I typically recommend every patient see me for at least 10 visits over a few months to achieve lasting results, then I recommend once or twice monthly maintenance care for patients who want to maximize their quality of life. Of course, I have many patients who are vastly improved within a few visits and choose to wait until their problem returns to come back and see us, and I also have plenty of patients who require longer care plans to resolve more complicated issues like frozen shoulder, TMJ disorder, serious joint injuries, or migraine headaches. The reality is, we have a very fluid approach to taking care of people, where the patient and I agree on an approach to healing and care that works well for the patient’s schedule and finances. You’ll find that we are not pushy about care schedules and we always do our best to be of great value to every person who comes to see us.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I am not the greatest networker, marketer, or salesman – but I do form very strong relationships with most of my patients, which leads to a lot of referrals over the years. When you are able to help someone with a problem that no one else has been able to fix, it creates a lot of trust in your ability as a chiropractor. I’ve fixed a wide variety of very challenging issues like neuropathy, debilitating headaches, vertigo, and almost every type of sports injury imaginable. Typically, when you start fixing things that can be so detrimental to peoples lives, the word can’t help but get out. That has been the strongest facilitator of our growth as a business and clinic.

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

Training, knowledge, technology, and continued education are SO important – but I truly believe the thing that really matters most is really caring to help every person any way you can. I don’t know that caring deeply about your patients is something you can train yourself to do or if it’s inborn, but that is the single most important thing I have to offer to my patients. When you care as deeply as I do, it gives you very powerful motivation to do every single thing that you possibly can to help someone. Many of my patients will tell you that healing has often gone beyond physical. I have had so many patients over the years that just needed to talk about their struggles in life during our sessions, and that can be very healing too. I feel like a certain percentage of patients deal with emotional battles that affect their physical bodies, and when you combine the physically healing effects of chiropractic with the therapeutic effect of also sorting through your underlying challenges and stresses – so many people get real and lasting results. I’m not saying that I’m some sort of therapist or emotional healer, I just think that when people feel heard and taken care of, they improve as a whole.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ignitechiroga.com
• Instagram: @ignite_chiro_
• Facebook: facebook.com/ignitechiroga

Image Credits
Stephanie Gough